
Thermal insulation upgrades
Care needs to be taken when considering upgrading the thermal insulation of traditional solid-walled buildings. There is a risk that the application of a thermally insulating layer internally causes enough of a temperature drop within the wall to cause a build of moisture within the fabric of the building (read 'Interstitial Condensation')
Latest guidance can be found here.
Traditional buildings are particularly vulnerable to unwanted effects of energy retrofit measures. Their moisture behaviour is completely different to that of a modern construction.
Building regulations give flexibility for traditionally built houses to ensure that changes don't cause deterioration of the building's fabric.
The following is taken from Approved Document L 0.10:
The energy efficiency of historic and traditional dwellings should be improved only if doing so will
not cause long-term deterioration of the building’s fabric or fittings. In particular, this applies to
historic and traditional buildings with a vapour-permeable construction that both absorbs moisture
and readily allows moisture to evaporate. Examples include those built with wattle and daub, cob
or stone and constructions using lime render or mortar.
