Winter Grants: Loft & Cavity Wall Insulation

macman

If the loft is cold then that is good, as it indicates that the heat from the house is not escaping through the upper ceiling.
Have you lifted some of the loft boarding to see if there is already some insulation there?
Laying your own insulation in the loft is a quick, simple and relatively cheap job, but complicated in your case if some or all of it is boarded.
Assuming you have just purchased this property, what was the EPC rating on it? From what you say, it must be very low.

badmemory

I would second the cling film over leaky windows as well as draft excluding the gaps in the opening windows.

FreeBear

webjaved said:

Chickereeeee said:

webjaved said:

The floor is carpeted and the underlay is decent too, nice and thick. 

Sadly, neither underlay nor carpet is (necessarily) draft proof. Just a layer of paper under the underlay can stop any drafts coming through.

To be honest, it's like the draft is coming anywhere where there is a window. So if you place your hand towards the window sill you can feel a cold draught. I'm going to look at getting the sealings redone from the inside and out.

For as long as I can remember, there was a nasty draught coming in around my windows. The worst was the bedroom windows. Started replacing them a couple of years back and found out why there was a draught.... Along the top was a gap between the top of the window frame and the lintel. Gap conveniently hidden by a strip of timber cladding externally, and timber around the reveals internally.

New windows fitted, and I made darned sure that gap was filled properly (and not with expanding foam). Have yet to finish insulating the external walls in all the bedrooms, but 25mm of Celotex will go round the reveals to kill any cold spots. Even without the insulation, the house feels much warmer and isn't using as much energy to heat.

How old is your property and do you have any photos that you care to share ?

Apodemus

FreeBear said:

webjaved said:

Chickereeeee said:

webjaved said:

The floor is carpeted and the underlay is decent too, nice and thick. 

Sadly, neither underlay nor carpet is (necessarily) draft proof. Just a layer of paper under the underlay can stop any drafts coming through.

To be honest, it's like the draft is coming anywhere where there is a window. So if you place your hand towards the window sill you can feel a cold draught. I'm going to look at getting the sealings redone from the inside and out.

For as long as I can remember, there was a nasty draught coming in around my windows. The worst was the bedroom windows. Started replacing them a couple of years back and found out why there was a draught.... Along the top was a gap between the top of the window frame and the lintel. Gap conveniently hidden by a strip of timber cladding externally, and timber around the reveals internally.

New windows fitted, and I made darned sure that gap was filled properly (and not with expanding foam). Have yet to finish insulating the external walls in all the bedrooms, but 25mm of Celotex will go round the reveals to kill any cold spots. Even without the insulation, the house feels much warmer and isn't using as much energy to heat.

How old is your property and do you have any photos that you care to share ?

Yes, last summer I took my leaf-blower to the outside of the windows to remove all the cobwebs etc and was amazed at how much dust and debris it created on the inside window ledges!  Clearly some work needed for me, too!

webjaved

twopenny said:

I used newspaper in between the floorboards, around where the skirting meets them and layers under carpet and underlay. That made a huge difference.
Not so easy to get newspaper now but if you own it you could use cheap  silicone which would be quickest.

The draughts from the windows, is it just the cold coming through the glass pulled in by the warmer inside?
I've also used clingfilm over windows across the frame so there's a gap between it and the glass. the devil to get on but much warmer.

Curtains lined with thermal lining, cheap from a fabric shop, adhere with double sided tape to the curtains - or use double sided, self adhesive velchro on lining and window frame for a quick fix night time which I'm doing now till i can get around to making something better.

It all works for instant results for very little money. 
I'm using some of this now, did the whole lot in hard times and maybe more the way things are going.

Yeah, it just feels like the cold air coming through the window. I think the windows on the outside need brand new sealing done as it's not been touched ever since he had the windows in, they were awful, and most of them had condensation and water in them. 

We've got silk curtains up at the moment which probably aren't the best, I am on the lookout for thermal curtains. Cost is the biggest issue at the moment with the rising bills. 

webjaved

macman said:

If the loft is cold then that is good, as it indicates that the heat from the house is not escaping through the upper ceiling.
Have you lifted some of the loft boarding to see if there is already some insulation there?
Laying your own insulation in the loft is a quick, simple and relatively cheap job, but complicated in your case if some or all of it is boarded.
Assuming you have just purchased this property, what was the EPC rating on it? From what you say, it must be very low.

It feels like it is escaping up into the loft. Here is the EPC rating on the property: 
https://gyazo.com/6f183c2eafe8a919d4bae0ad078ff75a

And here is a breakdown


https://gyazo.com/5000f1cfb3e84ad1ba6f8c5d2260b2c1

I've not lifted the floorboards in the loft, but when I do I know there won't be any insulation or not adequate insulation. The front bedroom we sleep in at the moment is cold, the back bedroom is not as cold and the front smaller bedroom (office) is not as cold. It's mainly that bedroom we sleep in. 

I've had 3 brand new windows with frames fitted and the glass replaced elsewhere where it was knackered. 

I'm going to have to do the loft insulation, both the roof and floor myself. 

webjaved

The property is really old, you are talking about the 60s maybe even further back, I will have to pull the house deeds out and find that info out for you. What kind of pictures are you requesting?

FreeBear said:

webjaved said:

Chickereeeee said:

webjaved said:

The floor is carpeted and the underlay is decent too, nice and thick. 

Sadly, neither underlay nor carpet is (necessarily) draft proof. Just a layer of paper under the underlay can stop any drafts coming through.

To be honest, it's like the draft is coming anywhere where there is a window. So if you place your hand towards the window sill you can feel a cold draught. I'm going to look at getting the sealings redone from the inside and out.

For as long as I can remember, there was a nasty draught coming in around my windows. The worst was the bedroom windows. Started replacing them a couple of years back and found out why there was a draught.... Along the top was a gap between the top of the window frame and the lintel. Gap conveniently hidden by a strip of timber cladding externally, and timber around the reveals internally.

New windows fitted, and I made darned sure that gap was filled properly (and not with expanding foam). Have yet to finish insulating the external walls in all the bedrooms, but 25mm of Celotex will go round the reveals to kill any cold spots. Even without the insulation, the house feels much warmer and isn't using as much energy to heat.

How old is your property and do you have any photos that you care to share ?

FreeBear

webjaved said:

The property is really old, you are talking about the 60s maybe even further back, I will have to pull the house deeds out and find that info out for you. What kind of pictures are you requesting?

FreeBear said:

webjaved said:

Chickereeeee said:

webjaved said:

The floor is carpeted and the underlay is decent too, nice and thick. 

Sadly, neither underlay nor carpet is (necessarily) draft proof. Just a layer of paper under the underlay can stop any drafts coming through.

To be honest, it's like the draft is coming anywhere where there is a window. So if you place your hand towards the window sill you can feel a cold draught. I'm going to look at getting the sealings redone from the inside and out.

For as long as I can remember, there was a nasty draught coming in around my windows. The worst was the bedroom windows. Started replacing them a couple of years back and found out why there was a draught.... Along the top was a gap between the top of the window frame and the lintel. Gap conveniently hidden by a strip of timber cladding externally, and timber around the reveals internally.

New windows fitted, and I made darned sure that gap was filled properly (and not with expanding foam). Have yet to finish insulating the external walls in all the bedrooms, but 25mm of Celotex will go round the reveals to kill any cold spots. Even without the insulation, the house feels much warmer and isn't using as much energy to heat.

How old is your property and do you have any photos that you care to share ?

A photo of the outside of the house, a shot of one of the worst draughty windows... We can then get a feel for the construction of the property and maybe point you in the direction of cost effective solutions.

macman

The EPC tells you all you need to know. Other than obvious stuff like draughtproofing, the single most thing you can do to retain heat is get the loft insulation in, before winter proper.
It's a messy and uncomfortable job, but simply enough, just lift the boards in sections and then refix before you lift another section.

webjaved

FreeBear said:

webjaved said:

The property is really old, you are talking about the 60s maybe even further back, I will have to pull the house deeds out and find that info out for you. What kind of pictures are you requesting?

FreeBear said:

webjaved said:

Chickereeeee said:

webjaved said:

The floor is carpeted and the underlay is decent too, nice and thick. 

Sadly, neither underlay nor carpet is (necessarily) draft proof. Just a layer of paper under the underlay can stop any drafts coming through.

To be honest, it's like the draft is coming anywhere where there is a window. So if you place your hand towards the window sill you can feel a cold draught. I'm going to look at getting the sealings redone from the inside and out.

For as long as I can remember, there was a nasty draught coming in around my windows. The worst was the bedroom windows. Started replacing them a couple of years back and found out why there was a draught.... Along the top was a gap between the top of the window frame and the lintel. Gap conveniently hidden by a strip of timber cladding externally, and timber around the reveals internally.

New windows fitted, and I made darned sure that gap was filled properly (and not with expanding foam). Have yet to finish insulating the external walls in all the bedrooms, but 25mm of Celotex will go round the reveals to kill any cold spots. Even without the insulation, the house feels much warmer and isn't using as much energy to heat.

How old is your property and do you have any photos that you care to share ?

A photo of the outside of the house, a shot of one of the worst draughty windows... We can then get a feel for the construction of the property and maybe point you in the direction of cost effective solutions.

Here you go, I am not going outside now in the dark to take a pic haha! https://www.kirkham-property.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2061StanleyRoad_Chadderton_Oldham_23-04-22_13-37.pdf

The front bedroom on the left (big window) is one where you can feel the draught coming. You can feel a draught coming through most of the old windows in the house - I'm going to re-check this again. 

macman said:

The EPC tells you all you need to know. Other than obvious stuff like draughtproofing, the single most thing you can do to retain heat is get the loft insulation in, before winter proper.
It's a messy and uncomfortable job, but simply enough, just lift the boards in sections and then refix before you lift another section.

Yes, @macman I am going to do the loft flooring as there was no insulation when I lifted one of the boards. I am also going to check the house roof on the front to see if there is adequate insulation in there or at all.