Walls

In an un-insulated house, the walls account for up to half of the total heat loss. Around 70% of this heat loss can be saved in a cavity wall in houses built before 1976. Professional installation is recommended for this form of insulation.

Older houses with solid walls can be drylined, adding an extra layer to the inner face of an outside wall. The layer is insulating plasterboard - ordinary plasterboard stuck to a backing of expanded polystyrene - and is up to 50mm (2in) thick so you will reduce your room by this amount.

Fitting the insulating plasterboard is not difficult - once you have cut it to size it can simply be glued and screwed into place on the existing wall. If the wall is plain, it's just a matter of removing the skirtings and picture rails, fixing the board and replacing the woodwork. However, where there are doors, windows, radiators, electric switches and sockets, these will have to be repositioned or modified to account for the new 50mm (2in) layer of plasterboard.