House is freezing?!! Thinking of Cavity Wall insulation ++

[and1c]

ok guys, my house is a 1940's/50's semi.
Well built going on what I have seen so far and compared to past houses, but it is a very COLD house....

Recently had a full new Bosch Worcester Combi installed (with new rads etc) and the house is ok now when the heating is on, but as soon as its off the heat drains very quickly.
it is entirely double glazed now however the bathroom and bedroom 1 have the old style, thin double glazing which Im thinking of replacing as they are very cold rooms all the time pretty much!

What do you think to cavity wall insulation? The loft is quite windy! (no felt on roof) and the house is very dry at present..
I dont want to fill the cavities and then get damp problems etc (same old dilemma with CWI)

There are vents in nearly all rooms that let a lot of cold air in so I have temporily covered them. its not for the purpose of gas venting, but its barely helped. Floors downstairs are concrete underneath which Im sure doesnt help, but its upstairs thats the main issue.

Loft has insulation but its not that new looking at it.

What is my best move do you think?

i was thinking

1/ cavity wall insulation
2/ kingspan the loft
3/ 2 new double glazed units

is there anything else I should/can do?

thanks

 

[JohnD]

1) do the loft, yourself, with good cover, no gaps, and between 150mm and 250mm depending what you can afford and fit in. If you do it this weekend you will start seeing the benefit immediately. Rolls of fibreglass are cheaper and easier than Kingspan, unless your loft is built to Habitable Room standards when you may have a reason for considering boards. If your loft timbers do not seem deep enough, or you have or want loft flooring, report back in the Lofts section, there are easy ways to deal with it.

2) get prices for cavity wall insulation. It makes a big difference and is not very expensive. start by looking at the websites of the companies that supply your gas and electricity, they usually have "special offers" and in my experience do a good quality job. They have a reputation to guard and can be relied upon not to run off with your money or do a bodge job and refuse to put it right.

 

[and1c]

1) do the loft, yourself, with good cover, no gaps, and between 150mm and 250mm depending what you can afford and fit in. If you do it this weekend you will start seeing the benefit immediately. Rolls of fibreglass are cheaper and easier than Kingspan, unless your loft is built to Habitable Room standards when you may have a reason for considering boards. If your loft timbers do not seem deep enough, or you have or want loft flooring, report back in the Lofts section, there are easy ways to deal with it.

2) get prices for cavity wall insulation. It makes a big difference and is not very expensive. start by looking at the websites of the companies that supply your gas and electricity, they usually have "special offers" and in my experience do a good quality job. They have a reputation to guard and can be relied upon not to run off with your money or do a bodge job and refuse to put it right.

thanks Jon
I will post up in the loft section regarding shallow loft timbers. The loft is not a habitable room at present however it already has fibreglass insulation between the joists. Although the age and quality of this are suspect though it is of a decent thickness.

2/ will do this. Hopefull npower will have a preferred supplier!

 

[IJWS15]

Do you have a bay window at the front?

We lived in a semi with bays and the wall between the ground and first floor bays was a 2" thick timber frame with render on the outside and board on the indside (nothing in the floor space) - no insulation at all.

Boxed in and insualted above the downstairs window and below the first floor window and insulation in the floor space around the perimeter of the bay.

This ALONE cut the heating bill for the house by 30%!