Part insulating Victorian property

[tjrhs]

Howdy all.

We live in a Victorian semi, solid wall construction. The insulation is generally poor and the house leaks heat, but the kitchen is particularly bad. It is north facing with external walls on 3 sides.

I want to put internal insulation on the external walls (I've those marked in green below) as part of a planned renovation which will include knocking a wall through to the adjoining room (marked in blue). But I don't want to insulate other rooms either next to or above this one because I can't afford it and don't want to lose original internal features.

I'm no expert on insulation but understand you're supposed to wrap the house to avoid cold gaps. So if I get the builder to install a breathable insulation with lime render to the marked walls will that mitigate that problem? Or do I still risk moisture issues at the edge/border of the insulation? If so are there any other solutions to allow a single room to be tackled?

Any tips really appreciated.
Tom

 

[a twig]

A read of the options in this thread, wood wool and wood fibre, will hopefully get you on your way

Post in thread 'Plastering question'
https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/threads/plastering-question.16738/post-243367

 

[fernicarry]

You want to have the internal insulation continue beyond the external facing part of the wall and return into the room by a short distance.

Bit of an older thread but these guys generally know their stuff:

Internal Wall Insulation - what about the returns?

We are installing wood fibre internal wall insulation to all the outside walls of a late Victorian solid brick walled house. The build up will comprise 60mm of wood fibre and lime plaster. We have not gone overboard with the thickness of the woodfibre in order to avoid over-cooling the

www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk

If you think about what's happening behind cabinet number 3, the uninsulated part of the external wall from the adjacent room is conducting heat away from the kitchen side of the wall. Therefore the first part of the insulation is having to counter heat loss on both its external face but also around its edge so it won't give you its advertised value. You'll get a colder spot there that may attract condensation.

By same logic you want to wrap the insulation around above ceiling level and below floor level.

 

[jamest]

You might also want to ensure that your kitchen has some good moisture/steam extraction installed (and used) if you'll be opening it up to a neighboring room with uninsulated external walls.