secondary insulation - victorian terrace

[MousyMouse]

what are the options?
it's the standard double thickness solid brick wall.

have heard of neoprene inside
or tiles, render, cavity + tiles outside.

not in a conservation area but most houses are london stock, a few are grey rendered.
do I need planning permission if going for outside insulation? (planning website not very clear on this)

I'm hoping someone comes along to help you - I've heard about insulating plaster and insulating plasterboard but don't know how effective they are or what the drawbacks are.

My neighbor has insulated his Victorian stone villa by hacking off the plaster on the external walls, insulating plasterboard then skim and reinstate the cornice. twas ££££. The local feeling is that he is crazy. He won't live long enough to recoup the cost.
Externally, I have seen it done to HA stock where they did the whole block, but I imagine that cladding a solitary house would devalue it. A bit like stone cladding.
Why do you want to do this in a terrace? Will you not be cozy enough with your neighbors?

I'd echo the last poster- can be very pricey and you may not ever recoup your costs, as well as devaluing the house with loss of features etc. could you look at other measures- ie efficient boiler, secondary glazing, decent loft insulation.

I think that you'll devalue your own house. I would run a mile from a house with external insulation. House up the road has been clad in what looks like upvc planks. Fugly as anything, particularly since is a semi and the adjacent house is unscathed.

I don't think you need planning permission if you're not CA.

have a look at these conference proceedings

i have internally insulated some parts of my house where small areas could be done without problems with cornicing/architrave etc. however not long after that lots of the advice on ventilation and cavities etc changed. i does now make me a bit nervous - esp after reading those proceedings where they say not to superinsulate and to make it slightly pervious. it is a can of worms.

external insulation is a lot more straightforward esp if you go for a breathable Lime Technology Ltd. hemp based system. standard types are not terribly compatible with lime mortar/solid wall breathable construction which is different to the sealed/wrapped approach taken now. so read up about that so you understand that before doing anything.

trouble with external stuff is that it looks odd in a terrace as others have said and also it changes the relationship between the wall line and your roof overhang. if not dealt with the junction can look ugly.

lastly while i am into the idea of reducing carbon emissions/bills most people out there are still not. i posted a while back about whether i should pay more to get a proper energy performance certificate when i sold my house. the resounding verdict by posters was that it wasnt worth it because it would have little effect on their decision to buy my home. by contrast someone who knows about internal insulation.could be put off by it because they would know the potential pitfalls.

if i were you i would probably do all the other bits to improve energy efficiency and steer clear of the internal insulation in this case and unless you are end of terrace and can just do the gable then maybe forget external too.

if you haven't already seen it this is a great guide to priotitising. there are loads of things that you could do that would giver lower cost - higher benefit:
here

We're semi detached and the open side is considerably colder. I looked into interior wall insulation, but it gets very complicated with replacing coving, picture rails, electrical sockets etc I was advised we would lose about 4 inches which I thought would be too noticable.

I would love to insulate the whole outside wall (not visible from the street) but I suspect it would be too costly and might cause condensation issues. In a terrace you really run the risk of standing out, and not in a good way.

Most of your heat loss will be through front and rear windows. I would look there first. We replaced all our rear standard sashes with new hardwood ones. Was also ££ but they are fantastic - room temperatures are much more even and I hope they will be an improvement that will add value. Unfortunately the ones at the front are too ornate so we have to live with beauty over practicality until we win lottery. Thermal curtain linings are good!

You can get polystyrene wallpaper to go under regular wallpaper. Adds an extra layer and doesn't cost £££'s

We had our lounge wall insulated with insulated plasterboard - I think battens were put on existing wall, then the plasterboard put on these, so creating a cavity. We have really noticed the difference (and now want it done in 2 more rooms). Cost in region of £600. Though we have 1930s bungalow rather than Victorian house.

Think with experienced builder, the extras are not complicated, eg not too difficult to get electrician to sort sockets etc.

lots of food for thought.
thank you.
we are sort of thinking of doing the back (north facing) as it needs repointing in the next 10years or so anyway.