Here in the UK, you will be aware of just how cold it can be. With energy prices fluctuating, you will want to do as much as you can to stay warm without blasting the heater on. Below you will find a breakdown of different insulation advice for parts of your home.
Wall Insulation
The most famous and common example of insulation comes with walls. Your walls, of course, surround your entire home, so you need to make sure they are trapping as much heat inside your home as possible. There are different ways to insulate walls, but they will mainly be done during construction.
They will put in non-flammable material that helps trap in heat that comes in and keeps out the cold at the same time. There are a few different examples of material used for this but know that there may be some extra steps you can take before getting into the walls of your home. You could, for example, use a specialized darker pint that helps prevent cold from seeping through the walls.
Floor Insulation
A more modern approach comes with floor insulation. Or, to put it more accurately, floor heating. This allows for heat to rise up from the bottom, reaching all levels of the home. This is a modern solution that hotels and new builds are using during the construction stage. That’s not to say that it’s impossible to renovate it into your property, just that it’s less likely to be worth the investment.
Apart from general heating, it would help if you worked hard to ensure that your floor is as heated as it can be naturally. This will mean insulating it. If your house has solid foundations that are not above ground, then this should be something that is easy to do. It’s possible that your home will be colder if you have a basement, which means you will need to work harder than those without one to insulate them.
Contact a foundations expert who could inspect the condition of your home to see if there is anything that can be done. It may be possible that some cracks in the floor are leaking cold air through.
Windowed Insulation
One of the essential insulations you should get on top of is your windows. If your windows are poorly insulated, then the rest of your home will suffer. The age of your home could be a factor, with older homes having older single glazed windows that do little for stopping the cold air from seeping in.
Modern homes will likely be glazed multiple times, which could attribute to extra costs. It can also lead to higher rent prices, but you should see your energy prices drop. If you suspect you have older windows, you can do a test. Place your finger onto the glass, if there is a gap between that and the reflection, then you have more than one glazing.
Of course, you can get new windows fitted with ease, you just have to be careful and use a professional who has experience with window fitting. You will have a fair amount of choice, from the type of glazing you want to the style of the window yourself.
Extension Insulation
If you have built an extension onto your home, it may be possible that it’s letting a lot of cold into your home. Many extensions, such as conservatories, aren’t exactly built with insulation in mind. This will be particularly true for glass conservatories, which can let in a lot of cold air from the outside.
If you haven’t yet built an extension but plan to, you should try to think of building it in a way that allows for insulation to happen. This could be down to the materials you use, or it could be the thickness of the glass. It may even come down to allowing floor heating to be built into this room, to allow for quicker access to heat.
When building your conservatory or extension, you will need to do all the official steps. The first of which will be to get approval for planning permission. This gives you the go-ahead to hire some workers to build or do it yourself. It will be a good idea to get yourself some building warranty and construction insurance if you go down this route, which is available from experts Build safe. You can read all about the advantages and seek a quote from buildsafe.co.uk.
Roof Insulation
It may be a good idea to look into insulating your roof too. A poorly constructed roof will be a roof prone to leaks. It could be a lack of quality materials, or it could be that it has fallen into disrepair. It may be easy to fix up, or it could be more complicated, depending on the nature of the incident.
To deal with roof problems, consider contacting roof experts who can inspect the roof’s condition and give you an accurate quote. It may simply need new tiles, or it could be the insulation within the roof that needs replacing.
That’s what these experts will be on hand to explain. You will notice a big difference with insulating your roof and loft, such as extra heat and lower energy bills. You will save money on your energy bills as you won’t need as much heating being blasted on, due to heat being trapped more in your home.
Pipe Insulation
Pipe insulation is quite an important part of insulation that people don’t think about. Your pipes will be used to funnel water in and out of your home, and if poorly insulated, they could freeze others and cause blockages in your home.
These blockages could cause damage to your system, and lead to them breaking apart and blowing, which can lead to further damage to your home. Not only will the pipes need repairing, but the water will leak out when it’s now warmer, and flood the home.
It can be easy to insulate pipes when your know-how and those in charge of constructing your home should have done it for you. If in doubt, consider getting in contact with a plumber who could come and take a look at your pipes, and make recommendations.
