How to make a mid terrace house more eco friendly

LilMissSunshine

So with all the recent news from the government talking about mortgages may be harder to get if you house isn't eco friendly enough I've been pondering what I can do with my mid terrace house.

Its single brick wall so I guess my only option is to lose alot of space internally to put in cavity wall insulation or even insulated boards or do external insulation but that won't fix the party walls issues of not being insulated. Anyone done any insulting of a mid terrace house - what did you do? obviously my loft has insulation so not much more I can do there.

I looked into underfloor heating for ground floor but its all concrete so unless I raise my floor its not so simple. Opted for wool underlay and thick carpet for the living room in the end.

I suppose I can look at an air source heat pump but when I read up on it, it says unless your house is well insulated I'd end up spending more on heating the house up so again feeling a bit stuck.

So if you live in a mid terrace of even end terrace and have made improvements to become more energy efficient/ eco friendly, love to hear what you've done and the cost.

BUFF

I live in an Edwardian mid-terrace (& in a Conservation Area which adds another layer to what you can/can't do). I have always assumed that, as long as your neighbours either side heat their properties to the same temp. as you do for yours, you can treat your party walls as perfect insulators. If they keep their houses warmer than you keep yours you may in fact gain heat from them Of course, if you keep yours hotter than theirs then, yes, you will lose heat to them. 

I have probably done similar to you - insulate loft, not overheat the house & wear an extra layer of clothing, condensing boiler & controls set to actually run in condensing mode plus TRVs, double glazing rear/secondary glazing front (Conservation Area), draught-proofing doors. 
All LED lighting. Minimise things running unnecessarily/on standby. When I have to buy/replace an appliance buy more efficient at a vfm price i.e. all other things being equal it is not imo worth paying more extra than it will save over it's anticipated life.

FreeBear

LilMissSunshine said: Its single brick wall so I guess my only option is to lose alot of space internally to put in cavity wall insulation or even insulated boards or do external insulation but that won't fix the party walls issues of not being insulated.

Guessing a Victorian era terrace ?

Insulating the walls internally will only loose you 50-100mm of floor space depending on how much you put up. Even 25mm will make a big difference, but you'll need more in order to reach the minimum u-value required for building regs. No need to insulate the party walls as there will be minimal heat loss through them (your neighbours have heating on, so you gain a bit of warmth).

Insulating does have the disadvantage of being disruptive and also means that you can no longer fix heavy items to the walls without taking extra measures. On the plus side, you get nice smooth walls.

LilMissSunshine

Thanks, its a 1985 house so not really victorian. 

FreeBear

LilMissSunshine said: Thanks, its a 1985 house so not really victorian. 

OK, so you will have cavity walls - The cavity can be filled with insulation, and if you added internal wall insulation, you could get away with 25-50mm without much difficulty. The concrete floor would be the next target to tackle, but that would be a major expense and some serious grunt work.

LilMissSunshine

@FreeBear its definitely not cavity walls. I can hear my neighbour coughing and scraping his dinner plates over my TV. On the other side in my kitchen I can hear hen my neighbour turns on a switch on the wall we share. 

I had someone come round to look at insulation in my house hoping to use the insulation grant a few yrs ago and they confirmed they aren't cavity walls. Hence my post here.

Grenage

You wouldn't generally (I have lived in an exception) have a cavity wall between two houses - just the external walls.  For it to not have a cavity it must surely be of non-standard construction?

danrv

Sure it’s not timber frame?
That would explain hearing neighbours as sound proofing is poor with this type of wall.
You could always add a rough sawn timber frame and plasterboard to the walls and fill with insulation. 
That would help with heating and sound proofing.

LilMissSunshine

I have no idea anymore, maybe I'll get someone round again to confirm what my walls are made of 

tacpot12

What does your  EPC say? If your property doesn't have an EPC yet, I would suggest you consider getting one done. It will tell give you some ideas of what you can do, and if you do them and keep records to prove that they have been done, your property will become more valuable as a result and will be cheaper to heat.