SEmi-detached in Swinton

about the home

• Built: Early 1900s

• Size:132m2

• Main focus: These residents were mostly concerned about staying warm. After a first cold winter in the house, the owner was concerned with how the home didn’t keep the heat in. The homeowner was also concerned about keeping the period details of the property such as the curved brickwork into the bay window.

• Challenges: Planning restrictions prevented external wall insulation being used so internal wall insulation was chosen.

work completed

The owner decided not to replace the windows yet, so these were kept in place. The internal wall insulation was a new system developed by our team which enables the finish to be plasterboard and skim, on top of a system of insulated battens with woodfibre insulation between. This helped the contractor to deal with poor quality internal brickwork which was not level.

The plaster cornices were rebuilt by one of our specialist contractor. New curved skirting boards to match the existing were made in the contractor’s workshop. The wooden window reveals allowed reattachment of the original window surrounds, but kept the windows airtight and will allow the windows to be replaced in the future without damaging the insulation. The windows will be able to go back where they were originally built, making them perform better with the insulation and giving the house more light.

The house has a cellar so the ceiling was removed here to insulate the floor. The underside of the floor was painted with liquid airtightness membrane to stop drafts and provide a vapour control layer. High density glass fibre insulation was fitted between the joists and the cellar ceiling was replaced, to reduce heat loss into the cellar space.

The old windows kept in place as the insulation work was fitted around them, allowing them to be replaced in the future without issue.

Increasing the insulation meant that the home was able to stay warm in the winter but cool in the summer - much better as a growing family.