Insulating wallpaper?

[thetigerwhocametoteax]

Hi there, we live in a old cottage with solid stone walls and are looking at ways to insulate it better. I have had a plasterer quote for thermally lining walls but it is very expensive and also a lot of faff with having to change skirting boards / window sills etc. I've seen some thermal lining paper made by a company called Wallrock that sounds really interesting. It seems to get very good reviews and sounds straight forward enough to be a DIY project. Has anyone used it?????? Please tell me its the answer to our cold lounge!

[ParsingFancy]

Insulating inside a wall has two effects.

a) It slows (but doesn't stop) the passage of heat into the wall and to the outside.

b) It allows the surface temperature of the wall to be closer to room temp.

Thermal lining paper is too thin to have much impact on (a). It's only going to make a noticeable impact on (b) - which is useful if you have condensation problems.

Sorry. Solid stone walls are a bugger. Unless you're planning to heat the fabric of the house with a huge fireplace or something, substantial internal insulation is probably the answer.

[thetigerwhocametoteax]

Thanks. The thermal paper I saw was 4 mm thick, which I didn't know whether it would make a difference. We don't really get any issues with condensation to be honest, its mostly that the walls are cold and so the house seems to take a long time to heat up and it cools down quickly. We do try and heat the house with a large woodburner in addition to the central heating but it still seems inadequate. What do you mean by substantial internal insulation?

[ParsingFancy]

Substantial = lot more than 4 mm: the sort of thicknesses you were talking about in your OP, where windowsills need replacing.

It's a good few years since I last looked at all this, though, so alas can't give you actual figures.

I googled "insulating solid masonry walls" and this English Heritage site came up. Any good?

[PigletJohn]

Yes, remember that loft insulation is about 150mm thick to meet modern standards. 4mm is negligible, except to the people who make money out of selling it to you.

Are you thinking about heat loss or about condensation?

How many external walls has it got?

How big is the window?

What is above the ceiling?

What is under the floor?

What sort of extractor fan have you got?

[thetigerwhocametoteax]

Thanks for the response. Yes I guess 4 mm is a bit thin to be making a difference,however the reviews on line do seem uniformly good. I am thinking of heat loss really.

Its a 200 year old stone cottage and its a chilly beast, we moved in November last year and had a really cold winter. We are trying to think of ways to improve it in preparation for this winter. The lounge is particularly cold, it has 2 external walls one front south facing and one at the back north facing. There are mullion windows - lots of small ones; 5 at the back and 4 at the front, the windows are timber framed but double glazed. Above the ceiling are the bedrooms which are floorboards only. The floor is solid stone with laminate over. There is no extractor fan.

Our plan at present to try and improve things is; thermal wallpaper maybe (did look at thermal plasterboard but too much cost and complications with stone sills etc) both external walls, a carpet, thermal curtain lining, a new woodburner and try and get the old radiators working better. Not sure what more we can do?

[PigletJohn]

start with thick loft insulation and draughtproofing. They will have the most benefit and the lowest cost. Then add curtains on windows and doors. Look for portiere rods.

[ParsingFancy]

If can afford the wallrock but nothing else, you could always give it a go.

BTW, there is a product called aerogel, used by NASA, which is super-insulating. It's slowly coming into use as house insulation, particularly in Germany for historic buildings, and is available in different forms (blanket, boards, plaster component). Google for more info.

I'm not sure how easy it is to get hold of in the UK, and it was very expensive last time I looked. But if it saves the cost of redetailing windowsills, replastering, etc, and also preserves the historic features of the building, in some instances it can be the right answer.

I suspect we're going to be hearing a lot more about aerogel in the future.

[PigletJohn]

oops, I said loft insulation was 150mm. I meant 250mm

btw if you have limited funds, fancy wallpaper is not the thing to spend them on.

frozen smoke is an interesting idea, but until it is as cheap as other equivalent forms of insulation, it will not be a cost-effective investment.