Insulating solid walls can greatly reduce your heating costs and make your home more comfortable.
If your house was built in the 1990s, its exterior walls may be solid walls rather than cavity walls.
Solid walls have no gaps, so they cannot be filled with cavity wall insulation. Cavity walls consist of two layers with a small gap or "cavity" between them. However, solid walls can be insulated from the inside or outside. This will cost more than insulating standard cavity walls, but you will also save more on heating bills.
Determine your wall type
If you have solid walls, then they are almost certainly not insulated, but the first thing you still need to know is what kind of walls you have.
If you can see the brickwork outside the house, look at the pattern of the bricks, as this can show how the walls were built.
Solid walls
If your home has solid walls, the bricks will have an alternating pattern, with some bricks laid across the wall so you can see the smaller end from the outside.
If your home has cavity walls, the bricks will usually have a uniform pattern, with all bricks laid lengthwise.
If the brickwork has been covered, you can also tell by measuring the width of the wall. Check a window or door on one of your exterior walls.
If the thickness of the brick wall is too thick, then it can be considered a cavity wall (except for shear walls). Narrower walls may be solid walls. Stone walls may be thicker, but are usually solid. If the house you live in uses a non-traditional structure (such as concrete, steel structure or wood structure building), you will need a professional installer with experience in insulated building types to advise on your options.
You can reduce these costs by carrying out insulation material installation work at the same time as other home renovations, solving the entire construction process at once. To reduce the cost of installing solid wall insulation, we recommend installing solid wall insulation material to insulate your entire house at once, completely renovating and replacing everything.
When you plan to renovate or install a new kitchen or bathroom, internal insulation materials can be installed. You can also spread the cost by handling one room at a time.
The cost of external insulation materials will also be lower if you install it while doing other work outside. If you have a new roof, or paint windows, or even install solar photovoltaic panels, then you may already have scaffolding set up, which can save a little cost. If your walls need repositioning or other repair work, then it is worth getting a quote for a comprehensive renovation including insulation - it may be cheaper than doing the two things separately.
Sometimes there is financial support available to help pay for the cost of solid wall insulation.
Internal wall insulation
Internal wall insulation is done by installing rigid extruded boards onto the walls, or by building a stud wall filled with insulation material (such as mineral wool fiber).
Internal insulation:
Installation is usually cheaper than external wall insulation. Can be very disruptive, but can be done room by room. Need to remove and reinstall baseboards, door frames and external accessories. May be difficult to fix heavy objects to internal walls, although special fixings can be used.
External wall insulation
External wall insulation involves fixing a layer of insulation material to the wall, then covering it with a special type of plastering (stucco) or cladding.
The finish can be smooth, textured, painted, tiled, paneled, pebbled, or finished with bricks.
External wall insulation:
Can be used without affecting the family, will not reduce the building area of your home.
Will update the appearance of the exterior wall.
Will improve weather resistance and sound insulation.
Fill cracks and gaps in brickwork, which will reduce airflow.
Extend the service life of walls by protecting the bricks.
Reduce condensation on internal walls and help prevent dampness (but cannot solve rising or penetrating dampness).
Can be installed simultaneously with external renovation works to reduce costs.
Not recommended if the external wall structure is not solid and cannot be repaired.
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