Solid Wall Insulation

justmyself

Looking in to fixing up a Town House.

It's an old house - has solid walls - so i am thinking internal insulation will be the way forward?

Like everything today... there seems to be a million solutions, and a million different opinions on what is better/ advised over the other.

I see:

Insulated Plasterboard






THERMAL FOAMS (not sure what the technical name is?)



STYROFOAM INSULATION



And do Insulated Wood Panels exist? or are they simply SIP's?



What is the best way forward folks?

This is a photo of the house wall to give you an idea of what i face. It was originally wallpapered.



Any help or advice greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sleepy

How thick are the walls and what other insulation have you in place?

We've just bought an old solid-wall house too and the advice I'm getting is just to make sure the window seals are sound (we've uPVC double-glazing), that the gas boiler is efficient and the attic insulation is up to scratch.

I'm seeing the benefits of internal wall insulation being questioned at every turn so I'm thinking it's best just not to bother.

budhabob

Sleepy wrote: »

How thick are the walls and what other insulation have you in place?

We've just bought an old solid-wall house too and the advice I'm getting is just to make sure the window seals are sound (we've uPVC double-glazing), that the gas boiler is efficient and the attic insulation is up to scratch.

I'm seeing the benefits of internal wall insulation being questioned at every turn so I'm thinking it's best just not to bother.

Thats what we've done too, solid walled, mid terraced, 1950s constructed house. Changed all the windows, new gas boiler, insert stove, and have rolls of insulation in the attic, just waiting on it to get a bit cooler before i fit it.

dr.fuzzenstein

Internal insulation over cold walls is never a good idea. My parents insulated a cellar and within a few months both got very sick due to mold. My mother was actually hospitalised.
The cold wall will be prone to condensation and now you have the perfect breeding ground for mold. Only way to do this is external plate insulation, everything else is a joke.

justmyself

Sleepy wrote: »

How thick are the walls and what other insulation have you in place?

We've just bought an old solid-wall house too and the advice I'm getting is just to make sure the window seals are sound (we've uPVC double-glazing), that the gas boiler is efficient and the attic insulation is up to scratch.

I'm seeing the benefits of internal wall insulation being questioned at every turn so I'm thinking it's best just not to bother.

Thanks for the input Sleepy, dr.fuzzenstein & budhabob. Greatly appreciated.

The walls are about 60cm thick.

There is no form of insulation at all in place at the moment. Bare walls, that were originally Wallpapered, but i took off to wallpaper to see what condition the walls were in (see photo below)

The place hasn't been lived in for 20 years. No heating either, other than fireplaces.

So the advice from you folks would be:

1) Fit new windows to insure a good seal (as the windows are old plastic PVC)

2) Re-plaster Walls. Anything special need doing? As there are forms of insulating plasters right?

3) Insulate Attic. The photos you see here are the TOP FLOOR of a 3 Storey House - basically a full height attic. Should i Insulate the area between the ceiling and roof tiles with rolls of insulation? Guessing so.

4) Install a good Gas Boiler. I'm presuming that's for the central heating/ radiators? At the moment there's no heating/ radiators in the house.

Sleepy

You may not need new windows, seals can be replaced quite cheaply DIY or via a glazer.

In terms of re-plastering I couldn't offer any real advice other than to find a good plasterer and get his opinion.

The first thing I'd be doing in your situation is getting quotes for central heating of some kind and renting some comercial dehumidifiers as there seems to be a lot of damp patches.

justmyself

Makes sense Sleepy.

Perfect. Will take these 3 initial steps first:

1) Commercial dehumidifiers
2) Electrics/ plumbing/ central heating
3) Plasterer for opinion

Fair play, great getting advice so i don't go about this the wrong way around. Greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

antoinolachtnai

Insulating the area between ceiling and roof tiles is something you should get specific advice on. You do not want a situation where there is not sufficient airflow for the joists to remain dry.

The main thing is to sort out the damp. There is water coming in through the walls or roof. More than anything, this will make the house cold and uncomfortable.

BryanF

do we know the age of the OPs house?
Whether the walls are cementitious or lime mortar?
If there is a dpc under the walls?
As Dr F. Above suggests - dry-lining(iwi) is not suitable for older homes as the due point will typically be on the inside of the cold wall behind the insulation.

iwi is never continuos, and is Difficult to make air-tightness.

OP look at external wall insulation, changing/integrating the windows at the same time and don't forget about installing some form of a RH sensitive ventilation system. Obvious the source of the mould needs to be examined its most likely cold surface and lack of ventilation in the photos shown. Then look the rising walls/floor/external ground perimeter then gutters/wall plate/slate, leaky pipes etc.

You asked about 'styrozone' - it's just a polystyrene brand from kingspan.
You asked about wood insulation - look up 'composite wood fibre insulation' 'gutex' is one brand name - great product but you still have the lack continuity at wall/floor/ceiling junctions internally to contend with.

You see the black mould in those pictures, drylining will just cover that up. The problem won't go away. Too many builders will push you this way as its the easy option for them

bikenut

What about breathable internal wall insulation like hemp lime plasters or Secil EcoCork? Probably more expensive than dry-lining but might give you a better long-term solution. Some of this can be DIY for the first coats and then finished professionally (again with a lime plaster).