subject: Three key areas where my house will benefit from insulation [print this page] Three key areas where my house will benefit from insulation
The first area I wish to insulate is my loft. It is a large area that is in need of some attention. The whole area is empty and allows the heat from the house to escape in to the sky. My first step is to lay insulation roll in between the floor / roof joists. This is a very easy job and is done in less than a day. I have decided to also lay insulation foil backed boards. This will reflect any heat downwards back into my house and will allow me to use the insulated loft area for much needed storage.
The second area is my suspended ceilings. When I purchased this house, the previous owner decided to lower the high ceilings and fit more modern looking one, suspended by wire. I intend to fill this cavity with lightweight high-density acoustic thermal insulation. Obviously the weight is a big concern due to the nature of the suspended ceiling. But this is catered for by many manufacturers and readably available from various outlets. I will have the added benefit that noise from below and above will be reduced and the one property that is a huge benefit is all the products used are fire retardant. The whole list of jobs can be done as a do-it-yourself project. The products are light and easy to trim and cut, the only drawback is the products are very bulky and you may have to have them delivered unless you are lucky enough to own a van.
The last area for my insulation project has to be handed over to the experts. The house is constructed using a cavity wall method. This cavity is between two brick walls built with a gap in between. The walls are held together via randomly placed metal wall ties. The insulation is dry and will be pumped in with special equipment. They will fill the cavity from the top. The dry beads of insulation will fall down filling the cavity. Some systems use wet insulation but after having read about it on the internet I chose the dry system as with a cavity wall filled with wall ties the wet system can clog up on the ties thus reducing the ability for the wet insulation to reach a one hundred percent fill rate. The last thing I want is pockets of air trapped which will reduce the productivity of the product.
There are lots of reasons to insulate your house at the moment. The cost of heating fuel, oil, electricity, diesel and even wood or coal make it a sensible move to insulate the whole house. The other reason is the environment (in that case you will need co-friendly insulation or as the Danes call it Miljrigtig efterisolering loft). I will keep warmer whilst reducing my carbon foot print. And the last reason is comfort and better standard of living as noise pollution from floor to floor will be reduced if not eradicated. And my house is safer due to the materials being fire retardant.
