Insulation, Insulation, Insulation
Published: December 24, 2011
It may not deliver big attention grabbing headlines but insulation is a vital if un-glamorous part of your home. A well-insulated home is both more comfortable and fuel efficient than a poorly insulated one.
The easiest time to install insulation is during construction, this would be supervised by building control. They ensure that the insulation meets current requirements and is correctly installed. Building regulations stipulate the minimum acceptable level of insulation, there is nothing to prevent you exceeding these levels, this could simply involve buying a thicker insulating material, and the additional labour cost may be minimal.
As a general rule, a newer house is insulated to a higher standard than an older one. If you have an area of your house that seems colder than the rest then it is probably worth investigating the insulation. It is by no means unheard of for insulation to be omitted in newly built volume housing. Assessing the insulation may involve making holes in the fabric of the building as most insulation is installed in cavities. The disruption can be kept to a minimum by the use of portable endoscopic cameras.
So what can be done easily to improve your insulation?
Loft space, the cheapest and easiest insulation is rolls of fibre insulation. This is not that pleasant to handle but is well within the capability of the most DIY challenged. Given that subsidised insulation is available from most DIY warehouses, there is very little excuse for having at very least 300mm of this type of insulation.
Walls are generally more involved and the approach to insulation will depend very much on the construction. The easiest to deal with is an un-insulated cavity wall, this would typically be found in houses built between 1930’s to 1960’s. The solution here is to have the cavities blown with loose glass fibre strand, this is not a DIY job but can be heavily subsidised by grants so can represent very good value.
Solid masonry walls can be tackled from the inside or the out, from the outside a rigid polyurethane sheet can be mechanically fixed and then rendered over or clad with weather boarding. A multi-layer reflective type of insulation could also be used fixed to timber battens. The downside of this approach is that you cover the existing face of the building, not a good idea if you have attractive brickwork on a period property.
From the inside the same approaches can be taken but also insulated plasterboard can be stuck to the walls, this is relatively quick but does require new timber detailing such as skirtings and window boards. This may be preferable to covering the façade of your house. Both these methods may not be acceptable if your house is listed.
Timber frame walls need care taken not cause condensation issues so breathable materials are preferable. Again they can be tackled from the inside or out, which would probably depend on any other work that was being undertaken.
Floors are probably the most inconvenient to upgrade, you either build the floor level up or dig it out, before installing a new floor. In the case of a timber floor the floor boards would need to be taken up in order to install insulation between the floor joists. This is not a quick fix.
To summarise, when looking at your insulation, start at the top it becomes more involved as you work your way down. You feel the benefit of good insulation straight away. With rising fuel prices anything you do to reduce your energy consumption makes very good sense.
Disclaimer – John Barry Development provides advice at no charge and in good faith for consideration only. We do not warrant the implementation of its content and are to be held harmless when and if any advice or ideas provided are utilized. The risk from using it lies entirely with the user.