Insulating apartment
 

Hi everyone, I am hoping someone can help! We are thinking of insulating the walls and ceilings of our apartment....its like a fridge in the winter!❄❄ Would anyone have done this already and can you give recommendations re cost and companies who do this etc. Any information appreciated!

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Insulation can be retrofitted, but it will cost you in terms of space and require a lot of rework. The normal is to created a plasterboard dry-lining several centimetres off the existing wall and fill the space with rockwool. Of course, that means all electrical points, pipework and skirting boards etc. will need moving/replacing..... plus the windows and doors will need adjustment - and you are still left with an uninsulated floor and ceiling. Any builder will quote you for this, but be prepared for a shock.....

I have a couple of external walls insulated this way.... and I can't say I'm too impressed.....

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Or as one of the energy company bosses said when people were complaining they couldn't afford to heat their homes.....

"Put an extra jumper on and do star jumps" !!!!

It didn't go down too well!

Re: Insulating apartment
 

External insulation works best. Can be clad or rendered.

Works like a tea cosy on a pot.

Re: Insulating apartment
 

There are numerous different ways to insulate a home, depending on how your home was built and what access you have to each surface - external and within the wall/ roof/ floor. If you have access to an attic space, then adding insulation there can be very effective and is entirely invisible both inside and out. Whereas adding insulation to a wall, whether inside or out is going to require some sort of cover and has the potential to be either ugly or expensive, and certainly could change the look of your home considerably, which may be a good or bad thing.

Assuming that you're on a budget you should prioritze which surfaces to insulate. Insulating the ceiling is probably the most obvious choice, and shouldn't be too expensive even if you don't have an attic space that you can fill with glass fibre insulation, you could use something like structural sheets of polystyrene foam attached to the ceiling, then covered with thin plasterboard screwed through the insulation into the original ceiling. After the ceiling you will want to prioitize the north facing wall and walls exposed to winter winds. As noted by KK78 attaching insulation externaling will require some sort of cladding or rendering, which will add to the cost, but isn't overly complex or difficult.

And if you have access to the under-floor space, don't overlook adding insulation there - it can make a signficant difference, expecially if the space has open ventilation.

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Post-build polystyrene is completely outlawed due to flamability and toxic fumes, so the choices are limited by safety concerns...... even glassfibre has application only in certain places - so, in Portugal, mineral rock-wool is generally favoured..... but this attracts humidity, so needs careful siting too. Insulation is not rocket-science, but neither is it amateur-hour stuff.

External cladding can work very well in certain applications..... but it is expensive and, when it fails, it fails spectacularly - so you are dependent on good installers. Equally, doors and windows in walls to be externally clad need special treatment as do roof overhangs. I would agree that, if it works for you, it is the better option overall.

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Interesting - thank you for the perspective. What is both legal and practical is certainly a minefield. I am not surprised that the Portuguese don't allow the use of sheet polystyrene, due to its reputation for being flammable and producing toxic fumes and though obviously neither you nor I are going to change the Portuguese building regs, the product available today in the US is somehow treated to be fire-resistant* and there are two ways it is considered to be safe in the US in "post build" applications - when applied externally, under additional exterior weatherproofing*, or when "encased" behind plasterboard which itself is a remarkably fire-resistant product, thereby allowing plenty of time to escape or be rescued.

In any case I wish the OP in finding insulation that is legal, afforable, and provides useful additional insulation.

* I have direct experience of "fire resistant" polystyrene used under the exteriror weatherproofing, when someone set fire to a plastic wheelie bin that was stored next to the wall. The exterior wearher proofing was plastic and melted and partially burned and the flames came into contact with the polystyrene sheet behind, but despite the flames melting the weatherproofing all the way to the eaves, melting the eaves covering, and severely scorching the eaves timbers, the polystrene did not catch fire, though it was severely scrorced and may have partially melted. Overall, it was surprising to me how well the polystyrene stood up to direct exposure to flames for several minutes. Thankfully the fire brigade showed up within just a few minutes and all the damage was relatively superficial, requiring only new insulation, new covering for the eaves, and replacement of the plastic cladding. :)

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Thank you all so much for your advice, seems a lot more to it than I thought! Will let you know how we get on as nothing will be done now until Oct/Nov.

Re: Insulating apartment
 

Don’t insult my apartment