Probably a stupid question

[ladycrofter]

but in an old house such as ours, where the lath and plaster walls have no insulation behind them, and you couldn't "blow" insulation in because the walls are not attached to the floors - why can you not squirt tons of expanding foam behind the walls? I think this is done in the US.

 

[milkloss]

You can get a problem with damp bridging across the cavity I think,

 

[phillipe]

but in an old house such as ours, where the lath and plaster walls have no insulation behind them, and you couldn't "blow" insulation in because the walls are not attached to the floors - why can you not squirt tons of expanding foam behind the walls? I think this is done in the US.

Is it a old timber frame ?

 

[Nearly]

Foam will push laths away from wall.

Put insulation with plasterboard in front of lath and plaster.
https://www.kingspan.com/gb/en-gb/p...oltherm/kooltherm-k118-insulated-plasterboard

 

[Exfarmer]

Certainly not the type of foam you get in cans, it keps expanding for days!

 

[ladycrofter]

Good point, it would probably burst the wall. Thanks, just wondering. @Exfarmer didn't know that, suppose on hindsight it would come spiralling out of every hole in the place - I can just picture the outside of the house when it finds its way through the stonework.

@Nearly if we had any sense 20 years ago when we moved here, we would have done that.
But when the carpet went down in the sitting room 10 years ago, that was me done with floor lifting, wall bashing, roof removing/rebuilding renovations!

 

[Nearly]

Good point, it would probably burst the wall. Thanks, just wondering. @Exfarmer didn't know that, suppose on hindsight it would come spiralling out of every hole in the place - I can just picture the outside of the house when it finds its way through the stonework.

@Nearly if we had any sense 20 years ago when we moved here, we would have done that.
But when the carpet went down in the sitting room 10 years ago, that was me done with floor lifting, wall bashing, roof removing/rebuilding renovations!

Put it over the carpet and a new skirting board.

 

[ladycrofter]

Lol do you paint around the wardrobe too instead of moving the furniture? Actually the old floorboards upstairs had been stained, but when we had a good look, the pattern didn't make sense like it went around a bed or anything resembling any sort of furniture arrangement. The mind boggles.

Going completely off my own topic, in our previous old house, when we took the paper off the walls in one of the bedrooms, there was giant playing cards painted on the walls actually was kind of creepy. And the other bedroom had a damp spot halfway up the wall. Me being a picker, picked the plaster away to reveal an old hole for a stove flue. And wonderfully, inside the wall, because I couldn't stop there, it was full of twigs from a crow nest, and GADS a crow skeleton.

 

[phillipe]

Certainly not the type of foam you get in cans, it keps expanding for days!

If you use the cheaper foam ie superdec ,it doesnt expand that much ,soudal yes expands plenty

 

[phillipe]

Lol do you paint around the wardrobe too instead of moving the furniture? Actually the old floorboards upstairs had been stained, but when we had a good look, the pattern didn't make sense like it went around a bed or anything resembling any sort of furniture arrangement. The mind boggles.

Going completely off my own topic, in our previous old house, when we took the paper off the walls in one of the bedrooms, there was giant playing cards painted on the walls actually was kind of creepy. And the other bedroom had a damp spot halfway up the wall. Me being a picker, picked the plaster away to reveal an old hole for a stove flue. And wonderfully, inside the wall, because I couldn't stop there, it was full of twigs from a crow nest, and GADS a crow skeleton.

I think you need a new jumper and thicker socks

 

[Exfarmer]

Lol do you paint around the wardrobe too instead of moving the furniture? Actually the old floorboards upstairs had been stained, but when we had a good look, the pattern didn't make sense like it went around a bed or anything resembling any sort of furniture arrangement. The mind boggles.

Going completely off my own topic, in our previous old house, when we took the paper off the walls in one of the bedrooms, there was giant playing cards painted on the walls actually was kind of creepy. And the other bedroom had a damp spot halfway up the wall. Me being a picker, picked the plaster away to reveal an old hole for a stove flue. And wonderfully, inside the wall, because I couldn't stop there, it was full of twigs from a crow nest, and GADS a crow skeleton.

At my last house we had insalled a wood burner in the lounge. It was only normally used at Christmas. When we were leaving literally the last night, my wife said , is the ash tray enpty. I said I think so , but checked, of course sitting there was a very dead crow!

 

[Dry Rot]

To answer the OP, there always seems to be some problem insulating these old houses. { have a wood burner which is great, but when the fire goes out, so does the heat!

These people have some good ideas....

https://www.historicenvironment.sco...traditional-buildings/insulate-your-property/