Best insulate a 1930's cottage ?

[scotsmart]

I know its possibly a strange question but as our HA seem incapable of doing anything about our insulation properties then aa is usual and prefferable anyway we will doubtless end up diy-ing this also to ensure its done right?

With this in mind, whats more important loft insulation or draughtproofing, or windows, doors etc we have what passes for doubleglazing all round (but that is still quite draughty by all accounts) we have a wooden front door, but a double glazed rear kitchen door! a not that great a fitting loft hatch, under minimum loft insulation and cheap cord carpets in a lot of rooms ( not our choices fitted by previous tenants but brand new so left for now untill diy/decoration completed at which point they will be replaced)

And after whats more important for point of view of heat loss, what cheap, easy tips, tricks or solutions are there to making the house better insulated (is there anyways to make the storage heaters more efficient? give out heat for longer or cheaper?) and is there any alternatives to shop bought insulation products that would be readily and cheaply available possibly..

As always any and all help, assistance and or guidance greatly appriciated.


Slanj

[Milims]

Are eligible for anything like this? http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environment ... G_10018661

[contadina]

Do as Milims says get on the ball by contacting the government and get an assessment to see what you need and what grants you can get. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ is another good site as is http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2006/pbrn12.htm if you are renting from a landlord.

As the wait was too long (winter was looming), we contacted one of the approved companies to insulate a house we rent in the UK and even without the grant for both cavity wall and loft insulation it was only a couple of hundred quid and has saved the tenants so much money.

If only there were similar schemes in Italy .

[scotsmart]

Em
Now you see he reason i asked how to insulate or where best to insulate was as described above giving a fairly accurate descriprition of why i am ask? mainly due to it would seem this particular HA's unhelpfull and unweilding involvement?? hence why i wanted or was at least willing to diy it, it seems that we HA tenants dont have it quite as easy as others, making the whole system longwinded and tiresome (if the HA wants to be involved that is?) and this one apparently does not so prior to us freezimg tomdeath, with all due respect and thanks of course for the previous answers i would if those that answered wouldnt mine would like to poose the question once more.

How do i best insulate a 1930's cottage ?


Many thanks to all normally great information sadly on this occassion not, i look forward to hearing from all



Slanj

[greenorelse]

One possibility is that of wainscoting; some people love it, some (irrationally imo) hate it. Tongue and groove with a top: it gives you a little more shelf space around the place and can be filled with insulation; I have plans to do mine this coming year. Best to do such stuff in summer when humidity levels are low and so wood is at its driest.

Paint it whatever colour you want to avoid the pine finish look. A friend of mine has his painted dark blue and it looks beautiful and understated, with very pale buttery colour limewashed walls.

Another thought is to add a lean-to or conservatory on the south wall.

[scotsmart]

Clair
Many thanks for that, we do have a kind of small house as it is, but had considered dropping the ceilings as they are slightly higher than normal by about a foot or so? (which would also allow us to loose all the god awful artexed ceilings in one foul sweep) although the walls would be a bit harder unless sockets & light switches were ressessed but certainly something worth thinking about i am sure, given that its an old (ish) country cottage pine clad walls would at least reasonably well fit in with the whole ambient feel of the property.

The sunroom, conservatory at least for now is out the question although one i briefly thought about until i saw the build costs, that simply cant be met right now with lots going on at once and as its a HA property permissions would require to be sought and granted, a rear porch certainly would be a great help to dry a wet puppy in, take sand filled boots off from beach walks etc without a doubt so may be looked at once again at a later date, when there is not nearly so much pulls on our ever decreasing limited resources.

Helpfull points to consider however if not the cheapest ones, many thanks again.

Anyone else?


Slanj

[greenorelse]

Yeah, most commercial conservatories are dear. However, is there a cheap interim solution?

Remember, a lot of heat from dwellings is whisked away by wind, which I imagine you have more than your fair share of. We certainly do and we're planting trees on the west and south specifically for that. These take time but are cheap and easy.

Thinking a bit more outside the box, anything you can put in between your house and the wind is a Good Thing in the short term, no matter how ugly. If you don't have troublesome neighbours, use your noddle to dream up anything cheap that will keep the wind off your house. Only you can do this thinking but running through my mind are things like pallets nailed together with or without straw bales, scavenged doors and windows held up by whatever means you can think of. Even large planters or an old shed, a disused bus, anything! Make a scruffy, draughty porch - even one with the side not facing the prevailing wind open - with some FreeCycled doors and a bit of plywood and you will be amazed at the difference it makes.

Learn to live with a bit of cobbled together scruffiness that saves you money!

Beg or steal a cheap caravan, tie it down near the house door, use that for the puppy drying and boot changing. The less moisture in your house, the better.

Thinking of moisture, is your land dry and well-drained? This is vital in an old house, which probably has no damp proof course. Draining land is a very effective way of improving such a house and is cheap to do if you've the time and strength.

Something else we did was paint the bottom foot of wall around the house matt black (exterior matt emulsion) and any spark of sunlight is absorbed by it, helping with heat and damp. Every tiny bit helps and it looks quite smart.

You're trying to conserve what heat you produce, make it last as long as possible. Put some straw bales against the most exposed side. It can be composted in the summer. As I said, you have to be creative if you've little money! Good luck!

[scotsmart]

Clair
thanks for that all great suggestions of course, sadly none of which we could really make use of given that our cottage is a rented housing association property and we would never get away with any of the measures you have mentioned sadly apart from the trees and a hedge, we overlook a world reknowned beauty spot and are on a Scottish tourism route so wouldnt even attempt any of them, (we are having issues over a driveway at present let alone anything else) so anything i try will require to be far, far more subtle thats for sure, much as i like your idea of rewalling with straw bales this also wouldnt be allowed or accepted, sad as it is then its back to the drawing board for me for now.

Many thanks food for thought though and will certainly get my grey matter wondering what i can do however..


Slanj

[seasidegirl]

We moved into our 1930s house three years ago. The first winter it was freezing but it seems to be warming up each winter, or maybe I'm getting used to it as well.

I think one of the easiest ways we've warmed things up is by replacing the carpets and putting down a good thick underlay. We're lucky to have a carpet fitter in the family but I can't see the harm in querying sources of secondhand carpets and underlay. So many of the draughts were coming up through the floorboards and it's so much nicer being warm underfoot. It's made a huge difference. Hotels and offices throw out very good carpets, my nephew tells me, and underlay so it could be worth checking out local resources.

Our kitchen was really cold and putting down a new level floor with a self levelling mixture didn't cost much and then the lino on top of that made a huge difference. I've got my eyes open for rugs and runners too. Handy if you've got a dog.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

One possibility is that of wainscoting; some people love it, some (irrationally imo) hate it. Tongue and groove with a top: it gives you a little more shelf space around the place and can be filled with insulation; I have plans to do mine this coming year. Best to do such stuff in summer when humidity levels are low and so wood is at its driest.

That's a great idea. I've done this on walls where a cache misère is required and painting ain't going to do the job. The gap is only about 5cm but that new fangled shiny insulation is ideal. The more wall covered the better.

Do not floccipend the humble curtain. Lined cutains are extremely good at conserving heat in front of draughty windows and doors.

[scotsmart]

Yip
Thermal curtains we have, the carpets are all new, but cheap cord in some rooms admittedly (not our choice admittedly but brand new so we will hold onto them untill our decorations are all in truth completed) although i do like the idea of using old carpet as underlay although not really in a position to be able to refit new ones ourselves im not so sure a company would fit new over old? i will however have a word with a few and see what they say?

I had thought about the silverfoil or bubblewrap principle behind the wood however having owned and built a few campervans in my time this is the principle under which they are in all honesty built so that idea had crossed my mind, my fear would be expense if doing whole rooms what might be best is simple rolls of turkey foil ? call me mad essentric or whatever better than nothing and so much cheaper than foil insulation for sure ? it would seriously be cost prohibitive unless a trade or bulk source could be found im sure but great idea an cheaper alternative would require to be found between cost of new pine pannelling & foil insulation it would end up being a rather expensive remedy surely, a possible compromise would be only doing outside walls ??

Liking it though, by all means keep them coming .


Slanj

[greenorelse]

Clair

Aaaahh...I wondered who this 'Clair' was. Just figured it out.

[scotsmart]

Clair

Aaaahh...I wondered who this 'Clair' was. Just figured it out.

Loads of appoligies so have i oops

btw just today applied under Tescos insulation grants scheme so lets see what if any help they can or will offer? should be educational if nothing else .....

[Thomzo]

Loft insulation first. It's the easiest DIY job.
Tapestries on the walls? Seriously a simple tent of second hand curtains around the bed, hung from the ceiling, will keep you warm at night.
Don't forget to put curtains over the doors as well as the windows.
Rugs on the floor. You can make rag rugs from hessian and strips cut from old t-shirts (if you haven't used them all to make shopping bags that is).
Train the puppy to sit on your lap.

Hope you warm up soon.
Zoe

[scotsmart]

Zoe
Getting a King Charles Puppy to sit on or next to you is not a problem however getting her back off you is another problem right enough but you are dead right she is a great hot water bottle they are well know as very lovable lap dogs that must have a much higher blood temp than our own as she is always boiling....

Like some of the other ideas, combined im sure will make a difference, we are trying to arrange to get some pine cladding to put up on the walls in our spare (unheated) room which as none of the doors shut (due to them all being warped) it would we hope raise the temp in that room and then subsequently in the rest of the house

A house full of puppies sounds good also though, inbuilt central heating (overall by my reckoning we could very probably feed and look after them all cheaper than we could likely heat this cottage right )


P.s. Were hoping T***o will sort out the insulation and draughtproofing issues shortly if not i truly will be rapidly be coming a jumble sale fanatic seeking old blankets/quilts