Insulating Solid Brick Walls

[CSJXX]

Hey,

Does anyone know the best method for insulating solid brick walls. The house I bought has solid masonry walls with no cavity, I am looking to up the insulation to make it more energy/heat efficient. I know you can just add insulation board to the internal side but I have heard bad things about this causing more condensation? If not whats the best way to do this?

Its not possible to do anything to the external side as the property is in a conservation area.

Thanks

[98elise]

Tri-iso super 10. Its very thin which is great if you are doing the inside.

It needs to be installed properly though.

http://www.just-insulation.com/actis-triso-super-1...

[TooLateForAName]

The best way to do it would be to fit external insulation. That way you retain any benefit of the thermal mass of the walls. Downside is that you may need to do things regards roof overhang and window/door reveals. Plus side is that you can ensure no cold spots that would lead to condensation.

Tri-iso is a controversial product. IMHO a lot of its claimed benefit comes from the fact that properly installed it acts as a draught barrier. Have a look at the threads on the green building forum.

Is this an old house?

[Laurel Green]

TooLateForAName said:

Is this an old house?

OP said:

Its not possible to do anything to the external side as the property is in a conservation area.

HTH.

[mk1fan]

I agree with the comments about Ti-iso stuff. Plus it's not always accepted by Building Control - not an issue in this case it seems.

Drylining with insulated plasterboard or studwork and insulation will work too.

Both methods are simple.

With either method workmanship is the key. There will be issues with skirting boards, electrical sockets and window reveals. Oh and any partition walls coming off external walls should be improved too.

The main problem with condensation is the lack of air movement. Victorian / Georgian solid brickwalls are quite porous (from an air flow point of view) so sealing them up (with dry lining) traps moisture in the house. If old, single glazed windows are retained then you'll get condensation here.

I would suggest replacing extractor fans with 'heat recovery' extractor fans (not a full heat recovery system) which should help keep humidity levels in check. Expensive though.

To answer your question simply, yes it is possible but you need to get assessment of the actual building and make sure the person doing the work does so competently.

[mk1fan]

Oh, and don't forget the floor too. If there's a suspended timber floor then this can be insulated too for a noticable inmprovement.

[TooLateForAName]

Note to self - don't post while doing something else. It will only lead to embarrassment.



/mitigation
There are new houses in conservation areas, and it may be possible even in a conservation area to fit external insulation - especially on any side that isn't 'on show'. Worth asking the conservation officer. Depends a bit on construction. If existing is nice stone then they may want to keep it (even if that would have originally been limewashed or rendered).


I'll keep my gob shut next time.

edit: or not ;-)

I endorse Mk1fan's comments. We've done internal (kingspan) and vapour barrier in a 1800 ish house in a conservation area and found that having a heat exchanger made a massive improvement - lots of moisture after the insulation probably because there were no more draughts. I put one of the vent-axia HR25 units (humidity one) in the bathroom replacing the old extractor fan.
I also replaced the dry rot ridden joists in one ground floor room by converting to a solid floor - 12 inches of insulation/layer of chipboard type flooring/3 inch battens to give space for pipes/cables and a nice new oak floor on top. Made a huge difference.

Edited by TooLateForAName on Wednesday 23 March 16:56

[Driller]

Our house was built in 1893 from stone. The internal walls are plastered and we lined them all with Knauf 13mm +80mm plasterboard-polyurethane insulation complex.

The complex is fixed to the walls with blobs of special morter (MAP) leaving an air space of 1-2cm. All electrics etc are easily installed into the plasterboard and cables passed through the insulation.

Very quick to put up and the house is very warm if that helps.

[CSJXX]

Yes the house is a period farmhouse, roughly 150 yrs old.

I am debating on installing Kingspan K18 insulation/platerboard with the fixed wooden battens. I am worried about the wooden battens becoming damp by being fixed to the wall? As the walls already contain damp as there is no damp coursing installed. I will be doing this prior to installing the insulation but the damp is already in the walls.

What would be the best way to do this?

[Road2Ruin]

We live in an old stone built property and have had the same issues. We looked into external insulation but it was prohibitively expensive, £3000 just for the gable end wall. £15,000 for the whole house. In the end we are doing the insternal walls one at a time as they need doing. So far we have done three rather large sections that needed replastering. We took all plaster and render off, aqua proofed it (not really necessary) battened it then insulated with 45mm celotex or similar (leaving a small air gap), then a vapour barrier to stop any condensation and finally plaster and skim. The difference to the internal temperature is huge. Costs were not great and you could do it yourself if your are handy with plastering.