Insulate solid wall or not

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I am on with renovating a old farm house.

When i moved into the property the heating was run of a solid fuel boiler, i could never get the place warm, i calculated that there were insuffcient rads in the house, 21K btu and it needed 65K btu.

I have just installed a trianco solid fuel system and the house is heating up nicely.

the walls of the house are at least 2' thick and don't seem that cold to the touch.

My question is should i insulate the walls and if i do what should i use?

I am thinking of using flexible lining and plaster boarding over the top, but i am worried about it not breathing correctly.

could anyone offer any advice or point me in the right direction.
 
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if you use (and heat) the house all year round, the walls will warm up and maintain an even temperature.

yes, they will lose heat. Solid masonry has very little insulating capacity, even when very thick. I used to know the figures, but it is something ridiculous, like an inch of polystyrene insulates better than two foot of concrete.

However, if the house is used and heated intermittently, the walls will get very cold and will absorb a huge amount of heat - they will take several days to reach a comfortable temperature, and in this case, it is best to internally dry-line the walls with plasterboard, vapour barrier, insulation foam/quilt.
 
Hi John

thanks for your reply. I am going to insulate the walls after what you have said.

Please could you explain what it is i need to do,i don't really want to go much thicker than 20-25mm or it will mean i have to do something with the window sills as the plaster board will come out past them.

Is dry lining when you put batons on the wall then insulate and then plaster board? This option would be ok some walls but not others (as mentioned above).

What is a vapour barrier?

Please could you tell me which materials i should use, and any names brands of these materials.

Is foam/quilt. like the stuff used in lofts

cheers
 
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In fact, 25mm of standard EPS returns quite a bit a better U-value than 600mm of medium density limestone. EPS would be about U-1.26. stone wall would be about U-1.65. Go to a phenolic foam, such as Celotex, and you need less than 10mm thick to return the same U-value.

I wouldn't hesitate to insulate. Personally I'd use a thermal laminate board fixed direct to the wall surface. e.g. Lafarge Thermalcheck K or similar. A 50mm board will make a dramatic difference to your heat loss and heating costs.

If the external surface is reasonably breathable you will not create any condensation or damp problems.
 

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