Insulation

Insulation can be isolated to four main areas in the home, lofts, walls, floors and windows.

• Loft Insulation
  
  Homes can lose up to 25 % of their heat through inadequately insulated lofts. Current building regulations require a depth of over 250mm. Mineral fibre can be laid between the joists, then across the joists to achieve the required depth.
  
  Apart from insulation roof spaces require ventilation to prevent timber from becoming wet and rotting. Any air gaps should be maintained and not blocked or obstructed. If you are unsure, seek professional advice. Roof spaces often contain pipe-work and water storage tanks. These should always be insulated to reduce the risks of freezing, burst tanks and pipes.


• Cavity Walls
  
  In an average semi-detached home with unfilled cavities, approximately 35% of heat is lost through the walls. Insulating your walls is one of the most cost effective ways of improving the energy efficiency of your home. Insulation can be pumped or blown into the cavity between the outer and inner walls through a series of holes drilled into the mortar. The whole process should take just a few hours and the disruption is minimal as the insulation is installed from the outside.


• Solid Walls
  
  Unprotected Solid Walls lose heat more quickly than cavity walls and they are harder to insulate. However, there are two methods that could be considered:
  
  Internal Insulation - such as "dry-lining', it's effective but can be costly and cause disruption.
  
  External Insulation - this process involves fixing insulating material to your outside walls, which would then be coated with a water-repellent finish. This method of insulation is very costly.


• Floors
  
  Suspended timber floors can be insulated by hanging insulation material in netting between the joists under the floor boarding. With this method it is essential to ensure there is adequate ventilation to avoid any risk of condensation. This is a major item of work and disruption is unavoidable.
  
  An alternative is to seal any gaps between the floorboards and also where the skirting boards meet the flooring.


• Draught Proofing
  
  If considering draught-proofing, bear in mind where you can feel cold air coming in, the hot air will be going out. Draught-proofing can be fitted quite easily around windows and doors and is fairly low-cost measure.