Brickwork supporting a bay window?

[pmx_super]

I have a 3 bed semi build in 1939. It has a curved bay window the full height of the house at the front, with exposed brickwork below the window at ground floor level and tiles below the window on the first floor.

I was wondering if houses in this style - which you see all over the place - had a standard / expected type of brickwork in the bay? For example would it be a double/single skin at ground/first floor?

 

[stuart45]

It would usually be a cavity wall at ground level, but timber frame and tiled above the window. Nowadays there are lintels which will take a cavity wall above a bay. Some bays did have a single skin of brickwork over the top. The only ones with cavity walls above had brick piers and lintels in between, or some had a concrete slab running between 2 houses on the semi's.

 

[pmx_super]

but timber frame and tiled above the window.

So all that's between me and the elements is tiles, timber and plaster!?

Is there a modern approach for insulating this section of "wall"? I was already thinking of putting a foil coated insulator behind the radiator that sits in the bay on the first floor - based on what you say it feels as if that would be a good starting point.

 

[stuart45]

You can put in insulation between the timber studs.

 

[pmx_super]

thanks, I'll lift a couple of tiles and have a look.

 

[stuart45]

You will probably have plywood sheathing under the battens.

 

[Steve]

One of my neighbours is refurbishing his 1940's semi with a top-to-bottom bay. He has found that there is no insulation in the tiled wall. He has taken off the internal finish, added extra framing to form a windowsill and an area of flat wall - there was only ever a small ledge, and the wall was curved. He then insulated it and added a radiator to the flat wall.

However, the downstairs brick wall looks like its built entirely with bricks "end on" due to the curve of the wall. This leads me to believe that the wall is a solid wall here. Though they could be half bricks.

 

[IJWS15]

We lived in a '52 version in Derby for a while. No window sill upstairs and similar thickness above the downstairs bay between the top of the window and the ceiling.

I built a box abov ethe bay downstairs to bring it out level with the plaster below the window and filled it with insulation, boxed in below the window upstairs, fitted window sill (useful) and filled with insulation. Installed 8" of fibreglass in the floorspace right across the bay. ours was rendered and all work was done inside.

Halved the gas bill.

 

[pmx_super]

Great input, thanks everyone. It hadn't occured to me that the absence of a window ledge upstairs gave away the wall thickness.

Installed 8" of fibreglass in the floorspace right across the bay.

Halved the gas bill.

If I understand correctly you insulated the floor space between ground and first floors in the "crescent" of the bay? Why did you do that?

 

[pmx_super]

However, the downstairs brick wall looks like its built entirely with bricks "end on" due to the curve of the wall. This leads me to believe that the wall is a solid wall here. Though they could be half bricks.

Mine is the same. I'll assume it's solid.