Cavity Wall

Adding cavity wall insulation is an ideal way of reducing heat loss in your home. If the external walls of your home are made of two layers with a gap or cavity between them, then you have cavity walls.

This applies to most homes built after the 1930's and nearly 70% of UK homes have cavity walls. Of these, only a third are filled with cavity wall insulation.

The reason that cavities were built in the first place, is because the air gap provides a certain amount of insulation. Filling these gaps insulates further, although there must be some space for air flow to allow for ventilation and to prevent damp and mould.

External Wall Insulation

External wall insulation is one solution to the heat loss that occurs through old, solid walls, where there are no cavities that can be filled.

It involves adding a decorative weather-proof insulating treatment to the outside of your wall. The thickness of the insulation needs to be between 50 and 100mm and is usually installed where there are severe heating problems or the exterior of the building requires some form of other repair work providing the opportunity of adding insulation.

Most external renders consist of either thick sand/cement render applied over a wire mesh, or a thinner, lighter polymer cement render applied over a ‘GRP scrim'. A pebbledash render should need less maintenance than a painted render finish.

Internal Wall Insulation

Solid walls lose heat more quickly than cavity walls, and if your home was built before1930, it is likely that you do not have wall cavities that can be filled. You can insulate the inside or the outside of these walls.

Both solutions greatly increase comfort, lower your heating bills and reduce associated damage to the environment. There are a number of techniques you can use including dry lining and thermal rigid boards.

Loft Insulation

Heat lost from your loft can account for up to 25% of your heating bill. Traditionally, insulation solutions were mineral wool or fibreglass, but there are now a range of alternatives that are not only cost effective but environmentally friendly too.

For example, recycled paper and sheep's wool are becoming increasingly popular and it was actually a paper based product that was the top scorer in the most recent product reports from Which? magazine.

Many loft insulation materials are available in two forms: as a roll (which will be sold in varying thicknesses, but most commonly as 100mm or 150mm), or as a loose material that can be poured or blown into the space between joists.