Effectively Lagging Your House Against The Cold And Heat

Jul 27 2010

Insulating And Lagging Your House Tips and Hints

Category: DIY,Effectively Lagging My House — Mark Lawton @ 6:20 PM

Insulating And Lagging Your House Tips and Hints

Loft Insulation

Lagging against the heat and cold you may say surprisingly? Yes!

You can save energy both on central heating, and air conditioning if you do it right!

In the summer your house can get unbearably hot, and in the winter it can get unbearably cold, and/or be very costly to heat.

What can you do then, and how about the effectiveness, and the payback time?

If you only have 2, 4, 6 or 8″ (inches; one inch = 2.5cm approx), then it is time to beef up your loft lagging up to 12″, or 1 ft (30cm).

The results are immediate; it helps to keep the heat out in the summer, and keep it in during the winter.

Nothing has a faster payback time than installing effective loft lagging. It isn’t expensive, and you can even get a grant towards it in some countries/areas!

Half of your heat is lost through the loft, so reduce it!

You can fit it yourself, (wear safety equipment to protect you against the fibre-glass, be careful; watch where you are treading in the loft, as you’ll come through the plasterboard in some homes that are not boarded out in the loft!)

***WATCH POINT*** Be sure to insulate any water tanks in the loft, as they will cool down a lot more (and will freeze and may burst in the winter). Be sure fit no insulation beneath them (to keep them warmer). Better still, fit a combination boiler, and dispense with your hot, cold, and header water tank(s).

Roof Insulation

If you have a loft conversion, then it is important to lag inside the roof area as above, rather than below, so that you get heat from the house into the area, but still don’t lose as much through the roof tiles, or slates. If you don’t use the room a great deal you can insulate the floor a little, as well as the roof, and therefore get the best of both worlds; but you may need to heat your loft converted room a little more in the winter.

The benefits also not only include keeping in the heat; but also keeping out the excessive heat from the sun during the Summer, and so helping to prevent the roof cavity from becoming a “sweat box” if you are using it to live in.

Another area where you can save money, and retain heat or keep it out to some extent, is to install cavity wall insulation. Very modern houses usually have a layer of insulation in between the inner breeze blocks and the outer brickwork, but earlier houses will have just an air gap.

While air is a good insulator, it isn’t as good as cavity wall filling. Air also convects, causes draughts, and cool air sinks to the lowest point.

The payback time is reasonable, and the comfort levels in the home will improve greatly. A third of the heat is lost through the walls, and this can help to reduce this greatly.

I prefer the modern insulation like above, as this does not fall out of holes and cracks when doing DIY, or drilling holes in the wall.

The “old type” using small balls of what looks like “polystyrene tiles” falls out of the cavity when exposed. Most use the modern fibre type, and this holds together well.

Under my stairs was always a cold place, and when it was done I could feel the difference under there right away!

They also asked if I wanted the walls lagging inside my porch and conservatory. I opted for this to be done as well, to keep the heat out of the house in the summer on the conservatory, and at the front to keep out the cold, as it is North facing at the front of my house.

I’ll tell you… it does work. If you don’t have a cavity, you can insulate your walls inside (losing space though and having to redecorate), or have a cladding on the outside of your house added instead, but these options are costly.

A “cheap” alternative, may be to line your walls yourself where required with thick lining foam and then paper over this.

Grants may be available for standard cavity wall insulation (in the UK at least anyway), and the price left remaining for you to pay is very reasonable, with maybe a ten year payback time, or much less than that if you get a good Government grant towards some of the installation costs.

One point that I really noticed about cavity wall insulation, is not only how much more and longer any heat is retained; but how good it is at stopping walls from warming up inside the house after the sun has been out all day in the height of summer.

I have observed that very good loft lagging, combined with properly installed cavity wall insulation has been proven as the two most effective thermal barriers against not only the cold and heat losses, in the Winter; but also an excellent barrier helping to prevent your house from overheating in the summer.

The savings then are not only on heat losses, but also on heat gain in the summer; reducing the amount of air-conditioning time required.

OK how about under the floorboards?

Underfloor Insulation

There is the option of having under-floor insulation sprayed into place under the floorboards.

Under Floor Insulation

Or you can have sections of insulation fitted under the floor.

The cold air circulating around under floorboards, and can make the floor feel very cold, clammy and damp. The insulation provides a thermal break, and you can save up to fifty pounds (£50.00) a year from heat loss in this way, apart from having warm feet!

If you have a concrete floor you can add more underlay, but I have found personally, that standard underlay, and a carpet are fine, or laminate floor on top of insulating underlay. (Personally I find laminate floors in main living areas cold, dusty with loose dust, and noisy). Carpets may hold more pests and dust, but they are less airborne; you can always clean and vacuum them regularly. That is just my opinion anyway!

The above are the most cost-effective ways of saving money, with faster payback times; but what else can you do?

Double glazing is another effective way, but it is costly compared to how much you save; however it adds value to the property, looks nice, and it does work.

Double Glazing

The gap in between the glass should be at least 16mm, and this will act as a thermal break from the cold.

Pilkington “K” (trade mark) glass is another add-on; and this will cause low frequency infrared (heat producing) wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum to bounce off and stay indoors, and so keeping in the heat.

Pilkington K Glass

They can also call it “low E” double glazing…

Low E Double Glazing

Benefits as well from double glazing are…

Better insulation properties
Easier to clean
More secure locks usually
Looks good for longer
No painting required
Does not rot

On the downside, the double glazing panels may leak, and allow moisture in between the glass, and the uPVC may change colour from exposure to the ultraviolet rays from the sun.

Cheap locks and fittings may break, rust, or become sloppy and loose. Always insist on the best that you can afford!

Obviously with a very long payback time, but a nice add-on to make your house look nice, and maybe even give a little extra storage, the addition of a porch is a nice idea.

Porch Keeps House Warmer

Don’t forget to follow any legalities as regards planning permission, and sizing!

A conservatory on the rear of the house, especially if it is on a sunny aspect is a great addition, giving you an extra room, storage, and gaining heat from the sun.

Conservatory Keeps House Warmer

Again, be careful with planning permission, and do the job right.

Get the foundations laid down correctly with a thermal break, and damp protection etc.

What else can you do?

Lag your pipes… Lag all pipes, including central heating pipes under the floor, so that your main heat comes from your radiators, and not the pipes where you don’t want it!

Lag pipes that are suspect to freezing, and consider extra layers where it is exceptionally likely, and/or use a small greenhouse heater in the winter to protect them, paraffin, or a small 150 Watt electric “thermo-tube” or electric panel set on frost protection only to save money on energy.

Philips Thermo Tube-Thermotube

***Watch Point *** Safety alert… be sure to be safe with naked flames, and electricity while these units or appliances are left unattended, and only use equipment designed for this purpose!

Be aware of children playing, or messing with the appliances! If in doubt use a proven safety approved child safe method of heating!

Lag your pipes… This can be an effective way to help to stop the pipes from freezing in the winter if they are in cold areas; and also help to keep the heat in the pipes so that you get the heat where you want it!

Use simple “clip around” insulation as shown below. It makes a difference, and also reduces noise from central heating pipes as they expand and contract under the floorboards, as well as deadening water flow noises as well!

Water Regulation Pipe Insulation Lagging

Fit foil on the wall behind radiators to reflect heat beck into the room, and reduce losses through walls. Add a reflective (foil lined) radiator shelf to direct heat out towards the centre of the room

Radiator Reflective Insulationg Foil

Other measures you can take are to use draught strips on entry and exit doors…

Door Draught Excluder

Or Rubber door strip…

Door-Draught-Excluder

Just trim it to length to fit across the bottom of the door to help to seal out cold air. Remember if you can see light coming through, cold air can too!

Or use a brush strip door draught excluder these work well on more uneven floors, as the bristles will move easily, and they shouldn’t scratch or damage floors a much as rubber ones may do.

Just watch out for loose grit from your shoes on polished floors dragging under the door and scratching the floor!

Brush Strip Draught Excluders

Brush strips on the letterbox, this will help too…

Letterbox Draught Exclude

Fit draught excluder strip around the door frame…

Draught Excluder Strip

If you have a cat, and need to use a cat flap, buy a modern cat flap that not only uses a magnet so only your cat can get in, but also seals and shuts tightly to help to keep out the cold air, and draughts.

Cat Flap With Draught Excluder

If fitting a mortice lock, (mortise lock) or similar, make sure it has a key hole cover; this will keep out cutting keyhole draughts. Most modern quality uPVC doors have a key flap built-in.

Keyhole Cover & Mortice Lock

These are some basic, and various ways to save on excessive heat loss, or gain, but not only to save money, but to make your home a warm, and welcoming place to live in.

Always have your damp course checked, damp needs heat to dry out, and it will feel cold and clammy in a damp room or house…

Damp Course Treatment

… and have it repaired and/or treated if required.

Check for leaky guttering…

Leaky Guttering Damp Causes

… and excessive condensation and staining on walls….

Damp On Walls And Floors

These are also areas in the house where cold clammy rising damp will feel cold if there are damp course or guttering leak problems.

Get the leaks or damp course repaired first, then treat the walls after they have dried out before re-decorating the room(s).

Damp Seal To Treat Damp Areas And Walls

Always ensure adequate ventilation for excessive humidity build up; and install windows with vents built-into them.

Window Trickle Air Vent

I find a “trickle air vent” installed or built into uPVC windows will help to stop, or stop condensation and damp on walls inside windows; especially on cold North facing rooms!

Don’t employ cowboys, and always get three to five quotes before proceeding with the best one for you, which may not be the cheapest, but offers the best quality combined with value, and a good written warranty where applicable!