Insulation old houses?

[Raindancer411]

Hi all

We have a 5 bed 1927 build property that is freezing in the winter unless you have the heating on all the them. Obviously with the heating costs rising it's a worry and I am looking how best and safely to try to insulate this place.

As it's an older property they are meant to breath and we have a raised wooden floor over a cavity with air bricks and I am paranoid of causing damp. Has anyone done it and have any advice?

Just blatantly place marking as we seem to have a similar aged home.

Last night I was reading this on insulating our chimneys. Yes I know, it's just non stop fun here!

Sorry wrong thread!! Reported !!

Have you posted on the right thread @stillherenow?

Sorry wrong thread!! Reported !!

Have you insulated your loft as that isnt going to risk damp?

I keep going in circles with this too. Similar age house. Terrified of damp if we fill the cavity. Had a quote for external insulation and it was over 12k. Looked at insulating wallpaper but im not sure if it works.

Might try internal insulation but its a lot of work to redecorate and changes all the proportions.

Following too. My friend has an older house and she had it externally insulated with a government grant. It's caused massive condensation mould internally. I have no cavity, we're built of solid block. I don't know what to do..

I have a 1935 house. Cavity wall filled and roof insulated. No mould problems - but then I always air the house even in cold weather and we have air bricks. We also have sealed floorboards rather than carpet in most of the house.

I have the same age house. We have extended so the new bit is warmer.

However, both lounges have the same floor as you.

Last year we had it insulated underneath.

Insulation was placed underneath the floor and held in place with netting. We got a company in to do it and claimed a chunk of money back under the green home scheme.

Even without the grant we would have done it.

It has made a huge difference. Previously, in winter we could never get the room temperature above 16 degrees with the heating on for hours.

Now it easily heats up.

The install was easy. But they did have to cut the floorboards to get underneath.

It has been so worth it.

There’s good advice from Historic England, the government’s adviser on the historic environment, on just this stuff. Links below and there are more to follow form there.

historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/eehb-how-to-improve-energy-efficiency/

historicengland.org.uk/advice/your-home/saving-energy/making-changes-to-save-energy/insulation/

That's what I'm looking to do did you use a local or National company @uggmum ?

I have an 1900 brick and slate cottage.

We've been here 11 years and I've spent that time improving its heat-retaining properties.

The main one, as you say, is to get rid of any damp. I lowered the level of the soil to make sure it is nowhere near the original damp course. That damp course is a layer of slate set in mortar, between the bricks. I've also repointed from the foundations up to get rid of any patches of soft and absorbent mortar. I've made sure all the gutters and drains are free flowing.

Cheap and quick to do, I added a layer of loft insulation over what was already there. It took me a weekend, bought when on offer at B&Q, definitely worth it.

I've replaced all the exterior doors and windows. Expensive but I knew it needed doing when I bought the house.

I have curtains with thermal linings. One bedroom has curtains with interlining as well. I learned to make them myself, shop bought, they are ludicrously expensive.

I have a log burner that heats the sitting room but the flue warms the two rooms above.

If you have raised wooden floors, then rugs over carpet will help.

@applespearsbears
We used insulation direct (in pontefract, West Yorkshire)

The full cost (without a grant) would have been approx £800.

My dh did consider doing it himself but didn't fancy spending that much time under the floor.

We also had some new radiators added. As the floor was up anyway.

Our sofa was in front of the radiator. So we had 2 trendy vertical ones added. This has also helped keep it warmer.

We had been quoted 600 to insulate a 3x3m area and the total floor is probably 3x that!!

I did this as part of a new extension, building regs needed 100mm but I put 150mm down. I wouldn’t want to do it from underneath , I think it would be much easier to use fibre insulation and battens/ netting.

cost for the insulation was about £150

Sorry it’s about 7.5m2

@Diyextension Was that over a void area? Looks good.

Yes there’s about 400mm gap between the floor and the joists.

I don't recommend insulating wallpaper. For one thing it's squishy, so bumps and marks can get scuffed in. But worse still, I know someone who put it in and now has to have a dehumidifier running all winter.

Reading with interest. I have several btl houses. Some are already at C standard but I have 2 older style terraced houses that are harder to insulate. I have done the thickest recvommendef loft insulation as that is very cheap and easy to do. I have dug soil away from damp courses and put shingle down as it drains. I have made sure air blocks are clear. I have looked into internal cavity as no cavity space on walls. It will not only be very expensive, but make the rooms smaller and need all new wallpaper and tenants would have to move out as it will take a while to do. Boilers are only a couple of years old and I had individual thermostats put on to each radiator so tenants can choose different temperatures in different rooms. I had a larger radiator put into hall and on landing to give it a boost in heat as only tiny ones before. I'm on a high D rating and need 2 more points in one property and 3 in the other. Any ideas on what I can do anyone?

Personally I think the best way to insulate old properties is from the inside, loft, under floors by removing the boards and doing it properly or digging out the floor and insulation/ screed .internal wall insulation on the outside walls.

external and cavity ( if poss ) insulation can cause some damp issues. I’d say it’s better to just form a warm interior shell and let the outside/roof ventilate itself.

Thanks all, it's a worry doing anything as causing damp is the last thing I want!

We're 1920s. The place was damp and cold when we got it. I'd advise:

Dry house out - ventilate, make sure windows if UPVC have those little vents at the top (and be retrofitted, new ones have to have them) keep them open unless it is very cold, open windows in all rooms for a few minutes once a day, clear any underfloor vents if blocked, have drains checked and cracked ones replaced (we had the lot replaced) check ground levels are not too high w.r.t. walls and DPC. get good fan in shower/bathroom, effective hood on cooker, remove old gas fires. (Drying the house out will make it feel a lot warmer even if the temp is exactly the same. Our surveyor said this, wasn't sure if I believed him, but he was right, we observed this using a humidity and temp monitor- it took nearly a year before the house properly dried out).

Make sure loft has recommended amount of insulation, and that it is nicely plumped up (if it's old and squashed, replace it).
Underfloor insulation. (If you are replacing the actual floor as well you need to get Building Control involved ). We've insulated one floor from underneath, it seems much warmer in there. We plan to do the rest of the suspended floors.
Be very wary of cavity wall insulation for old houses. We're trying to find someone to get the crappy old stuff in ours out. It was/is going to dust.
Where the lime plaster had been replaced with thin plasterboard dot and dab, and chipboard, we have gone for going back to brick, battening out, and plasterboard on top-insulated PB on external walls. Makes the room a bit smaller but is warmer. Where it's lime plaster, we're keeping it, stripping off the horrible insulating wallpaper which was making the walls damp at the bottom, scrubbing off the wallpaper paste (which just holds damp) and painting with traditional breathable paint. Result- bone dry walls.

Oh, and if some dingbat has put plastic sheeting on the earth underfloor, get it out. And clear out any other rubbish under the floor that can hold moisture as well.