exterior cladding - is it worth it

kate83

Hi,
My house is an ex -council concrete pre fab and is cold - we had a surveyor round to look if we qualified for free insulation the other day and he said we already had cavity wall and regulation loft insulation so there's nothing more they can do. I'm planning a loft conversion at some point so can't add any more insulation up there.

All the council owned houses are fitted with external insulation but ours was bought before they did it. I would like to have the same done but it is quite expensive - is there anyone who's had it done who could tell me how much difference it's made to them.
The only people I know who have it already moved in after it was done.

Also, can anybody recommend a company who does it - there seems to be quite a few

gmgmgm

I would be very surprised if it would have any significant saving to your heating bills and I doubt you would EVER be able to make the savings cover the cost. Or the interest on the cost.

Maybe you need to use an hygrometer to see if that's contributing to it feeling cold.

knowloads

Decopierre UK are working with Blue Flag Construction and over 30 local councils doing major external insulation (polystyrene system) with brick or stone look finishes. I doubt they would spend money on these estates if there were no benefits. Costs are higher and grants few and far between, but any extra will help. depends on how long you stay in the house.

brig001

It is possible to seriously reduce your energy usage. http://www.sei.ie/Publications/Renewables_Publications/Passive_House_Retrofit_Guidelines.pdf gives info on some trials in Ireland where savings of over 90% were achieved, but it depends how far you want to go and what you can afford etc. As gmgmgm said, it would probably never pay back.

If that is outside your budget (it is outside mine, but interesting anyway), try to find the coldest part of the house and fix that first. If you have suspended timber floors downstairs, try insulating and draught proofing that for a start.

You could try ringing the housing department of the council, explain your situation and see if they have records of who the contractor was for the other houses.

HTH,
Bri.

knowloads

There is always this 'thing' about pay back. Really the issue is about comfort and current energy bills. If it takes less fuel to heat the house NOW, and you have less cold walls and a warmer environment, then payback has to be a secondary issue. Innit? I will add a photo whenI find out how too>

edgex

kate83 wrote: »

Hi,
My house is an ex -council concrete pre fab and is cold - we had a surveyor round to look if we qualified for free insulation the other day and he said we already had cavity wall and regulation loft insulation so there's nothing more they can do. I'm planning a loft conversion at some point so can't add any more insulation up there.

All the council owned houses are fitted with external insulation but ours was bought before they did it. I would like to have the same done but it is quite expensive - is there anyone who's had it done who could tell me how much difference it's made to them.
The only people I know who have it already moved in after it was done.

Also, can anybody recommend a company who does it - there seems to be quite a few

you dont have cavity-wall insulation

the reason the council properties have had external insulation fitted is because they wernt built with cavity walls.

kate83

edgex wrote: »

you dont have cavity-wall insulation

the reason the council properties have had external insulation fitted is because they wernt built with cavity walls.

Yes I do - I've seen it! - and it is filled (well dry lined - I've seen that too!)

And next door has just had their cavity wall filled

edgex

kate83 wrote: »

Yes I do - I've seen it! - and it is filled (well dry lined - I've seen that too!)

And next door has just had their cavity wall filled

so your property must be built differently to the other properties in the area
if youve got cavity-wall insulation, & loft insulation, & double-glazing (?), you shouldnt be cold in the house
if you are, sounds like something has failed.

NeverInDebt

You can normally tell if the house has cavity walls by the some bricks that go in length wise these usually are solid walls

http://www.insulation-installers.co.uk/solidwalls.htm

If its solid then there are two ways external insulation/rendering or internal insulation and you loose some space its not always possible internally and as far as I am aware there are no grants as I have tried

NeverInDebt

You say pre fab arent there issues with pre fabs like concrete rust etc some mortgage companies dont like to go near them

kate83

NeverInDebt wrote: »

You say pre fab arent there issues with pre fabs like concrete rust etc some mortgage companies dont like to go near them

Yep, had no problem with mortgage, tend to be a bit limited with insurance companies but don't think it's as hard as it used to be. So far no problems with the houses in the area.