Wall insulation in Breamore
On a cob or rubble wall the modern sealed lining is the wrong answer, and saying so is most of what a survey here is for.
The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote. Thomas Hannen prices every job himself.
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Most older walls in Breamore are solid, so there is no cavity to fill; any insulation goes on the inside or outside, and it has to let the wall dry. The village is cob, brick, timber frame and thatch, and on that kind of wall the modern answer is usually the wrong one. A cob or rubble wall has no cavity to fill and it works by getting damp and drying again, so a vapour tight lining on the inside does not just fail to help, it holds water in the wall and does harm.
The usual trouble is a cottage that is cold and expensive to heat, a room that has grown mould in a corner since somebody boarded it, or a quote for cavity fill on a wall with no cavity.
We look at what the wall is made of before anything else: thickness at a reveal, what the plaster is, whether the render is cement or lime, and where the wall gets its water from. The site visit is free and so is the written itemised quote, and if the answer is that your wall should be left as it is, that is what we will write. Draughts and the loft often matter more here, and insulation in Breamore sets out the order.
The work
Cob, thatch and walls that have to dry
Which wall you actually have. Cob is thick, soft and usually rendered. Rubble and flint with a lime core is thick and irregular. A nine inch brick wall is solid too. None of them has a cavity, so a borescope is only needed on the later houses. On an old one the first job is establishing what is behind the plaster.
Breathable, or nothing. An old solid Breamore wall manages moisture by absorbing it and letting it go again from both faces, and any insulation put on it has to allow that. Wood fibre board bedded in lime and finished in lime plaster insulates and still lets the wall dry inwards. Insulated plasterboard with a foil face does the opposite: the masonry behind runs colder and wetter with nowhere for the water to go. BS 5250 sets out how interstitial moisture is managed rather than hoped away.
Where a modern lining does belong. On the later brick houses in Breamore, on a wall that stays dry, internal wall insulation in PIR such as Celotex or Kingspan between battens or a stud, or insulated plasterboard on a continuous bed, taped and skimmed to BS 8000-8, is a perfectly good job with a proper vapour control layer behind it.
Cavity walls, where they exist. One small hole in a mortar joint and a borescope gives the cavity width, whether it is clear and dry and whether a failed or slumped fill is in there. A sound cavity takes bonded bead or blown mineral wool from outside, made good in matched mortar. We do not offer a guarantee scheme of our own. A fill by a registered installer normally comes with a CIGA certificate, so ask whoever drills the wall to show it.
External wall insulation. Boards and a fresh render over a render carrier give the best U value on a solid wall, but on a thatched or listed cottage in the conservation area it is out of the question, and on cob it seals the outside face as well. It belongs on the later houses.
The junctions. Reveals take a thin board or aerogel, which matters more on a Breamore cottage where the openings are small and deep. The threshold and floor junction get returned. Joist ends built into a solid wall keep air around them, and under a thatch the eaves detail is about ventilation as much as heat, because the roof space above has to keep moving air.
Ventilation, and what actually helps. On a cottage like this the cheap wins are draughtproofing, secondary glazing where it is allowed, curtains and shutters, a working extract fan and trickle vents so that Approved Document F is still satisfied. Those have a shorter payback and none of the risk, and we would rather quote them than sell you a lining that does harm.
How it runs
Insulating solid walls without causing damp
Thomas comes out and works out what the walls are made of. Older buildings in Breamore may have solid brick, flint, rubble stone or cob walls, and none of them has a cavity to fill. Newer houses may have a cavity.
He checks with a borescope where it is unclear, looks for damp inside, and tells you what will work. The written quote prices the survey, the lining or other system and how thick it is, reveals and making good at windows and doors, any ventilation, and waste, each on a separate line. Who fits each part is on the quote.
Internal lining is done room by room. Furniture is moved, floors are covered, and waste leaves with us each day. Because Breamore is 16.1 miles out, materials are delivered before work starts. If we find damp, rot in a timber or old wiring behind the plaster, it is photographed and priced, and nothing else is opened up until you agree.
Lining a wall inside is not development, which the guidance on insulation confirms, while cladding the outside falls under what the rules say about cladding a wall. If external insulation is on the table, ask the council first, as Breamore is in the Breamore Conservation Area. On a listed building even a change of plaster can need consent. Regulation 23 sets the standard where more than half a wall is renovated, though historic buildings are treated differently.
Cost
What decides the price of insulating a wall
What the wall is made of. A cavity that is clear and dry can be filled from outside in a day. Solid walls have no cavity to fill, so they are lined inside or insulated outside, which costs more. On a cob or rubble wall, only breathable materials such as wood fibre board with a lime plaster are safe, because the wall must stay able to dry.
The junctions. Reveals at windows and doors, the floor, the ceiling and any party wall are where heat escapes and where condensation forms if the detail is wrong. Taking skirtings, sockets and radiators off and putting them back is most of the labour.
How much room you lose. Internal lining takes some space from each room, and on an older house with deep window reveals and old joinery, fitting around them takes care.
Making good. New lining needs plastering, and often redecorating.
Access. Cavity fill on a two storey wall needs a tower. The work at height rules apply.
Consent. On a listed building, a specification is agreed with the council first.
Ask other firms if they actually looked inside the wall with a borescope, whether the lining breathes on a solid wall, and who plasters afterwards.
If damp has appeared
Damp or mould behind new wall insulation
If damp or mould has appeared on a wall since it was insulated or lined, note where and when it shows. Damp after rain points to water getting in from outside. Damp in cold weather at a corner or window reveal points to condensation at a cold spot.
On a solid or cob wall, tell us if anything has been boarded over, foamed or sealed recently. Keep the room aired and heated. Call us rather than using the form. Wall insulation jobs are booked Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, with any missed call returned when we are next free. The first visit finds the cause before anything is taken out.
Worth knowing
Why a vapour tight lining harms a cob wall
A cob wall is earth, straw and lime. It has no damp proof course and it never had one. It stays standing because it takes water in when the weather is wet and gives it back when the weather is dry, and because the render and the plaster on it are soft enough to let that happen. The thatch over it and the plinth under it are both there to keep the worst of the water off.
Put a sealed, foil faced board on the inside of that wall and the wall stops drying the way it did. The masonry behind the board is now colder, because it is outside the insulation, so it holds more water for longer. And the inside face, which was half of its drying, is closed. The moisture goes somewhere: up the wall, into the timbers, or out through the render, taking the face with it in the first hard frost.
None of that means a cob cottage has to stay cold. It means the materials have to match the wall. Wood fibre in lime, lime plaster, generous draughtproofing, a well insulated roof and ventilation that works. That is a real job with a real result, and it is a different job from the one a national installer will offer you.
Who you are dealing with
Who checks your walls before insulating
Thomas Hannen, the owner, checks your walls and prices the work. He makes the 16.1 mile journey from Boscombe to Breamore and also covers Upper Street, Woodgreen and the lanes along the Avon. Building control and planning here are both New Forest District Council's job.
Companies House will confirm the firm: Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, number 15471719, a company registered in England and Wales. Checkatrade shows one verified customer rating the work at 10 out of 10. The survey visit is free, and the itemised quote comes in writing without charge. Before you book a visit in Breamore, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.
Planning at a glance
Do you need planning permission in Breamore?
Most repairs in Breamore need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.
| Question | In Breamore |
|---|---|
| Who decides | New Forest District Council is the planning authority for Breamore. The National Park boundary runs close by, and the Park's property map shows which side an address falls. |
| Conservation area | Yes: Breamore Conservation Area. Check whether your street is inside the boundary before changing anything visible. |
| Listed buildings | Yes, there are listed buildings in and around Breamore. If yours is one, work can need listed building consent. |
| Protected landscape | No National Park or National Landscape covers Breamore. |
Questions
Questions about wall insulation in Breamore
Can a cob cottage be insulated at all?
Yes, with materials that let it breathe. Wood fibre bedded and finished in lime is the usual route. What it cannot take is a sealed board that stops the wall drying inwards.
Somebody has quoted us for cavity fill. Is that possible here?
Not on a cob, rubble or nine inch brick wall, because there is no cavity to fill. That is worth checking before anyone drills anything, and it takes a tape at a window reveal to settle.
Our thatched cottage is cold. What helps most for the money?
Usually draughtproofing, the roof space where there is one, and stopping anything letting water into the wall. All three have a shorter payback than a lining on a building like this.
Is lime plaster really necessary?
On a wall that has to dry, yes. Cement render and gypsum plaster both hold water against soft masonry, and on cob that is how you lose the face of a wall.
Will we need consent for work inside a listed cottage?
Often, yes, because internal finishes are covered as well as the outside. It is worth asking before anyone quotes, and it is why we put the question in writing rather than guessing.
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Free quote
Have an old wall looked at before anything covers it
Thomas comes out, works out what the wall is made of and what it can safely take, then prices it in writing. The visit and the quote are free.