I love insulation
Ok this is going to sound really, really sad and you are going to think that I’m a bit weird, but I’m going to declare here and now that I love insulation. Honestly, I can’t get enough of it. Why? Because it is very cheap and it keeps your home incredibly warm during cold weather and keeps it cool in hot weather. It is, without a doubt, the most affordable way of making your home ‘environmentally friendly’.The building regulations have improved a lot over the last fifty years and for some time it has been a requirement to have insulation in all new external walls, roofs and floors, but unfortunately I don’t think the standards for insulation go far enough.
Save money
When you do renovation work I believe that you have to set your own standards and when it comes to insulation you should go way beyond the standard asked for by building regulations. If you do it means you will need even less heat to warm your home, you will save money on your energy bills, while at the same time, having less impact on the environment. It’s a win, win, win situation.
I recently renovated my new home in London and decided to put insulation in every single available space; not just in the external walls and floors, but in every internal wall and every internal floor as well as additional insulation in the roof. 
Remember, heat rises and its often the case in poorly insulated homes the room downstairs are not warm enough because most of the heat has escaped to rooms upstairs, making them too warm. Putting insulation in all walls and floors stops heat moving from room to another in the house and keeps the heat where you want it most.
All of this insulation (and there is a lot of it!) cost me around £1800 and I calculated that I will recoup all of this money in just 3 years through savings in my heating bills. I can honestly say it is the warmest house I have ever been in. I’ve lost count of the number of times my wife has walked through the door on a chilly day and asked why the heating is on so high and me (in a very smug manner) letting her know that the heating isn’t on at all! Its brilliant!
If you have an existing lofty space that doesn’t have any insulation in it then now is the time for me to tell you off. There is no excuse for it. The majority of heat from a home is lost through the roof so please put in loft insulation as soon as possible. Honestly, it will save you a fortune in heating bills.
Do it right
It’s very important to remember that because most insulation is often sandwiched between walls of plasterboard or between floor and roof joists, it is very difficult to add insulation at a later date. It is something that you have to think about whenever any new construction is happening on your home and don’t cut any corners. It’s not worth it.
Contact your local building control officer or go online to www.energysavingtrust.org.uk to find out the minimum insulation requirements for the part of your home you are looking to improve. They will let you know what U-Value (a figure which states the thermal performance of building construction) you need to achieve through any wall, floor or roof construction.
With this information you should then contact one of the large insulation suppliers, such a Celotex (www.celotex.co.uk). Their technical advisors will discuss the best insulation products they have to achieve the required U-Value and what options are available to you if you want to go beyond the building regs.
Insulating your home to a high standard is critical. It keeps you warm; it reduces your energy bills while helping the environment.
Don’t let the government’s low standards hold you back.
sarah folwell
on Jun 11th, 2009
@ 10:17 pm:
Insulation distress call! I live in a small, end of terrace house in a village with no gas. It’s the coldest modern house I’ve ever lived in. Loft is really well insulated with double layer. However, downstairs floor is solid concrete with carpet, but feels soooo cold with the storage heaters struggling to heat the space. Is it worth considering laying some form of floor insulation and underfloor heating to supplement the the temperature? If so, what would you recommend? Thanks sarah
George Clarke
on Jun 12th, 2009
@ 11:49 am:
Hi Sarah. There is nothing worse than a cold house! I often specify ‘polyplumb’ who have what is called the ‘polypipe’ system. If you visit Polyplumb’s web site they have many types of systems to suit your specific needs and floor construction. Their pipe systems are often integrated with an insulation panel to make the heating even more efficient. I love underfloor heating so if I were you I would definitely go for it! George x
sarah folwell
on Jun 16th, 2009
@ 9:45 pm:
Hi George, Thanks for the advice on Polyplumb. Had a quick look at the website and the links and I think (unless I’m being particularly dense) you need to have a boiler/heat pump to use their systems. Unfortunately, I live in a village that doesn’t have gas and as a consequence I don’t have a boiler! I assume I would need to consider an ‘electric’ system with a different form of insulation beneath. sarah
George Clarke
on Jun 17th, 2009
@ 6:58 pm:
Yes you would….there are hundreds of electrical systems around as it has been around for longer…just make sure you go with a company will a long term guarantee. George x
Jason Simpson
on Jun 30th, 2009
@ 10:31 am:
Hi George – how about sound insulation? I live in West London and can be affected by aircraft noise from Heathrow. I’m considering converting my loft. Do you think that the current heat insulation requirements will also give me sufficient sound insulation or should I consider extra sound insulation?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes, Jason
George Clarke
on Jul 3rd, 2009
@ 8:10 pm:
Jason, the flight path is a nightmare. Everyone tells me you get used to it but I’m not convinced. No, the current heat insulation requirements will not be enough to kill the sound. It definitely worth looking into more effective sound insulation techniques. Visit the following company websites, ‘Kingspan’, ‘Celotex’ and also ‘British Gypsum’. The combination of more effective sound insulation and the use of special plasterboard products can have an enormous effect in reducing noise. Good luck! George
lucie
on Aug 5th, 2009
@ 9:15 am:
Hi Jason,
We lived in army quarters in Somerset, where we had harrier jump jets, helicopters and other fast jets flying literally past the windows every day and on regular night flight practice.
They had a window system (George I know you don’t like UPVC) I think that may have been German where it was triple glazed so once you shut the windows, you couldn’t hear a thing! In addtion, to help cool the house so you didn’t have to open the windows in summer, we had a ventilation system in the attic which allowed old air out and fresh in. It worked a treat…………………unfortunately, our last house, on the airfield from which they fly the army’s Apache helicopers, weren’t tripple glazed and I didn’t get used to it. I would definitely look into windows as well as insulation.
marioshea
on Aug 24th, 2009
@ 11:35 am:
Hi George, I live in Spain and I don’t think the Spanish builders know much about insulation! In the summer the house is like an oven and in the winter I freeze! I’m pretty sure it’s just brick and render with no cavity insulation. Apart from knocking the house down and starting again, how do i go about fixing this problem?
Mari
Amax
on Sep 19th, 2009
@ 7:54 am:
Hi George
I am reasonably good at DIY but never done any major insulating.
I am in the process of building a workshop / art room in the garden for my kids (and myself!) which we intend to use all year around.
Basically it is a glorified shed which I intend to insulate and I am getting my electrician to run electricity to it so that it can have light and heating in the winter evenings.
It is quite a big shed (6.0 x 3.6 x 2.6m) with 15mm T&G Shiplap on the outside, heavy duty felt on an apex roof and 45X34mm framework and a wooden floor on bearers. It will sit on a concrete base.
I want to insulate it as effectively as possible. I intend to clad both the walls and ceiling/roof on the inside with pine tongue and groove and put flooring ontop of the wooden floor of the shed.
I have been searching the net to find info on the correct way to insulate it but can’t seem to find a definitive guide just lots of different bits of info. Any chance you can advise please.
Do I use a vapour barrier on the walls and ceiling? What about the floor? What is a vapour barrier? Is there a specific make that is good? If so what thickness and does this go between the outer wall and the insulation or the insulation and the inner cladding.
Do I follow the same method on the ceiling?
What insulation should I use for the walls and ceiling?
How do I insulate the floor? What insulation should I use? Should I use a vapour barrier here? Should the vapour barrier be on top of the existing shed floor before the insulation or after the insulation but before the flooring? Any advice on product?
Thanks very much for your help in advance.
Patricia
on Sep 29th, 2009
@ 9:15 am:
i was thinking about getting cavity wall insulation in my flat, my down stairs neighbour is all for it, but a few people i have spoken to about it have said its not a good idea, saying the cavity space between the walls is there for a reason, whats you take on it