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Advice on making an old House Insulated

center15

Hi, I'm looking for advice on how to make an 1940's semi detached house insulated. At the moment it is FREEZING in winter and even in summer does not get hot. A HUGE amount of heat is being lost through the walls.

Could anyone offer advice on how to best insulate the house I believe it is cavity block built. I had done some reading and see there is some trouble with foam into the walls as excess concrete may be blocking portions of the wall. The attic is well insulated and we have double glazing on all windows.

Thanks for any help.

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Poor Uncle Tom

I'm presuming you mean 'cavity block construction' as opposed to 'cavity wall construction'. Your house sounds a prime candidate for being externally insulated, imo.

No6

or drylined, a bit cheaper but much messier internally!!!

center15

Thanks for all the advice. I want to avoid dry lining inside as all the rooms are freshly painted and mess etc. How much roughly would we be talking about for external insulation?

No6

Some where between 85 and 100 per msq gross external wall area (includes windows!!) extra on top of that for window cills and reveals, moving downpipes and esb cables. typical three bed semi is costing around 12k (according to one of the two suppliers in the country!!) there is a 4k SEI grant but I'm not sure are they still approving them this year.

center15

No6 wrote: »

Some where between 85 and 100 per msq gross external wall area (includes windows!!) extra on top of that for window cills and reveals, moving downpipes and esb cables. typical three bed semi is costing around 12k (according to one of the two suppliers in the country!!) there is a 4k SEI grant but I'm not sure are they still approving them this year.

That's a good bit over my budget, would this be the pumped wall insulation we're talking about? Is this the only external insulation solution?

No6

Apoligies this is for external insulation, Myself and poor uncle tom were going on the possibly incorrect assumption that your house is constructed with cavity (hollow) blocks as opposed to cavity wall construction. If you have cavity wall construction and you have a wide enough cavity you can use pumped insulation. Its a lot cheaper, i'm not 100% sure on cost but probably around 2k (ish) for a typical 3 bed semi.

center15

No6 wrote: »

Apoligies this is for external insulation, Myself and poor uncle tom were going on the possibly incorrect assumption that your house is constructed with cavity (hollow) blocks as opposed to cavity wall construction. If you have cavity wall construction and you have a wide enough cavity you can use pumped insulation. Its a lot cheaper, i'm not 100% sure on cost but probably around 2k (ish) for a typical 3 bed semi.

Thanks for the help guys really appreciate it! I do believe the walls are cavity block brick built. Although I can't be sure I suppose it's best to get a quote really. Could either of ye advise anyone in the Cork/Munster Area?

Kashkai

While its important to insulate the walls, heat rises and thus attic insulation is more important imo. How much insulation have you in the attic btw. My parents house is a 1970 build and I was in their attic a few months back and there is about an inch of insulation up there which is why their terraced house (and a small compact one at that) is always cold and costs a fortune to heat. Have you laid insulation between the joists and another layer perpendicular to this to see if that makes any difference before you start shelling out thousands on insulating the walls (properly insulating the attic will be a fraction of the cost of insulating the walls)?.

center15

Thanks for all the advice on this. I'm getting a company in Cork to have a look at the place tomorrow. He recommended the external insulation as the only route due to the house construction.

No6

center15 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice on this. I'm getting <company> in Cork to have a look at the place tomorrow. He recommended the external insulation as the only route due to the house construction.

Mmmhhh the most expensive route!!!! Let us know how you get on, I think some nice mod may just snip his name out though!!!

center15

No6 wrote: »

Mmmhhh the most expensive route!!!! Let us know how you get on, I think some nice mod may just snip his name out though!!!

I snipped it out myself

Obviously I'm going to get 2 or 3 quotes just to make sure they all add up to about the same for the same work.

center15

Had "the company" visit me today. The only insulation except dry lining the inside is getting the house wrapped in a new layer outside would cost about €12,000 after the €4,000 grant, which is just too much to pay out currently so I doubt will be going with this.

Have decided to get the attic done if the quote comes back reasonably as the insulation up there is quite worn. This company uses rockwool has anyone experience with this material as attic insulation? Also would I be just as well off going to <a hardwares> and getting the insulation myself (not rockwool) and laying it. I'd be well able to do it.

Poor Uncle Tom

If it's just fibre wool attic insulation then yes, save yourself money and do it yourself. Don't block any soffit vents and insulate the back of the trap door.

center15

The only thing is we require a floor to be down on top of the insulation as we use the attic for storage so I'm not sure I would do this myself as I'm sure the insulation would come above the rafters.

Really appreciate all the advise here, it's what boards is made for! Is there any particular thing to look for when buying your own insulation? I see <a major retailer> have some insulation made from plastic recycled bottles which would be eco friendly and they also have wool. I'm guessing fire retardiness would make a difference?

Poor Uncle Tom

Yes, and effectivness (uValues). A really dense insulation may suit you better, you will get better insulation from a thinner amount of material. Also you could batten on top of the joists to make up the depth required before sheeting out the attic for storage.

I would advise getting a good local AT to have a look at it with you.

center15

Got a quote of €500 plus cost of flooring to get the rockwool installed. So screw that will be going down the DIY route for €150 as B&Q have buy 1 get 1 free on all insulation at the moment. TBH the guy pissed me off pushing the external insulation at minimum €12,000, explaining all the grants etc. and how it will save heating bills by 50%.

Can't understand the 50% since about 40% is lost through the walls and €12,000 is a lot of money even though I know it would protect and insulate the house. I would never see the saving back in my opinion as we don't have huge heating bills and after paying 12 grand the heating still has to be turned on so. For 150euro I can insulate the attic fully and floor it and save 30% heatloss so I really dont think the 12,000 is at all sensible unless the heating bills are huge and is on 24/7.

Thanks for all the advice here!

heraldo

Hi,
I know this message might be a bit late. I live in a 1930's built semi-D with about 85sq/m surface walls. The house is mass concrete built, so no room for cavity insulation, and external is the choice because it's non-intrusive and internal space is protected.
I've got several quotes for External Wall Insulation, and they have ranged from €6,400 to €13,000.Take the €4000 grant away and it does seem a bit more viable (at the lower end). There are builders who are trying to sell themselves as insulation experts, but seem to be still stuck in the old times of high profit margins. It might be worth getting another opinion.
Good luck

JuliusCaesar

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

Yes, and effectivness (uValues). A really dense insulation may suit you better, you will get better insulation from a thinner amount of material. Also you could batten on top of the joists to make up the depth required before sheeting out the attic for storage.

I would advise getting a good local AT to have a look at it with you.

What's an AT?

I have a 1940s house myself and no idea what it's made of....what should I look for to find out if it is cavity block ?

Am also looking for quotes to replace single glazing with double glazing. Can anyone recommend a Dublin company (PM me if necessary)
Thanks!

muffler

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

What's an AT?

Architectural Technician.