Hi, I’ve been reading through a lot of posts on here so firstly wanted to thank you for all the information already shared! And secondly, I’m after a bit more advice...

We are hoping to move into a 1910 Edwardian Semi in the next couple of weeks and have ambitions to get the house as thermal efficient as realistically possibly, with the potential for some sort of heat pump or alternative further (Probably much further) down the line.

The house has solid brick walls side and back and a cavity wall to the front elevations (although as far as I can tell this is a ‘finger cavity’ and should be treated as a solid wall). It has been re-plastered in the last 15 years (I assume with gypsum) but a lot of original features (skirting, picture rails, coving, wall mouldings) have been retained / reinstated. Windows are all original with single glazing, all needing some sort of attention, some more than others, but this will be a priority. The top floor has been converted in the 90’s but we have been warned that there is no insulation up there (another priority, as yes it somehow got signed off by BC). The ground floor is suspended timber floor with a crawl space under half and cellar under the other half.

I know it’s best to live in the house for a while before starting, and we probably will end up doing that to some extent, but as everything ties into each other, and some things are more urgent, at this point I was after a bit of advice on what level to take the retrofit to...

In an ideal world (where time and money weren’t an issue), we would be looking to;
1. Insulate the roof and walls in the attic rooms
2. Restore / replace the windows (timber 2g / 3g if possible and sort any thermal bridging and drafts)
3. Take up and insulate under the suspended timber floor
4. IWI - Wood fibre or cork with lime plaster

However the reality is while one of us is pretty DIY savvy and up for a challenge, the other one is less so, we have a 2 year old, and one of us will be spending the next 2 years retraining. Making both time and money a pretty big issue. All being well, we plan to stay in the house for the foreseeable, so don’t need to rush anything but it would be nice to get started.

Ultimately I think the big decision is the IWI, at the moment this seems like the overwhelming job as there is a lot of detailing, plumbing and electrics on the external walls. It also affects a lot of the other elements. External Wall insulation is not an option aesthetically.

So apologies for the long post, I guess my main questions, for those who have complete similar projects, what is realistically achievable given our situation? And any bits of advice on phasing;
1. Do we accept compromises and do everything except for IWI. (But risk going back over jobs to fit it further down the line)
2. Do we aim to do the whole lot but accept it will take time (in which case is there a risk of condensation / damp issues between rooms that have and haven’t been finished. And how best to detail the junctions.
3. How important is it that we have made the decision on IWI when doing more urgent tasks, for example the windows and how the reveals are treated.

I know that ultimately the decision is down to us, I just wanted some advice and feedback from like minded experience who have been through it. Most people I have discussed it with have said its too much work and not to bother as its not worth it - but this will absolutely be a passion project for us!

Hi Anna
You say External Wall insulation (EWI) is not an option aesthetically but apart from the comment above re conservation area I can see that EWI may not be nice on the front if you have a brick finish that needs to match the other half of the semi. but if it is a rendered finish then EWI can match up (but you do have a step at the property line) However if you do have brick rather than render what about doing EWI on the side and rear elevation leaving the front to match the neighbour.

IWI, as you are probably aware has problems (= a pain to do and get right) around the detailing of the first floor joists which disappear with EWI.

If IWI is the only option and budget constraints are an issue then why not use EPS and plasterboard (much easier to DIY) rather than cork or wood fibre and lime plaster.

What do you mean by a ‘finger cavity’, I don't know this term.

If you want to get started before living in the house for a bit then I would suggest draught proofing is a good place to start and insulating loft and underfloor. The cellar should be an easy fix for insulating the floor/ceiling.

Are the window frames in such a condition that they need changing or will proper repair give many years of useful service? It is usually possible to put in a double glazed unit into a single glazed window, sometimes with some joinery work but often without

What sort of windows do you have, sash or casement?

rot in windows can survive quite a long time - providing there are no actual holes due to the rot that give automatic ventilation, and even then treated carefully they very rarely fall out. My point is that even with quite severe rot it is not often that immediate action need to be taken, just put that room on the list perhaps a bit higher up than otherwise and compile the list as you want.

Peter_in_Hungary asked: "What do you mean by a ‘finger cavity’, I don't know this term."

There's an explanation at http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/forum1/viewtopic.php?p=663515&sid=eb3a223370bb91dbb0739bbb2e53b272#p663515

Welcome to GBF!

Along the lines of other members so far I would *strongly* recommend a Whole House Plan. Although I have capitalised it to make it sound posh it can be what you want it to be. It is a list of everything you want to achieve *(in particular but not exclusively from a thermal improvement pt of view) set down in one place andd wwith sub-categories showing how one plan will interact with another. For example if you are to do IWI in all rooms eventually, but room-by-room, year-on-year, how will you plan the 'edges' - the perimeters of each area of IWI so that there is an easy connection with the next area when you come to do it. Will those connection points be air-tight, with thermal bridges absent or at least mitigated? If you have (contrary to your aims at present) opted to use a vapour-control method of insulation are the connections vapour-tight?

(Why would you use a vapour-control method when your stated materials are vapour-permeable? What is you wanted a fully-tiled shower-room for example? The tiles would make that wall non-permeable and a permeable board arguably an unjustified extra cost. Now in this situation I would suggest *don't* have a fully-tiled bathroom, but that's just me...)

Don't be put off by 'incremental retrofit'. Just plan the connections, plan the interactions (will your MVHR knock holes in all of last year's work? Will it require lifting last year's new floor?) Document and, if you can, draw all these issues and feed them into your Plan. Graph paper will do. I could not draw my way out of a paper bag - but I can scribble!

Lots more in my head if you need it. Do ask.

Hello again,

Rest assured you *can* do it without all rooms being in disarray. Of course you cannot usually alter the fact that you have to come and go through the 'clean bit', (unless you can (seriously!) access via scaff and a window) but you can 'compartmentalise' to a degree.

You have not mentioned if you have interior decorative plasterwork e.g cornices applied mouldings etc. If you do then IWI will be difficult. Our previous house was a late Victorian semi 1898 and we did improve it considerably but we could not insulate internally because we would have lost the period ceiling and wall features and being in a conservation area could not EWI nor DG to the front at least. Best we could do in the end was the roof insulation done when the roof was re-slated and then added further insulation to the ceiling on the inside. ,Some of the attic rooms we could insulate as they had no period features. The fireplaces will be a challenge they are a source of the great escape of heat and if blocked up care is needed so as not to cause damp problems. You will find great satisfaction from doing the work, solving problems learning new skills and making some tough compromises. Good luck there's, lots of experience and knowledge here on the forum to tap into.

We are living in and working on our second Victorian house, having spent 14 years 'incrementally renovating' the first with IWI. We had some kids along the way.

I posted previously what our newfound order of priorities is (but sadly can't remember what I said...!)

First up, I would definitely spend as much time as possible with the 2yo, people tell you it's amazing how fast they grow up, you don't believe them until you see! Our renovation workforce went from two fully-involved adults, to one distracted zombie during the kids' early years, and our productivity nosedived until we got builders and joiners to help. That changed the economics obviously of what could be done. We are more productive again now that the kids are out at school (apart from during home school) but we can't do full-on weekends of DIY like before.

If you have safety or health issues such as rewiring or damp then sort that first. There are probably a lot of quick wins in basic draft-stopping, and basic loft insulation.

Then get a heat pump ASAP. It will absolutely slash your carbon footprint, way more effective than any insulation project could be.

Then we worked round the house one room at a time, decanting occupants and furniture as we went. We did IWI, ceiling and/or floor insulation, airtightness and also decorating and carpets. This keeps the mess in one place to some extent. Choose the order of rooms based on your family's needs, eg if you need the attic space then do that first, or maybe a kitchen or living room.

Don't be afraid to rework some areas as you learn stuff, if you wait until you have a perfect plan then you never get started. I am about to lift the floor that I insulated less than 2 years ago, to run some plumbing and wiring that I didn't know about at the time.

Enjoy the process, it is very satisfying to create a nice space for your family and give a new life to a lovely old building.