Eglu Cube Coop For Sale

[squidsin]

Hi there! I'm new to this part of the forum - what a useful resource! We moved into our house (Victorian semi in West London) last August and it cost loads to heat during the winter as it's incredibly draughty. I don't even know where to start getting the place insulated - could anyone give me any tips/numbers? We want to have the loft insulated, but plan to convert it to a bedroom and bathroom once we've got some cash again in a couple of years time. Should we wait to get it done, in that case? Thanks in advance.

[Christian]

I would start with cavity wall insulation. Speak to your energy supplier as they will usually sort you out with a good deal. Our house only cost around £200 ish to have the CWI.

 

Is your house double glazed? Lots of heat is lost through the windows, do thick curtains in Winter are important. Buy cheap curtains from Ikea and double them up with wadding in between.

 

Simple things like draught excluders at doors etc. Easy to make too.

 

I heard it is cheaper to leave the heating on low all the time to keep the chill off, rather than turning the heating up/down all the time.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We had cavity wall insulation put in just a few weeks ago. Brilliant deal - about £175 to do the whole house (a 3 bed detached) .

[Charlottechicken]

I don't think squidsin can have cavity wall insulation as the property is Victorian, so probably has solid walls?

 

I can only suggest shutting the doors on rooms you don't use and leaving the radiators on the frost free setting in those rooms, and laying some old carpet down in the loft for now (Iboarded my loft for storage last year and the floorboards make great insulation, plus I put all the old carpets up there too ) . If you are planning to have the loft converted in a couple of years they will rip everything out that you have put up there anyway. It helps to have carpeted floors or at least well fitted flooring too. Like Christian says, good thick curtains and maybe door curtains help too. You don't have any odd air vents around do you?

 

My house is Victorian and to be honest earlier in the year I thought it would be better to mezzanine the sofa, as it was warmer at head height

[kevtheplumber]

if you are definately converting the loft you may as well insulate between the roof eaves as this will need to be done anyway, not cheap but very effective, have a look at the kingspan website

[ali-s]

We used Kingspan when we did the loft conversion. It made such a difference we have used it again in the second loft space. we plan to insulate the third loft space next year and we will use Kingspan again. Kingspan is not cheap but well worth the money.

[chicken bark]

Growing up I remember my Mum climbing under the floorboards and insulating all the pipes under there. We then spent each Winter plugging up gaps in the floorboards and window frames with paper - I say each Winter because each year we found more draughts. I also ended up with plastic stuck on my window (you put a hairdryer on it so it goes taught).

 

Good carpets and curtains and put draught excluder strips where you can.

 

Where I am now I do as Christian mentioned and have the heating on low but all the time. It works out a little cheaper for me.

[Charlottechicken]

I also ended up with plastic stuck on my window (you put a hairdryer on it so it goes taught).

 

 

I can recommend this if anyone has a window which attracts condensation, even a double glazed unit. I have some on the windows in some rooms and as it never gets cold like glass so condensation does not form. I took it off the bay window when I decorated in there a couple of weeks ago and regretted it. The condensation that formed ruined the new paint on the windowsill and the windows were running with water

[The Dogmother]

My house is similar to Charlottechicken's - Victorian, end of terrace, solid walls. I have the original floorboards, so no carpets; I just wear 2 pairs of socks in the winter. TBH, with the woodburner going, it is pretty warm, but I'm not one to have the heat on unnecessarily (i.e. during the day when I am at work) so it's usually OK and my heating bills aren't too high. I looked into the idea of having the heat on low all day, but it's only suitable for certain heating systems/types of house.

 

The roof spaces are insulated and it's warm enough

[chickweed]

I have a 1920s house which is very draughty with original windows and fire places etc. The best thing i did was to put heavy lined curtains at the windows and especially at the front door. I even keep the door curtain shut during the day, as there is still light from the hall window.

Any fire places that are not currently in use are partially blocked with gaps to allow some airflow and prevent damp.

[Charlottechicken]

Just wondering OP have you had a warmer winter

[Gertie]

My house is coooolllldddd (cold)!! But nowhere near as cold as it was. I contacted the council & they gave me numbers of companies that do loft insulation as part of energy saving projects so it was cheaper. That has helped. Some good underlay under the 2 new carpets has made massive difference. A door curtain and draughts excluder. Also, when I had sash windows previously, I cut strips of bubble wrap and pushed that into the gaps with a blunt knife. That really helped minimize draughts.

[..lay a little egg for me]

As well as looking at Kingspan for the loft, there are places that do sheep's wool insulation which is supposed to be more effective than Kingspan. It is more "eco-friendly" too!

[Charlottechicken]

Funny as it sounds, I found my front room to be much warmer now it has blown vinyl wallpaper. I do regret pulling the glazing film off the bay window though, I'll have to put it back up soon!