Wall-to-wall warmth for the winter

Fitting solid wall insulation can be a lot of work and expense, but it can also make a big difference to how warm your home feels and how high your heating bills are.

Most pre-1920 properties (and some later than that) were built with solid walls. It’s easy to tell whether your home’s walls are solid or have a cavity – take a look outside and if you see both long and short bricks, they’re solid because the short bricks go through the wall.

If the walls are rendered, try measuring a wall by a window or door – walls less than 26cm deep should be solid. Solid walls are harder and more expensive to insulate than cavity walls, but the expected savings are greater.

Insulating solid walls isn’t straightforward and may be something you want to leave to the professionals, although internal wall insulation can be fitted by DIYers.

Perhaps the easiest method is to use insulated plasterboard, which comes in different thicknesses.

Another option is to build a stud wall along the exterior wall and fill that with insulation.

This will make the room a bit smaller and, in both cases, you’ll have to remove and then refit or replace the skirting boards, door frames, coving, etc, so it’s a lot of work and disruption. For this reason, insulating walls internally is often best left until you’re renovating the room.

External wall insulation is less disruptive – usually, insulation material (such as expandedpolystyrene sheets) is fixed to the exterior walls and covered with cladding or render. This method has a number of benefits, including improving soundproofing and weatherproofing, as well as making the inside warmer.

According to the Energy Saving Trust (www.energysavingtrust. org.uk), internal wall insulation costs around £3,500 to £14,000, while external wall insulation is around £8,000 to £22,000, depending on the size of the property.

The Trust estimates that annual savings in fuel bills will be around £455 for a detached house, £260 for a semi and £175 for a mid-terrace house in England, Scotland and Wales, based on a house with gas central heating.

If insulating your home’s exterior walls seems like too much work and expense, there is a much easier way to reduce heat loss through them.

Radiators tend to be on outside walls because they’re usually fitted under windows, which means the heat from the radiators can go outside into the cold as well as into the room. Fitting radiator foil behind the radiators will help to stop heat escaping through the walls, making it feel warmer indoors. HOW TO...CUT UP LOGS INFARED CAMERA