Insulating Carpet

[Michael Ting]

I bought my first condo in Chicago during summer and coming to a realization that the house can get very very very cold in winter. A little info on the unit. It is a one bed room condo, 800 square foot, located on the first floor. The floor has a "plywood" finish on top of concrete slab. The unit has gas water heater and forced air gas heater. Because walls are decently insulated, my suspicion is that a lot of moisture and cold just seep out of the floor. I don't think plywood finish is a very good insulator. On most days during winter, the room temperature is only about 10 degree higher than outside temp if there is no heat turned on. In summer, it is about ten degree colder than outside. Here is my question ...

Can I put on a removable carpet on top of the plywood finish of the floor? How much insulation would that add? and would that trapped coldness and moisture destroy the "plywood" floor?

[Randy F.]

Not sure what you mean by plywood "finish".

Assuming it is plywood installed over concrete, carpet and pad would trap no more moisture than what would be found between plywood and concrete.
The question is... Is there really a moisture problem in the slab?

An effective way to check for moisture in the slab is to tape down a 2' square piece of plastic on the slab and leave it for a day or so. If there is moisture in the concrete condensation will show on the underside of plastic. I guess you could try the same atop the plywood, but Id go 4' square and you may have to leave it there for several days.

Hopefully, you dont have a moisture problem as that is a much bigger issue than a cold slab. If not, carpet and pad will make a huge difference. The pad moreso than the carpet. I recommend going to carpet dealers to check on the best pad not only for insulating value but for the carpet you want to install. Certain pads are not recommended for a particular carpet type. Lowes and HD typically only carry rebond and that may not be best option for say a berber.