Building DIY Gardening

Now it is getting colder it is time for some advice on Autumn, Fall and Winter jobs.

Insulation is less of a concern in the summer, obviously, so that is a good time to fit it. But if you haven’t it is not too late.

Modern insulation standards are very high. In the UK, BREEAM standards cover all aspects of building homes and offices. So if you buy a new build, or newly converted, property you should have excellent insulation.

We have an advice on DIY Building – Insulation >

Wall insulation - pictures - from our Ebook

Sound insulation is controlled under the ‘robust details’ standards.

See advice on DIY Building sound insulation robust details >

If your property is older than 2000 or so, ie, a typical renovation, conversion or older property, it is most likely the insulation is bad. This is because it is an ‘invisible’ feature so developers can save money by fitting low quality basic insulation. This means higher fuel bills and also more noise pollution.

Noise nuisance is an all year round problem – either you make the noise – young children, music, parties, trombone practice – or your neighbours do – but you ALL get to hear it!

This is true of all old buildings, not just cheaply built modern properties. Desirable Edwardian and Victorian houses are usually ‘single skin’ – one layer of brick, without even a cavity wall double layer structure.

Loft and attic insulation

Loft spaces (attics in the USA) are another huge source of lost heat (is that gramatically correct?). Most of your expensive heat escapes through the ceiling into the roof space and hence the outside.

It is cheap and easy to lay rolls of loft insulation so get to it!

If you are short of cash, there might be grants for loft insulation, so call your local Council. It must be done anyway, as it will immediately save money on heating.

See DIY Building on Lofts, attics, an dother extensions to the home >

Loft attic stairs can be noisy!

Glazing and double glazing

Double glazing is another must-have, but this is expensive. See our DIY Building advice on windows and glazing >

Energy efficiency and greening the housing stock

Lack of insulation is a major problem with housing in the UK or anywhere else. The existing housing stock is so poorly insulated, that is where the money should be spent.

New build homes with high insulation and building standards are a very small part of the picture, under 1% of housing stock. Even less now there are fewer new houses being built due to the recession (the company that runs this website stopped building eco houses in 2007 due to banking failures, not lack of demand).

We will be adding more posts about Autumn, Fall and Winter jobs such as how to prepare your garden, guttering, roofing, walls, water inress, damp, mould, etc.

Reference:

Visit website for insulation and building standards at BREEAM >

Building a Greener Britain (improving the UK’s housing stock) (pdf) >