Should I insulate?

[mgrover]

hello,

one thing am unsure whether to attempt to do. its a property from the 1830s.

i have suspended floor, should i bother to insulate, and double glaze the sash windows, to be clear i have big **** off windows so the heat loss is high am sure.

or should i save myself the headache of damp and just leave it alone, just accept its pricier heating bills and it is what it is.

fyi i do plan to die here so if its worth doing ill do it.

 

[paulc]

Insulation is always worth doing - The loft is cheap with the highest return. Windows, especially large ones, again, well worth fitting double glazing and plugging draughts.
Insulating suspended floors can be a major headache, especially if you have tongue & groove boards. Unless you are lifting the boards to replace joists, it probably isn't worth doing.

I was faced with a similar dilemma when I took on *this place. Cold, draughty, and difficult to heat. Increased the loft insulation to 300mm (400mm in some areas), replaced most of the windows, and sealed up draughts when I found them. Ground floor is mostly suspended T&G, so not really practical to insulate. Instead, I covered (some) of the floors with 5mm woodfibre laminate underlay, and put down decent carpet. After sealing the gap around the perimeter in the main room downstairs, I can keep it nice and warm.
Have also insulated some of the walls upstairs (solid 9" brick), and I'm not convinced that it has reduced heat loss by much. On the other hand, it has raised the wall temperature slightly and there is no evidence of condensation or mould.

One big bonus of the new windows & doors - When the sun is shining, I get a noticeable amount of solar gain on the south elevation. On all but the coldest days, it means the heating doesn't kick in until late evening.

 

[claraclattermole]

I agree. Start with the loft and then work round in stages. Thick curtains make a huge difference and we are slowly fitting plastic magnetic secondary glazing which could easily be removed if we started getting damp issues.

 

[mgrover]

So in my case the loft has been boarded out and plastered so made into rooms essentially

So unsure about best way to insulate that

I do need to draught proof the doors for sure

 

[Lacan07]

hello,

one thing am unsure whether to attempt to do. its a property from the 1830s.

i have suspended floor, should i bother to insulate, and double glaze the sash windows, to be clear i have big **** off windows so the heat loss is high am sure.

or should i save myself the headache of damp and just leave it alone, just accept its pricier heating bills and it is what it is.

fyi i do plan to die here so if its worth doing ill do it.

Insulating floors in an old house divides opinions, there's plenty of threads that discuss the issue. I'm not a fan but also I don't necessarily think its a terrible idea. Replacing original sash windows with modern double glazing is also a bone of contention, some would consider it sacrilege. I guess it depends on the individuals priorities and tastes.

 

[mgrover]

Insulating floors in an old house divides opinions, there's plenty of threads that discuss the issue. I'm not a fan but also I don't necessarily think its a terrible idea. Replacing original sash windows with modern double glazing is also a bone of contention, some would consider it sacrilege. I guess it depends on the individuals priorities and tastes.

i should have been more clear about the windows, it'd just be the window panes, the windows are beautiful and dont really need anything.

i spoke to a man who quoted me either 500quid for reweight redraught proof them etc etc or 2.5k for glazing which is a bit silly. but for 2.5k he said just put it towards the heating bill.

it seems fairly diyable with a joiner for a father.

 

[paulc]

Replacing original sash windows with modern double glazing is also a bone of contention, some would consider it sacrilege. I guess it depends on the individuals priorities and tastes.

Secondary DG glazing would be an alternative - Done carefully, it could be reversed and still leave the original windows intact.

 

[mgrover]

Secondary DG glazing would be an alternative - Done carefully, it could be reversed and still leave the original windows intact.

i dont want to start a war

this property has some of it, and it looks absolutely terrible.

am going to reverse all of them and make all the sash windows work since theres some painted shut

 

[Itchinfilth]

I've always preferred the less intrusive method in old houses and leave things like insulation well alone but I'm probably the outlier and much more tolerable to wearing layers and lighting fires when it gets extra nippy.

 

[Liam]

Draught seal and insulate the accessible areas like the loft first, I think. These measures make the most appreciable difference.

Afterwards, if you still can't suffer the cold, consider taking further steps.

I'd consider draught sealing the windows as part of a process of re-puttying and re-painting, etc. This will be an invisible improvement, as long as you don't use that carpet seal that runs the full length of the pulley stiles. Double glazing changes the appearance dramatically, and usually involves fixing the units in with very strong adhesive or tape. It's hard to get the double glazed units back out when they've fogged up after 20-30 years without breaking the wooden frame, resulting in a destroyed historic sash. I've stood on a glued in DG unit, trying to get it out of a mahogany frame, and it wouldn't budge.

 

[mgrover]

ngl it all sounds to me like just leave it alone and pay the bills.

they arent super high. its just one of those things if am dying here i was wondering if I should get sorted.

edit: and there is two log burners so will be abusing them(with dry wood).