Hi everyone,
I've just joined the forum because I'm seeking a spot of advice, I'm doing up/redecorating a house and I'm looking at potential options for improving the quality of insulation while I'm at it. I'm comfortable doing the actual work, but I would appreciate folk's views (both anecdotal and calculated) on what options will make an appreciable difference, for the cost.
The house is a 1950s 2 bed mid-terrace. It has block/brick uninsulated cavity walls (the cavities are quite narrow), large picture windows as was the fashion of the time, and suspended wooden floors. There's a layer of rockwool in the loft. Everything is double-glazed. There's a DPC and I don't seem to have any damp problems.
I'm currently living in the front half of the house as I've stripped the back half back to bare plaster and floorboards. When I've sorted the back, I'll swap over.
I'm pondering potential options for the walls, floor, and loft.
Walls: I've read all the horror stories about cavity wall insulation, and with my narrow cavities, huge windows, and imperfect outer brick skin I don't think I want to go down this route. EWI isn't possible due to the design of the terrace.
This has left me pondering IWI insulation, but I have a quite a lot of window. In each room the external surface is between 1/3 and 1/2 window, so I wonder if it is worth considering IWI (or in fact any wall insulation) as I suppose most of the heat is leaving through the glass rather than through the brick? Should I just save my pennies here until I can afford triple glazing instead?
Also, I notice everyone only ever seems to talk about IWI in the context of a solid wall. I suppose the assumption is that it's too much faff if you have other options, eg filling the cavity if one exists. Am I mad or missing something important by event considering IWI on a cavity wall?
Floors: The downstairs floors are wooden boards (not T&G) on 3" joists and a 10"ish void. I am thinking about using the bare floorboards as the final floor finish when I'm done. The joists don't seem deep enough to put a meaningful amount of fibrous insulation between them, but rigid boards could be an option?
Roof: There's rockwool up there, but I've been told a second layer is a no-brainer for improving warmth. Does a second layer make a big difference?
Rough material costs for various options:
IWI with 50mm PIR + plasterboard etc = £350-400ish.
50mm PIR between downstairs joists = £250ish, provided I don't break too many floorboards when I lift them.
200mm rockwool type stuff in the loft = £280ish.
Upgrading the windows to triple glazing = £lots!
Any opinions on which of the above are worthwhile pursuing, or what is utter madness, would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance
I've just joined the forum because I'm seeking a spot of advice, I'm doing up/redecorating a house and I'm looking at potential options for improving the quality of insulation while I'm at it. I'm comfortable doing the actual work, but I would appreciate folk's views (both anecdotal and calculated) on what options will make an appreciable difference, for the cost.
The house is a 1950s 2 bed mid-terrace. It has block/brick uninsulated cavity walls (the cavities are quite narrow), large picture windows as was the fashion of the time, and suspended wooden floors. There's a layer of rockwool in the loft. Everything is double-glazed. There's a DPC and I don't seem to have any damp problems.
I'm currently living in the front half of the house as I've stripped the back half back to bare plaster and floorboards. When I've sorted the back, I'll swap over.
I'm pondering potential options for the walls, floor, and loft.
Walls: I've read all the horror stories about cavity wall insulation, and with my narrow cavities, huge windows, and imperfect outer brick skin I don't think I want to go down this route. EWI isn't possible due to the design of the terrace.
This has left me pondering IWI insulation, but I have a quite a lot of window. In each room the external surface is between 1/3 and 1/2 window, so I wonder if it is worth considering IWI (or in fact any wall insulation) as I suppose most of the heat is leaving through the glass rather than through the brick? Should I just save my pennies here until I can afford triple glazing instead?
Also, I notice everyone only ever seems to talk about IWI in the context of a solid wall. I suppose the assumption is that it's too much faff if you have other options, eg filling the cavity if one exists. Am I mad or missing something important by event considering IWI on a cavity wall?
Floors: The downstairs floors are wooden boards (not T&G) on 3" joists and a 10"ish void. I am thinking about using the bare floorboards as the final floor finish when I'm done. The joists don't seem deep enough to put a meaningful amount of fibrous insulation between them, but rigid boards could be an option?
Roof: There's rockwool up there, but I've been told a second layer is a no-brainer for improving warmth. Does a second layer make a big difference?
Rough material costs for various options:
IWI with 50mm PIR + plasterboard etc = £350-400ish.
50mm PIR between downstairs joists = £250ish, provided I don't break too many floorboards when I lift them.
200mm rockwool type stuff in the loft = £280ish.
Upgrading the windows to triple glazing = £lots!
Any opinions on which of the above are worthwhile pursuing, or what is utter madness, would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance
