Internal wall insulation - my plan...

JessikaSmith

Insulating your solid walls could cut your heating costs considerably, because solid walls let through twice as much heat as cavity walls do. The good news is they can be insulated – from the inside or the outside.

If your home was built before 1920, its external walls are probably solid rather than cavity walls. Cavity walls are made of two layers with a small gap or 'cavity' between them. Solid walls have no such gap, so they let more heat through. Solid walls can be insulated – either from the inside or the outside. This will cost more than insulating a standard cavity wall, but the savings on your heating bills will be bigger too.

new_owner

JessikaSmith wrote: »

Insulating your solid walls could cut your heating costs considerably, because solid walls let through twice as much heat as cavity walls do. The good news is they can be insulated – from the inside or the outside.

If your home was built before 1920, its external walls are probably solid rather than cavity walls. Cavity walls are made of two layers with a small gap or 'cavity' between them. Solid walls have no such gap, so they let more heat through. Solid walls can be insulated – either from the inside or the outside. This will cost more than insulating a standard cavity wall, but the savings on your heating bills will be bigger too.

oddly quite alot of victorian house have cavity walls. You can get them filled. beaded insulation it considered the better product for these house.

new_owner

craigix wrote: »

Looking at that page it appears I'd be breaking building regs by trying to insulate from the inside without using 100mm(!!) insulation.

Yet another spanner in the works for us people without the possibility of cavity wall insulation.

I find this odd since councils have been using that 'insulating wallpaper' for years on the inside of their buildings.

I think I'm going to just do this anyway and not tell anyone.

You are not breaking building reqs??

Its up to you if you want to insulate the walls with what ever thickness you wish.

For the age of the house. You will want a breathable insulation on the walls (fiberboard) under your suspended floor (hemp or sheeps wool) loft (the same).

Have a look at adding a wood burner. Old victorian houses are not as bad at heat loss as people make out. There was a good study looking at old houses and the amount of heat they loose and changes you can make (Glasgow uni, if I remember correctly)

Preventing drafts will be the best bet. What is under the floor coming up around the skirting etc??

Insulation is pointless if the draft whistles past it. How exposed is the house?

You can drill a test hole in the mortar to test for a cavity. The product is Platinum Beads but you would have to pay for this yourself as its not covered under the grants as far as I am aware.

john1

For solid wall older house this free publication Practical refurbishment of solid-walled houses from Energy Saving Trust may help

http://www.kingston.gov.uk/practical_refurbishment_of_solid-walled_houses.pdf

Energy Saving Trust also offer free advice over phone 0300 123 1234