Creative retrofit Internal Wall Insulation solutions

Creative problem solving that keeps you hot hot hot! ♨️

Ok, not too hot, cos you’d be a bit sweaty…more like nice and cosy in your upgraded, energy efficient home.

Internal wall insulation retrofit project overview

Here’s a little 3D slice through of a retrofit + loft conversion project we’re working on at the moment.

An end of terrace house in Sheffield, with solid walls, stone fronted with brick walls to the sides and rear. We are opting for an internal wall insulation retrofit, using wood fibre wall insulation, and lime plaster to ensure the breathability of the existing building isn’t changed.

Vapour permeable and fire resistant insulation is needed to the floors as well, to ensure fire can’t spread quickly throughout the house, in accordance with safety regulations. Insulating the existing walls and ground floor should be fairly straightforward (within reason!)

Tackling the challenging cellar cold spot

However, there is a cellar below the front sitting room with the cellar stairs going below the main stairs above. This essentially creates an un-insulated cold hole in the floor and to the sides of the cellar stair. Trying to make this cold hole better insulated has been challenging. I’ve fixed this by insulating both the existing internal walls either side of the stairs and also insulating the underside / sloping soffit of the main timber stairs, above the cellar stairs. This is not going to be perfect and there are likely to be a few gaps in the insulation layers when this is physically installed on site. Fire resistance and headroom issues also needed to be considered.

On-site collaboration for successful Internal Wall Insulation retrofit

I’ll be on site too before this bit of work starts to talk this bit through with the expert building team, so hopefully the design intent and reasons are understood. This reduces the chances of errors and these gaps, or thermal bridges.

You never know, we may be able to install this bit as intended. Fingers crossed and keep an eye out for further updates.

Challenges of retrofitting older buildings

This has been quite a challenge. It really is not easy working with old buildings and trying to retrofit them properly and up to modern standards—especially with internal wall insulation retrofit in solid wall properties. Working with existing buildings often takes up more time than working on a new build, as there are so many pre-existing obstacles that can’t be easily moved.