After 9 months, we’ve insulated one room!

When I started this blog I said that I intended to insulate the house and document the process (and that I might fail in one or both of those). Well over the last 9 months or so (boy did I underestimate how little free time I have!) we have managed to insulate one small room in our house, and now - all I need to do is write about it!¹

The relevant room is the smallest² room in our house, the Box room which was used as a nursery for our kids when they were babies and more recently as a study. In October 2022, in half term to be precise, I took a week off work and got started in earnest following the guidance in our whole house report from Andy Walker of Sure Insulation.

Being naive, I thought I’d break the back of the job in a week (on my own) and only have a few more weekends of finishing up after that. Learn from my foolish optimism, I moved back into my painted, insulated and oh-so-nearly finished study about 11 months later in September 2023.

Was I an over optimistic idiot? Yup.
Am I pleased with the results? Oh yes!
Would I do it again? Very much so - and we’re already planning the next rooms.

All the right steps (not necessarily in the right order)

I want to document in some level of detail, everything I did to insulate the room, which is far too much for a single post, so instead I’m going to list the tasks out here, and add links as (if) I write up the details. I reserve the right to edit the list as and when I wish to rewrite history.

• Lift the carpet and get an Electrician in to move a plug socket
• Prep and reinforce the wall for the radiator and get the plumber in to re-plumb it
• Treat and protect the joists
• Remove coving, picture rail and skirting boards
• Chip off plaster around the window
• Fit insulation PIR to the walls, sealing all the joins
• Route all electrical cables into trunking
• Install rock wool under the floorboards
• Fit MDF and stop bead around the window
• Fit Plasterboard to the walls
• Get the plasterers in
• Paint
• Make a new windowsill
• Fit skirting boards
• Fit underlay and refit the old carpet
• Blinds and Curtains

And the bits I haven’t quite finished yet (Oct 2023)

• Fit Picture rail
• Replace glass in the window
• Fit trickle vents in the window
• Coving