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Miscellaneous specific insulation questions

  • 14-05-2013 3:41pm
    #1
    BoardsMember
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,497 ✭✭✭


    We live in a 1920's house. Part red brick, end of terrace. I want to improve the insulation so that it stays warm for longer,a the moment it gets nice & warm, but does not stay warm for long. The house is occupied all the time, apart from 9am to 1pm weekdays.

    Roof - the roof has no second line of defense, no membrane etc (just for info purposes). There was a layer of lime or something like that skimmed onto the slate but this is now disintegrating.

    I already have a good covering of rock wool in the rafters, following best practice for layering it in two directions. There is quite a draft in there from gaps between the roof and the walls. I did not roll the wool right to the edge as I had read that there needs to be air circulation in there. But the fact that there is no membrane and a gap at top of walls means there is quite a draft! I'm pretty sure this cant be helping things.

    I have seen some houses with the spray on foam insulation straight onto the underside of the roof/onto the tiles etc, why would you do this if there needs to be air circulation? Is it not a waste of money if there is air getting in and whistling around? Or I am over-worrying about the air circulation, maybe I should get the foam spray to may the roof airtight.

    Walls - I can do the external wall insulation on the side & back, but not the front (red brick terrace). The walls are the standard ones from 1920s, if doing external would I also need to pump them with insulation as well as wrap the outside? The front of the house I would need to do internal insulation.

    Floors - we have floorboards throughout ground floor. There is quite a draft from them. I dont think there is any magic formula regarding getting better heat retention when faced with this, apart from putting down carpet. But any suggestions welcome. I have a feeling that whatever we do we will struggle to have a snug house as long as floorboard down.

    So the questions really are what I should do in the attic. And if I need to pump the walls I am insulating externally.

    Thanks!


Comments

  • #2
    MicktheMan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭MicktheMan


    Roof:
    I assume when you say insulation is between rafters you mean joists (i.e. on the flat). If this is the case then this ia a good detail. With regards to the roof slate, is it currently sound? If it is then if aint broke don't fix it. The ventilation you mention is indeed necessary and you cant have to much, imo. However, the trick is to make sure the ceiling is airtight. Weaknesses here are around any pipes or cables entering the attic and any cracks or gaps in the cceiling.

    Walls: depends on exactly what is there at the moment. A proper job should ensure that no new problems get introduced into the house such as interstitial condensation and damp.

    Floor: Like your attic space the void under you floor needs to be ventilated and again the trick is to prevent this air from entering the house. Best job involves lifting the boards and applying insulation and an airtight barrier to the floor joists in the correct way and then replacing the boards. This will allow you to choose whatever floor covering you like.

    Getting your home snug and healthy shouldn't be that difficult once you know what and how to tackle the different issues. Some are diy and other will need professional input.
    PM me if you need more info.


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