What’s next for reducing heat loss?

DougMLancs

Hi All, we’re not long off completing on a 1950’s 3 bed semi which will be our forever home. The house currently has 275mm loft insulation (standard on-a-roll stuff) and 50mm blown mineral wool in the cavity walls (whether that was advisable in the NW is debatable but it was done 11 years ago). Windows and doors are basic DG but are in reasonable condition. It’s got pebbledash render front and back and just brick to the side. We wanted some opinions on where we could focus on next to reduce our heat loss (more insulation?) with the aim of going down the ASHP route in future and running the 15 year old gas combi at lower flow temps in the meantime. The roof needs redoing and we’re planning a solar PV install. Any pointers appreciated 🙂

EDIT: concrete floor downstairs

Norman_Castle

Look for daughts especially where walls meet floors and where pipework goes through anything. Check under the bath and behind kitchen cabinets.

DougMLancs

there are definitely some culprits there- whoever fitted the kitchen was not a neat finisher!

JohnB47

DougMLancs said:

there are definitely some culprits there- whoever fitted the kitchen was not a neat finisher!

Wrong thread?

FreeBear

Norman_Castle said: Look for daughts especially where walls meet floors and where pipework goes through anything. Check under the bath and behind kitchen cabinets.

There shouldn't be any draughts coming up round the edges of the ground floor being concrete. Certainly check round the windows - If you have timber around the reveals, it might be worth popping them off along with the window boards and putting some expanding foam & frame sealant around the edges.

Unfortunately, improving the insulation after having done the easy bits, is going to be expensive. The ground floor is an obvious target, but digging out the concrete is going to be a major task. Internal/external wall insulation is another thing to consider, but at a typical cost of £14K, one has to wonder if it is really worth it... If you were refurbishing every room, I would have suggested hacking off the plaster and insulating the walls as you go. Yes, you loose ~75mm of floor space, but you get nice smooth walls to paper/plaster.

DougMLancs

It’s hard to find info on EWI in relation to filled cavity walls. I wouldn’t mind DIYing internal insulation but would be nervous  about creating any damp issues with shifting the dew point- I need to find more info on that