Isolation, where to start?

[gmac]

Hello everyone !

I will introduce myself quickly since I am new here

Gilles, 29, living in Alsace near Strasbourg.
married, a little girl of just over 6 months old
house: individual house and a few acres of land.

The house dates from 1987 ... insulation from the inside (plasterboard + polystyrene)

a basement, a ground floor, a floor and undeveloped attic.

Heating level: a pellet stove and some electric radiators (mainly in the bedrooms).


-> the house is equipped with "old" double glazing, wooden frame and windows. Some windows are equipped with "ventilation holes" which I do not understand the usefulness for the moment.

-> the converted attics are insulated from the ground by glass wool, installed a few years ago. There is no insulation under the tiles.

-> Upstairs, there are 4 "20 years old" skylights with wooden frames, double-glazed wooden window. These are probably not very effective since there is condensation in the titration.

-> The facade will be redone next year, so we can consider insulation from the outside if possible.

With the decor set, here are the questions:

I would like to insulate better, in order to reduce my energy costs and gain in comfort. Currently, I have a lot of "fresh" air flow all over the house. Near the large French window, etc ...

- Will the insulation under the roof bring me anything given that the attic floor is already "insulated"?

- Is the insulation of the attic floor improved? What insulation products are recommended for this location?

- Would it be wise to replace the velux windows?

- ditto for the windows. I will certainly move towards double or triple low-emissivity glazing type products. Then I have to see if I keep my current frames or if I change everything (for the moment, I think that everything would be smarter)

And especially the big question!

What are the points to deal with first?

In short, a lot of questions and ideas, but I would like to know what will bring me immediate gain to prepare for the most urgent;)

Thank you all !!!

[jessle]

From what I understand the house is already isolated.
I also have a house from 1984 in the region, when I bought it I was the same fear as you, that it is not well insulated.

What are the points to deal with first?

For me insulation question and before any work looks for thermal bridges, example at home he had a huge one under the bathtub I had a hole in the 30cm slab for a 5 cm evacuation pipe, the vmc from the bathroom sucked cold air from the crawl space the showers were quick and impossible to heat the bathroom to more than 20 degrees.

for

the house is equipped with "old" double glazing, wooden frame and windows. Some windows are equipped with "ventilation holes" which I do not understand the usefulness for the moment.

The ventilations are useful especially if you heat with wood the stove needs oxygen, if there is no renewal of air there will always be this feeling of cold the air vicier has trouble heating .

some electric heaters

Inertia or convector
personal I have inertia and the conford is better than convectors


I hope these tips will help you

[the middle]

Hello,
as winter approaches, it would be nice to take an infrared photo of the house, by helicopter ....
With this photo, we immediately see the heat leaks.
You have to find the company that does this kind of thing ... and ask for the price.
It’s already an idea.

[gmac]

thanks for your advice ;)

for electric radiators, exhaust, it will not be the convector ... the heating comfort is not terrible with these devices.

Regarding the vents in the windows, it's still a great source of loss .... basically it's just a poor hole that leads directly to the outside. In addition, the house is probably not waterproof, I imagine that a bunch of air comes in elsewhere for the stove.

I have a VMC, but it is cut for the moment ... It is imperative that I find myself a humidity sensitive at worst, a double flow at best

For thermal bridges:

the house is a "cube", therefore insulated from the inside, I have thermal bridges on the corners obviously and certainly in certain places because of the assembly (plasterboard visors, etc.) difficult to stem the phenomenon. apart with exterior insulation.

bathroom level (that's good, I tore everything in) I actually have a big hole for the VMC / pipe passages. It is a "lesser evil" because it is on the first floor and that it allows to increase the heat of the stay ... For the moment, I have a bathroom under construction at 20 ° C without heating and door closed.


Finally to finish quickly;)

The idea of ​​thermal photography is a big YES, the only concern is to find the company that takes these pictures ... Considering the price of the devices, I imagine that "can" of thermicians are endowed and know how to use it correctly.

I am always in the middle of researching information on the subject of elsewhere.

[bham]

-> the house is equipped with "old" double glazing, wooden frame and windows. Some windows are equipped with "ventilation holes" which I do not understand the usefulness for the moment.
-I will certainly orient myself towards products type double or triple glazing low emissivity. Then I have to see if I keep my current frames or if I change everything (for the moment, I think that everything would be smarter)

The ventilation was automatically on a certain period on the windows, I think that it appeared with the advent of the VMC in the new constructions .... an inepsie of +!
The difference between old and new double glazing is considerable. You have to consider that a window is a thermal bridge, so it should be one of your priorities, changing well obviously executives. The minimum is recent double glazing, otherwise you can do with triple glazing, Bieber or Internorm which currently offers triple glazing at the price of double.

-> Upstairs, there are 4 "20 years old" skylights with wooden frames, double-glazed wooden window. These are probably not very effective since there is condensation in the titration.
- Would it be wise to replace the velux windows?

Same as for windows. Regarding the roof windows, Roto and Fakro make triple glazing. If you are interested, I would give you the contact details of the retailer in Alsace.

- Will the insulation under the roof bring me anything given that the attic floor is already "insulated"?
- Is the insulation of the attic floor improved? What insulation products are recommended for this location?

How thick is your insulation? if it is 5 to 10 cm, packed over time, full of dust, you can add a layer without problem. And then either you remove everything that exists to replace with something else, or you add a layer of wool, in a roll or in bulk, to be at least 20 / 25cm thick. The ideal would be to have a vapor barrier between your 1st floor ceiling and the insulation of your attic because glass wool does not like humidity at all.

And especially the big question!
What are the points to deal with first?
In short, a lot of questions and ideas, but I would like to know what will bring me immediate gain to prepare for the most urgent;)

1- Windows
2- Check at the level of the slabs if they are covered with a floating slab. If this is not the case, direct thermal bridge on the slab and therefore on the outside since the slab rests on the exterior walls. The only solution >>> insulation from the outside.
3- Highly desirable double flow CMV

See in particular:
https://www.econologie.com/forums/ponts-ther ... 87-10.html
et
https://www.econologie.com/forums/constructi ... t3026.html

[PITMIX]

Hi guys
In my house I started insulating inside but I know it is not the best thing to do. It's just a matter of budjet. I still hope to be able to insulate from the outside in the future.
I realize that it is better than before in the room that I started to insulate but the wall behind is icy.
The exterior insulation would have kept this wall at room temperature and would have greatly improved thermal inertia.
In winter restore at night, the heat accumulated in the wall during the day thanks to the sunlight. In summer restore the day, the freshness of the night accumulated in the wall.
I learned a lot from playing with the little software given by bham.
http://www.ideesmaison.com/15-facons-de ... -banc.html

[gmac]

Or HA !

Elements of a concrete answer;) Thank you Bham!

Indeed, I will probably replace the windows first and more precisely the roof windows.

I have good opportunities on velux products, on the other hand, I don't have too many benchmarks compared to competitors (insulation level, etc.). If I change, it is for high comfort type glazing. It would also seem safer to dismantle the old frame and replace everything.

For "classic" windows, I would definitely go to Bieber Bois, but I have no idea what the cost of replacing a complete window is. It will also be necessary to weigh the pros and cons of triple glazing ...


the double flow CMV, I spent the day exploring the operating modes and I think there will be too many installation constraints for me (it must be in a warm room, so not in the attic .. ... then ideally, I would have to breathe fresh air into the lower rooms ... and I have no technical passage for the tubes.

[romu57]

Hello,

What I did was an overall assessment of my house.

Calculation of ext. Calculation of the heat losses of the whole house according to the Lambda of the insulators, the W of the openings, an estimate of the thermal bridges and the air renewal.

It's not too complicated on excel.

We thus obtain the losses of each station. It is thus possible to carry out insulation tests and to see the thermal gain obtained compared to the costs incurred.

cordially

[bham]

Calculation of ext. Calculation of the heat losses of the whole house according to the Lambda of the insulators, the W of the openings, an estimate of the thermal bridges and the air renewal.
It's not too complicated on excel.

Perhaps you could share it with us, to see what it looks like and so that others can do the same?

[gmac]

Indeed, some additional details would be welcome.

This week, I ask for the first quotes for triple glazed windows ...