My annoying house!!!

hufartd

Dampness caused by cavity wall insulation is pretty much ancient history.
Air bricks are there for a reason, don't cover them up whether you have open flued appliances or not.

Nimby

Try living in the warm parts and sleep in the cold parts of your property (and vice versa) according to season.

I was quoted £1200 for cavity wall insulation 30 years ago for a modest semi. So I carefully put 8" of fibreglass in the attic and it was still freezing indoors every winter. Triple glazed all the upstairs windows myself by making up well-sealed, hinged secondary glazing frames. Added secondary glazing downstairs. It was still freezing cold! Moved to a cottage with 1 metre thick walls because we were told they were always warm. Freezing cold for most of the year! Put in 8" of insulation in the roof. Brrr. Moved to a colder country and immediately put 12"-16" of insulation in the attic and added a 22' solar greenhouse/ conservatory along the southern façade. Brrr....

Are the only warm houses those with central heating and bills payable only by the professional classes?

Chadford

Had this done a couple of years ago.
Gas bills have dropped noticeably.
The house now retains the heat overnight much much better after the central heating has gone off, no dashing out of bed to get dressing gowns on in cold mornings any more.

johntheexpat

Just an empirical observation from when we moved house.  With furniture in the living room and pictures on the walls (SWMBOs dad was an artist, so we had a few!) and with curtains up etc etc, the gas fire would keep us warm when only the central section was lit, even in winter.
Then, after the furniture was moved out, the pictures were gone (but the curtains were still up) I spent a not-terribly-cold-on-the-scale-of-things couple of nights with the heater going full blast and still couldn't get warm.  I figured it was the lack of furniture and especially the lack of wall decorations that allowed draughts to really get going and although the air may have been warm enough,  if you are in a draught then you'll never feel warm.

So would it be possible to cover your wall with stuff (pictures, shelves, hangings, wall mounted tv's etc) and place furniture around with a specific intention of reducing draughts.  Always remember that old castles used to have all their walls covered with tapestries and other hangings to make them habitable.  Not much in the way of insulation but reduce the draughts and make the place more comfortable.

Andyh4324

This may come down to having less air to heat with the furniture in the room.  I understand the thinking though.

Miyazaki

I live in a mid-terrace, built in the late 1970's. Is there any way of knowing if I can even get cavity wall insulation? I have no idea if the walls are solid or not.

Does cavity wall insulation reduce the noise from neighbours?

Cheers.

Phil57

Built in the mid seventies, very unlikely to be solid wall, no more than £200 to do the job, get one of the cavity wall insulation company to do a free check.

Pinko

It isn't ancient history, as a builder i get 1 call on average every couple of weeks from clients who have noticed damp. After talking to them most have had free cavity wall insulation, and most get fobbed off by the installer when they make a complaint.