Solid wall insulation

Solid wall insulation

Up to 45% of heat from your home will escape through the walls if they are not insulated.
If your home was built before 1930 it will most likely have solid external walls with no cavity. The lack of a cavity means more heat can escape from your house through the walls.
Solid wall insulation could help you save up to 25% on fuel bills and cut your home’s carbon footprint.

Insulation can be applied to either the external or internal face of the wall and makes it much more difficult for the heat to pass through your walls.

We think of it like wrapping your home in a blanket, as the insulation creates a cocoon that slows down the rate at which heat escapes, keeping it inside your home for as long as possible.
If you’re not sure whether you have solid walls, you should be able to tell by looking at the brickwork on the outside of your house.

If your home has solid walls, you will be able to see a pattern showing the long and short side of the bricks like Fig A.

Fig A   
If your home has cavity walls, you will only be able to see the long side of the bricks like Fig B.

 

Fig B

See our FAQs below for more information or contact the team on 0800 107 4100 or 0117 379 0203.

 

How much could I save on my heating bills?
Every household is different and savings depend on the size and type of your property as well as any existing insulation measures and your average energy consumption. The following figures are published by the Energy Saving Trust and are a realistic guide to the level of savings you might expect to make:

property type	detached	semi detached or end terrace	mid terrace	bungalow	flat
annual saving	£460	£270	£180	£180	£150

Source: Energy Saving Trust

How much will it cost?
External wall insulation: typically £6,000 (mid terrace) to £15,000+ (detached)
Internal wall insulation: £4,000 (flat) to £16,000+ (detached)
Will I have to pay anything up front?
If you need help to cover the installation costs, there are a number of potential options available to you. We’ll look at your eligibility for a Green Deal loan or funding through the ECO scheme and can talk you through other finance options to help you spread the costs.
How soon can I expect work to start?
We usually have availability within five to ten days of receiving your confirmed booking. Our installation team will call you to schedule a date that is convenient to you.
Can you be flexible with the dates for my installation?
Of course. But remember you may need work to be completed by a certain date to qualify for funding. Our installation team will be able to advise you if this is the case.
Do I need to be at home when the work is carried out?
For exterior wall insulation: No. All we need is your permission to go onto your land.
For interior wall insulation: Yes, to give our installers initial access to the property.
How long does the work take?
We aim to complete all the work within two weeks (10 working days) from start to finish. It is a major programme of work, but the results will certainly be worth the wait!
For exterior wall insulation: These timescales are weather dependent, but we will do our best to keep as close to schedule as possible.
Can I come and go easily?
Yes, access to your property will not be affected.
Depending on how close your exterior walls are to your driveway, we may ask you to move your car whilst work is taking place nearby.
What preparations do I need to make?
For exterior wall insulation: No preparation is necessary. We handle all the ‘pre-enabling’ work, such as moving cables, disconnecting outside lights and taps as part of our service, and we re-install or position them when the work is complete.
For interior wall insulation: As a precaution, we will ask you to move any valuable or easily breakable possessions away from the areas of work. It is also ideal if you can take your curtains down and store them safely. But we deal with everything else including removing – and later replacing – your curtain tracks and larger pieces of furniture.
Will there be any mess?
We take exceptional care to look after your property and minimise disruption to you. Our installation team will clean down the area they have been working on each evening and remove any waste materials from the site on a daily basis.
Will there be much noise?
Unavoidably, there will be some noise, as with any building works. We can, however, schedule work to take place at times convenient to you, so if you work nights, it’s not a problem.
Will my telephone still work?
Yes.
Will my satellite dish signal be interrupted?
No. We can re-attach your satellite dish to the scaffolding during the work to minimise any disruption to you whilst work is taking place.
Will you need a power supply?
No. We bring a remote power supply so will not need to use your electricity.
How do I know that all the installers/workmen will be trustworthy?
Our contractors are fully qualified and approved to the required standards of technical competence under the Government Accreditation process, as well as being police (DBS) checked. Everyone is committed to providing a first class service, based on quality, care and consideration.
Will the render discolour?
No. But it will weather naturally, as with any building material.
What happens if I accidentally damage the render?
The products we use are extremely tough and resilient to damage – in fact more so than your existing finish. For example, it is unlikely that a scrape with a child’s bike would chip or scratch the render, as it might with traditional render.
In the case of surface marks, we provide a touch up kit, colour matched to your render, so you can simply paint over any marks.
Should accidental damage occur, however, solid wall insulation is relatively simple to repair. Simply call our customer careline for advice and to arrange for a repair quote.
How much will it increase the thickness of my walls by?
Exterior wall insulation: will add 97mm to the outside of your property. However, if space is an issue (such as in a passageway between two properties), a more condensed higher density board is available that will add just 70mm to the exterior depth.
Interior wall insulation: will add 81.5mm to your interior walls.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes. We offer a 25 year guarantee for the products used or any malfunction.
I live in a semi-detached house – can I still have external wall insulation installed?
If your neighbour's house is not already insulated we will insert a cavity wall barrier to divide the two properties. This stops any material passing through. Of course the ideal scenario is that you will talk to your neighbour and encourage them to have it done at the same time.
What about damp?
Provided it is done properly, insulating the outside of your home will give you a new weather proof layer that will protect you from penetrating damp for years to come, and should deal with any existing penetrating damp problems you may have had due to poor wall finish. The insulation will also increase the temperature of the internal surface of the wall, making it less likely that you will get condensation problems on your walls.
The main damp issue to be avoided with external wall insulation is rising damp. If you have an existing problem with rising damp, it will have to be treated before the insulation is fitted, otherwise you run the risk of trapping the damp inside the wall structure and so making the problem worse.
It is also important to make sure that the new external insulation layer and cladding do not bridge the damp proof layer in the wall. The insulation should start above this, otherwise water may be able to use the insulation to climb above the damp proof membrane, causing rising damp where it wasn't a problem before.
Our installers will always ensure that there are no problems with rising damp before commencing work and that the external surface is fully weatherproof throughout, so you should not see any new damp issues and you may see some benefit if condensation has been a problem in the past.
Will there be any noise reduction?
Where road noise or the sounds of children playing or dogs barking outside is an issue, you will notice a significant reduction in exterior noise as a result of solid wall insulation.
But, to get the maximum noise reduction benefit your property must also be double glazed.