I have just removed the chimney breast from the rear of my victorian
terrace and noticed that even though there is no real cavity there is a
gap of about an inch. I'm about to brick up the whole left by the
chimney breast but wondered if there is anything I can put in the small
cavity to improve the insulation.

On a related point, I have been browsing the web trying to find out how
to improve the insulation of solid walls. There is plently of general
advice -it sounds like the best option is external insulation- but I
can't find a company who actually supply the materials required or a
company which will install external insulation.

Does anyone have experience with this? I live in Aldershot, Hampshire.

Considering the number of houses in the UK with solid walls it is
surprisingly hard to persue this option. Loft insulation and cavity
wall insulation seem to get all the attention. I suppose these
approaches have a better return on investment, but I can't see all the
victorian houses being demolished any time soon so I would expect to
find more companies offering solutions.

thanks
Thomas

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have just removed the chimney breast from the rear of my victorian
terrace and noticed that even though there is no real cavity there is a
gap of about an inch. I'm about to brick up the whole left by the
chimney breast but wondered if there is anything I can put in the small
cavity to improve the insulation.

No, anything less than 50mm is useless where CWI is concerned.


On a related point, I have been browsing the web trying to find out how
to improve the insulation of solid walls. There is plently of general
advice -it sounds like the best option is external insulation- but I
can't find a company who actually supply the materials required or a
company which will install external insulation.

There are plenty of them, Millfold are one of the better ones:
http://www.millfold.co.uk/external_wall.php


Does anyone have experience with this? I live in Aldershot, Hampshire.

Considering the number of houses in the UK with solid walls it is
surprisingly hard to persue this option. Loft insulation and cavity
wall insulation seem to get all the attention. I suppose these
approaches have a better return on investment, but I can't see all the
victorian houses being demolished any time soon so I would expect to
find more companies offering solutions.

It's a lot more expensive than normal CWI, so much so that it will never
turn a profit - you will never save as much as it has cost for installing,
also your house has to be rendered, something that is fast turning
prospective homebuyers off.

It's a lot more expensive than normal CWI, so much so that it will never
turn a profit - you will never save as much as it has cost for installing,

You mean the return is less than mortgage interest rates? As long as
the return is higher than this wont it pay for itself eventually. Also,
if fuel prices rise wont the pay back time reduce?

thanks
Thomas

wrote:
It's a lot more expensive than normal CWI, so much so that it will
never turn a profit - you will never save as much as it has cost for
installing,

You mean the return is less than mortgage interest rates? As long as
the return is higher than this wont it pay for itself eventually.
Also, if fuel prices rise wont the pay back time reduce?

thanks
Thomas

Conventional CWI takes decades to pay for itself, exterior insulation takes
much longer, because A) It costs more, and B) It's not as effective.

That's not to say it shouldn't be installed - the house will be warmer in
winter and cooler in summer, and this is the main thing, not saving money -
if saving money is your ultimate goal you are wasting your time bothering
because you won't save anything.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:02:06 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

wrote:
It's a lot more expensive than normal CWI, so much so that it will
never turn a profit - you will never save as much as it has cost for
installing,

You mean the return is less than mortgage interest rates? As long as
the return is higher than this wont it pay for itself eventually.
Also, if fuel prices rise wont the pay back time reduce?

thanks
Thomas

Conventional CWI takes decades to pay for itself, exterior insulation takes
much longer, because A) It costs more, and B) It's not as effective.

That's not to say it shouldn't be installed - the house will be warmer in
winter and cooler in summer, and this is the main thing, not saving money -
if saving money is your ultimate goal you are wasting your time bothering
because you won't save anything.


your full of ****

sorry

marvelus wrote:
On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:02:06 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

wrote:
It's a lot more expensive than normal CWI, so much so that it will
never turn a profit - you will never save as much as it has cost
for installing,

You mean the return is less than mortgage interest rates? As long as
the return is higher than this wont it pay for itself eventually.
Also, if fuel prices rise wont the pay back time reduce?

thanks
Thomas

Conventional CWI takes decades to pay for itself, exterior
insulation takes much longer, because A) It costs more, and B) It's
not as effective.

That's not to say it shouldn't be installed - the house will be
warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and this is the main thing,
not saving money - if saving money is your ultimate goal you are
wasting your time bothering because you won't save anything.


your full of ****

sorry

Perhaps my earlier comments have confused you? - I'll try to keep the words
short so that you can follow:

If he spends £500 on conventional CWI, and saves £60 per year, he will have
broke even in less than 20 years, everything after that is profit.
If on the other hand he chooses to have exterior insulation, it will cost
him probably £3,500 and save him less than £60 per year - with me so far? -
this means it will take him at least 58 years just to break even.

...sorry about having to use the word 'conventional', there's an explanation
he
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conventional

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have just removed the chimney breast from the rear of my victorian
terrace and noticed that even though there is no real cavity there is a
gap of about an inch. I'm about to brick up the whole left by the
chimney breast but wondered if there is anything I can put in the small
cavity to improve the insulation.

On a related point, I have been browsing the web trying to find out how
to improve the insulation of solid walls. There is plently of general
advice -it sounds like the best option is external insulation- but I
can't find a company who actually supply the materials required or a
company which will install external insulation.

Does anyone have experience with this? I live in Aldershot, Hampshire.

Considering the number of houses in the UK with solid walls it is
surprisingly hard to persue this option. Loft insulation and cavity
wall insulation seem to get all the attention. I suppose these
approaches have a better return on investment, but I can't see all the
victorian houses being demolished any time soon so I would expect to
find more companies offering solutions.

thanks
Thomas


External insulation is a possibility but in my similar age property I intend
to insulate the walls-without-windows internally and put double glazing in
the walls with windows (sash box removal). This leaves the existing sash
box and nice appearance and while not perfect shoudl be much better than
oringally.
The rooms are reasonably large in my case and it can be done room by room.
One thing I know I will have to be careful with in ssealing between the cold
wall and the now warmer wall to prevent condensation.
There may be better ways.

2p
Jon

wrote:

I have just removed the chimney breast from the rear of my victorian
terrace and noticed that even though there is no real cavity there is a
gap of about an inch.

sounds suspiciously like a cavity to me.

The original reason for these cavities was to keep out damp, mainly in
coastal areas. If the outer leaf got wet the inner would stay dry.

Applying insulation on the surface works as well, and you can put a lot
more there, but of course its not as cheap.

Insulation on the interior keeps the outside looking good, but loses
the temp stabilising effect of the masonry's thermal capacity. It also
means replastering. Outside insulation means rendering over it. The
general best bet is internal insulation at the front, maintaining good
appearance, and exterior insulation elsewhere.

Materials for solid insulation are not hard to come by, I wonder if
youre just not sure what to get.


NT