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Spent most of the day looking at photos which suggest retrofit designers have little idea of the practicalities of installing internal wall insulation into social housing properties…
- Fitted wall to wall wardrobes
- Ornate coving and cornicing
- Wallpaper
- Skirting boards with beading that perfectly match wooden floorboards
- Radiators on external walls
The idea that tenants will let you strip away all of this and put it back together on a shoestring is for the birds.
@JugglingWithEggs much of Scotland’s housing stock is over 100 years old and has all the issues you describe. But wet plaster is much better than plasterboard, and the windows can be sorted out by secondary glazing.
Stopping draughts is far more important than actual insulation.
We do draftproofing as well as ventilation measures too (trickle vents, extractor fans and door undercuts too…you can just imagine how popular the latter are!)
We tend to replace single glazing with double glazing even in conservation areas (yes, there is a lot of social housing in such areas in London too). This involves planning and proposing like for like wooden windows.
But in solid wall construction homes the options are limited to get them up to EPC C rating
@JugglingWithEggs we often have solid internal walls (wet plaster onto stone or brick) but external walls are generally lath & plaster.
Thermal performance is actually not as bad as you might think.
In London of course your wind speeds are much lower and ambient temperatures about 1°C higher. So different construction, different solutions.