External Insulation on Edwardian house, yes or no?!

[Chocolateporridge]

We have an end terrace Edwardian house which is in need of a facelift. We have been offered external cladding as part of a government scheme, there would be no cost to ourselves. It all sounds really good except we really can't picture how it will look when it's done.
We have some red sandstone detailing to the front of the house around the door and windows and the contractor has gone to a lot of trouble to come up with a solution so that, although the sandstone will be covered over, they will incorporate a red resin around these areas to try to mimic what it looks like now.
Has anyone ever done this? I can't see anything like this on the internet.
I'd love to hear your pros and cons and see photos if you have any!

The external insulation needs be breathable. And you need to see if there is an overhang from the roof for the extra inches. The windows will need re doing too no?

We are going for internal after MUCH deliberation on the external walls.

we are repointing the bricks and are a little undecided about the arts and crafts render stuff.

Nooooooooooo!!!!

Older houses need to breathe. You could cause long term damp issues.

Plus, it will look rubbish. Even with them mimicking the features. If yours is the only one done it will look very odd.

Don't do it.

We've done the windows and there's a large overhang from the roof. They will put new extractor fans in plus extra air bricks.

We don't have cavity walls so can't go for internal insulation.

This is my worry! Once it's done there's no going back, and the neighbours literally comment on everything we do to the house, even though the majority of the other properties on the street are in terrible condition.

Don’t do it. It will look awful and cause damp

Sorry to be blunt but I wouldn’t buy a house that had been externally cladded. I’d just assume the seller couldn’t be bothered to do a proper job and wonder what else I’d find.

Even rendering over brickwork on a period house puts me off.

You can mount insulation on internal walls.

Definitely no, older houses need to breathe and you’ll likely cause damp issues.

We put interior insulation on our single brick victorian semi. Lovely

We've put the special thick insulating wallpaper on the inside of the external walls but obviously that doesn't cover the gaps between floors and rooms.

Will it really look awful?

What’s your house made out of? Brick or stone, is it single skin not cavity?

are you having issues with it being cold or damp?

OP if you are on Facebook, worth having a look at Your Old House - Repair and Conservation for advice. There’s a lot of insulating/damp proofing schemes that just aren’t good for older houses, and of course those selling them are keen to take your money so say it’s fine, but do proper research first

It's brick, no cavity, constructed 1903.

It's cold but not damp. We have new heating and new windows. It's very shabby on the outside but we can't afford to re-roughcast and we were ripped off badly by some stonemasons with good references so our red sandstone detailing is wrecked.

That's a great tip! Thank you

We don’t either, we are using breathable boards. Edwardian

Is it already half rendered/pebbledash? If it is, will that be removed before the insulation is fitted?
Most rendered houses have been painted and don’t ‘breath’ anyway.
Personally, as it’s free and the fitters seem well aware of ventilation requirements, I’d go for it.

Have a look at lime cork render for the outside. It is insulating and breathes. Non breathable insulation with make things worse

I have seen this kind of thing and it looked pretty good really. I would just worry about what people might think of a cladded house when I came to sell. It would probably put me off buying.

It roughcast apart from sandstone around the doors and windows. It's not been painted ever I think.

It sounds awful, especially the fake red trim and I wouldn't do it.
It would also put me off buying the property from you in future - I think you need to be able to see the walls to keep an eye on the structural health of the building.

Surprised to see the negativity - are there different types of external insulation? My parents had their 1930s semi done about ten years ago and it has been transformative. My mum spent my childhood wiping down walls and treating mould and there hasn't been the slightest hint of that since. We could literally feel the difference within seconds of walking through the door the first time we visited.

It's fast becoming a status symbol in their naice leafy suburb, definitely not a negative to buyers.

The aesthetics are an issue, their house is pebble dashed and the insulation firm matched the colour etc but I don't know about other finishes. Personally, I would sacrifice the appearance for the benefits - not just energy savings but the comfort. But that's a very individual call.

I think older buildings need to breathe.I was offered it on my stone built house but went with internal insulation in the end. It has made a big difference to the building.

You live in a terrace what have the neighbours done or think?

A lot of people in my area have put insulating render on thier edwardian homes and it looks really smart (not sure about the fake red bit though!)

People want warm, dry homes they can afford to heat.

You do need to be very careful about causing damp so get a very good advice on this as the breathing thing is true.

I live in a similar aged house and I personally wouldn't - but I adore the exterior of our house and wouldn't change that for the world. Yes it can be draughty but it's an old house and it's allowed to be a bit creaky around the joints (comes to us all mate).