Which s the best way to insulate a victorian house?

[MangoPete]

Hi Folks I am just buying a pub conveted to a house. I has 13 foot ceilings and massive wll space, but no cavity walls. which is the best way to insulate the walls. I beleive that with the mortar used it needs to be able to breath. Can I just use plasterboard with insulation on the back , or should I oput up battonand fill with kingspan. Waht about the ceilings?
I can put in false ceilings in the top floor and insulate above them but what should I use should it be rockwool or something else and what depth. All answers much appreciated.

[MangoPete]

have you got any tips for my dyslexic writing too!

[The Builder]

You're on the right lines with the walls Mangoman. The simplest DIY solution would be to :
1 Batten the walls vertically (25 x 50mm battens - 600mm centres)
2 Staple "TRI ISO 10" insulation to the battens. (shiny silver foil type)
3 Batten again - (counter batten horizontally)
4 12.5mm plasterboard
5 Have a quick one day course to learn how to joint the board (no plastering required)
6 Paint it :o)

Not a cheap option for the material - but no labour cost :o)
TRI ISO 10 approx �18 per square metre

[The Builder]

....oops....................correction.............TRI ISO 10 approx �10 per square metre

[rabbitygirl]

We have just completed the renovation of a large Victorian house. As it's a sell on, or rental in the current market, we had a budget to stick to.

However, we used polystyrene veneer on the inside of most external walls. Mr R has applied this before at work, on a job spec. It's cheap, under �3 a roll. Apply like wallpaper. Read the pack for suggested paste. We then lined on top and painted. I have no idea of stats on it's effectiveness, but I think it helps, the wall is warmer to touch. It also hides slight imperfections in old plaster, if you are not removing it all. It won't respond well to knocks tho.

We have double isulated the loft, a large one, with 2 layers of the thicker depth insulation, now making it about 16 - 18" deep up there. If yours needs doing, get yourself to Wickes, it's on a buy one get one free at the mo. Saves lots of ����s.

Just had a great result from our energy assessor.

[MangoPete]

thaks folks, though the more work , I think the battening is the way to go. I know it is important for the wall to be able to breathe.

[buildersmate]

Polystyrene has an insulation value (for the same thickness) about one-half of that of Kingspan (or Celotex). Nothing wrong with it because it is cheap, but it isn't the best.
Tri-ISO is very expensive per square metre compared to other insulation products, but very efficient for its thickness.