Void in floor

[newbie282]

We have engineered floor in most of our living spaces. But right near the front entrance door, there is a fairly medium sized void in the floor which is missing underlay or a proper floor covering. The floor in this area seems to be concrete? To match the level of the existing floor, there are several plastic door mats placed on top of each other on top of this concrete & right at the top is a cloth based door mat. Aesthetically it works but not sure if this is the best way for Insulation?

 

Our hallway seems to be colder than the rest of the house & we can feel draughts coming from around this area. I have used foam strips to stuff gaps in this area as a temp measure, esp around the edges. Can anyone suggest what should be done ?? Can hot air escape via this floor void? 

 

[Marvin]

Hot air won't necessarily be lost but cold air can be gained.

 

Not quite sure what the second photo shows.

 

I wonder if this didn't have coir matting in it originally.  How deep down? 25mm?

[ProDave]

That is a "mat well"  for the purpose of allowing a doormat to sit flush with the floor.  The reason you have several is it will have been designed for a thick coir door mat, and instead you have several thin ones.

 

My guess is the concrete sub floor you are seeing in the mat well extends under all the floor in the hall.  Without knowing any more about the house, age, etc one can only guess if it has any insulation under it.

 

You can certainly improve the detail by sealing under the door threshold properly.

 

Does the engineered floor sit directly (with an underlay) on the concrete or is it raised on battens?