Winter Grants: Loft & Cavity Wall Insulation

webjaved

Pictures of the loft.

FreeBear

webjaved said: 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.

I suspect the house originally had sash windows that have been replaced with uPVC casement in the last 20 years or so. I'd check the outside of the frames and see how much mastic is sealing them against the walls. Would also be worth popping the wood trim off on the inside along with the inner sill - You may well find a gap between the walls & frame that can be filled with expanding foam. You need to be careful, as it is all too easy to damage the plaster around the reveals.

Check the hinges & rubber seals on the openers - There may be some wear on the hinges that is stopping the windows from closing fully.

On a side note - I see the damp wallies have been injecting chemicals in to the wall - A nice row of holes in the course of bricks at the same level as the air bricks. Probably find that they have slapped waterproof render/plaster on the walls up to a height of 1.2m or so. Hopefully you didn't pay for that.

webjaved

FreeBear said:

webjaved said: 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.

I suspect the house originally had sash windows that have been replaced with uPVC casement in the last 20 years or so. I'd check the outside of the frames and see how much mastic is sealing them against the walls. Would also be worth popping the wood trim off on the inside along with the inner sill - You may well find a gap between the walls & frame that can be filled with expanding foam. You need to be careful, as it is all too easy to damage the plaster around the reveals.

Check the hinges & rubber seals on the openers - There may be some wear on the hinges that are stopping the windows from closing fully.

On a side note - I see the damp wallies have been injecting chemicals into the wall - A nice row of holes in the course of bricks at the same level as the air bricks. Probably find that they have slapped waterproof render/plaster on the walls up to a height of 1.2m or so. Hopefully, you didn't pay for that.

These are the wood trims around the window. All 9 of them. The window fitter said to get rid of them but I told him there was a high chance the plaster would come off with it. He's checked the windows and said they look fine to him, i am convinced though they need new sealing on the inside, on one of the side windows i can see like a seal or rubber or something swinging around - i need to get a ladder up and properly check. 

The cavity wall has had insulation in 2010 and I have the certificate for it mentioning a 20-25 year guarantee on it. I didn't do any of the work on the walls on the outside, I just cleared the crap on the front and side out of the house which revealed the air bricks. They were covered with plants/bushes. 

If I had the money I would have completely gutted the house and redone everything right up to the loft with extensions. But with the cost of living it's not feasible for me. 

FreeBear

webjaved said: These are the wood trims around the window. All 9 of them. The window fitter said to get rid of them but I told him there was a high chance the plaster would come off with it. He's checked the windows and said they look fine to him, i am convinced though they need new sealing on the inside, on one of the side windows i can see like a seal or rubber or something swinging around - i need to get a ladder up and properly check.

Is that a uPVC sill on the bathroom window ??

Get yourself some incense sticks, and on a particularly windy day, wave one around each window - You should get a better idea of exactly where the draughts are coming in. The more I look (and think about it), I'm inclined to think there is little to no sealing between the frame & wall. Pick a window and pop the wood trim off just one side and then post a photo here.

webjaved

FreeBear said:

webjaved said: These are the wood trims around the window. All 9 of them. The window fitter said to get rid of them but I told him there was a high chance the plaster would come off with it. He's checked the windows and said they look fine to him, i am convinced that they need new sealing on the inside, on one of the side windows i can see a seal or rubber or something swinging around - i need to get a ladder up and properly check.

Is that a uPVC sill on the bathroom window ??

Get yourself some incense sticks, and on a particularly windy day, wave one around each window - You should get a better idea of exactly where the draughts are coming in. The more I look (and think about it), I'm inclined to think there is little to no sealing between the frame & wall. Pick a window and pop the wood trim off just one side and then post a photo here.

Yes, that is the uPVC window sill in the bathroom, that window and the kitchen window were recently fitted, and the rest of the windows in the house were old. 

I'll have to check the incense sticks another time as I'm busy sorting the loft out, what a headache it's turned out to be but one that needs sorting and have been doing over the weekend. I'm taking it one step at a time. 

I've never known for anyone to use polystyrene to fill in the joists. Why would the previous owner have done that rather than having proper insulation fitted? 😡

Half of the loft has been cleaned out and base layer insulation put down and i can already feel the difference. The loft didn't have any insulation in between the joists.

FreeBear

webjaved said: I've never known for anyone to use polystyrene to fill in the joists. Why would the previous owner have done that rather than having proper insulation fitted? 😡

Polystyrene is a better insulator than fibreglass, so one wouldn't need as thick a layer to achieve the same u-value. But if you are using recycled packaging, it is pretty pointless without a lot of extra work. The other ting to watch for with polystyrene is it can leach the plasticisers out of PVC insulation - Check your wiring for brittle or gooey patches on the insulation.

webjaved

FreeBear said:

webjaved said: I've never known for anyone to use polystyrene to fill in the joists. Why would the previous owner have done that rather than having proper insulation fitted? 😡

Polystyrene is a better insulator than fibreglass, so one wouldn't need as thick a layer to achieve the same u-value. But if you are using recycled packaging, it is pretty pointless without a lot of extra work. The other ting to watch for with polystyrene is it can leach the plasticisers out of PVC insulation - Check your wiring for brittle or gooey patches on the insulation.

Some of the polystyrene was recycled. Some you could tell we're new and cut to size. I've gotten rid of it all, cleared up all the crap, and sorted out the wiring and it all looks neat. I can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that the work I've done is going to be better in the long run for me and my family. I have the back of the house to sort out now - so much crap to clear out - it's going to take a full day of cleaning. 

Once the base layer is down I can get the super top-up in place and not think about the loft. Last night the front 2 bedrooms were cold so I and the little lad slept in the back bedroom with the rest of the family and we didn't even feel cold. 

Now the base layer is down, and the front 2 bedrooms aren't that cold but I'm going to give it a few days and see if the change isn't just my mind playing tricks. 

webjaved

The 100mm base layer is now down. 

You can feel the difference. However the cold patches/draught in the floorboard/window area is still present. I may have to tackle that under the grants that will be available next year. 

I've bought the super top-up 200mm insulation rolls and need to get them put in, should be a quick enough job to do now. 

webjaved

Pictures were taken of the base layer once finished. 👏

macman

Good work, and done just in time for the cold snap.