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To those referring to solid wall as single skin - they're not the same thing. A Victorian solid wall usually has two skins of brick, just no cavity.
Most have said that a mid terrace is going to be pretty thermally efficient as you have neighbours.
Much easier than external insulation and with less effect on the charater is internal insulation. Much easier and cost effective. It only depends if you're prepared to lose 50-100mm from the room on the external walls.
Loft insulation is by far the most important.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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Doozergirl wrote: »To those referring to solid wall as single skin - they're not the same thing. A Victorian solid wall usually has two skins of brick, just no cavity.
Most have said that a mid terrace is going to be pretty thermally efficient as you have neighbours.
Much easier than external insulation and with less effect on the charater is internal insulation. Much easier and cost effective. It only depends if you're prepared to lose 50-100mm from the room on the external walls.
Loft insulation is by far the most important.
^agree.
I've lived in 3 victorian terraces (2/3 bedrooms).
As long as you insulate loft and have good doors and windows you'll be fine. THe only problem rooms i had were north facing with difficult to access roof spaces. I improved the radiator spec and it was fine. Also its worth identifying and sorting out draughty suspended floors.0 -
I insulated the loft in my rented terraced house. Purchased the cheap insulation rolls for £1 a roll from one of the utility companies doing an offer. It made an immediate difference in the warmth of the house.
One of the bedrooms had an isolated roofspace and when we made a hole in the ceiling, could see an uncapped chimney hole. As it was a rental, it wasn't worth major investment so we just framed off the celing and put another ceiling in, with more insulation. This stopped the 'breeze' that was very noticeable in the room.
If it should turn out the house has cavity walls, check insulation options out carefully. I didn't go for cavity wall insulation as while its widely pushed as being a good thing, if you google cavity wall insulation and problems you'll see if there's any connection between the interior and exterior wall it can lead to nasty, difficult to resolve damp and mould problems. But you have been told about interior wall insulation from other posts which is probably your best bet. Will also make decorating easier!0 -
It's called dry lining?0
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Anything built before 1930 is likely to be single solid wall construction. It wouldn't put me off but it is a negative vs a similar house with cavity wall.
Have you checked for grants in your area? Large organisations have been allocated blocks of funding for external solid wall insulation. There may be a scheme in your area to help with the cost.Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.0 -
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^agree.
I've lived in 3 victorian terraces (2/3 bedrooms).
As long as you insulate loft and have good doors and windows you'll be fine. THe only problem rooms i had were north facing with difficult to access roof spaces. I improved the radiator spec and it was fine. Also its worth identifying and sorting out draughty suspended floors.
I'll be replacing the doors and insulating the suspended timber floor in the living room. There's a cellar underneath, slight gaps between some floorboards and the vendor is trying to tell me it's not draughty!!
I didn't ask if the loft was insulated. Will the homebuyer's report show this? How can you tell? The room is all plastered and decorated so I can't see how I could tell without putting a hole in the plaster.Anything built before 1930 is likely to be single solid wall construction. It wouldn't put me off but it is a negative vs a similar house with cavity wall.
Have you checked for grants in your area? Large organisations have been allocated blocks of funding for external solid wall insulation. There may be a scheme in your area to help with the cost.
Annoyingly the Home Improvement Fund mentioned in Martin's email recently might have helped with this but, as he said, there was a tight deadline and unless you'd already had a quote for the work there wasn't much chance of meeting it. Plus I haven't bought the house yet!
Perhaps I should add that there is a wood burner in the living room so I'm hoping to make use of that with scavenged wood to keep heating costs down. I have never used one of those so I'm sure that'll bring it's own problems!0 -
I'd be asking questions about the loft conversion though - was this done properly? Is it safe? Properly insulated? Is there a Building Regs Certificate?
This is the next issue. There aren't building regs for the loft. The property is marketed as 2 bed with a loft room, and as it's not a bedroom - you can't really stand up in it properly, I'm hoping it doesn't need them.
This is the latest thing I am panicking about and, as it's a different topic, I'm going to post a new thread.0 -
There are groups still offering grants for solid wall insulation. They have been given block grants from gov.uk and they are going to organise it for the local area. I keep getting fliers about it from my local organisation. It's some kind of partnership involving the council. So there might be a group in your area too.purplestar133 wrote: »Annoyingly the Home Improvement Fund mentioned in Martin's email recently might have helped with this but, as he said, there was a tight deadline and unless you'd already had a quote for the work there wasn't much chance of meeting it. Plus I haven't bought the house yet!
Perhaps I should add that there is a wood burner in the living room so I'm hoping to make use of that with scavenged wood to keep heating costs down. I have never used one of those so I'm sure that'll bring it's own problems!Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.0 -
There are groups still offering grants for solid wall insulation. They have been given block grants from gov.uk and they are going to organise it for the local area. I keep getting fliers about it from my local organisation. It's some kind of partnership involving the council. So there might be a group in your area too.
Thanks. I'll keep an eye out and properly look in to it if I ever get this house!0
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