It's lovely to see people using this method, we are doing the same in our cold Victorian cottage with solid walls. It's worth the money and effort. I would recommend a fibreglass mesh though, I found the lime plaster is prone to shrinking and cracking.
I reposted the Twitter threads on my blog Insulating a pre-1919 stone built Scottish House, Esk Tower jriddell.org/2023/07/13/insulating-a-pre-1919-stone-built-scottish-house-esk-tower/ Keeping Stone Dry, a French Drain on pre-1919 Scottish House Esk Tower jriddell.org/2023/07/13/keeping-stone-dry-a-french-drain-on-pre-1919-scottish-house-esk-tower/
Thanks for sharing. Im moving into a stone cottage in the borders soon and trying to figure out how to insulate it… This is all brilliant but its a LOT of time and wet trades. You said it’s called on the harth, is there another method? Would be great to see an update on how it has/hasnt improved over the last couple of years too :)
lots of rivers called Esk in the British Isles, weirdly they didn't want to name my house after the Gore water is actually is next to. feel free to get in touch if you need help
Thanks for sharing. We have a 300 year old stone house in North pennines and are looking at retro insulating in a breathable way. You mention a lime mortar that you mix with sharp sand to repair stonework but I can't catch the word before, sounds like Saint something....is it the make? Or something else? I'm a novice to, strapped for money, no idea but want to do something similar and we'll, so any info would be helpful. Thanks so much 😊
I think I used Tradiblanc for the stonework, on recommendation of a neighbour of mine masonsmortar.co.uk/shop/hl-modified-hydraulic-limes-natural-cement/tradiblanc/ It's a specialist area though. These people can also likely advise www.lime-green.co.uk/
Lovely method, I watched the video to see if there is a way to mix together modern passive house style air tight buildings and HVAC ERV ventilation with an old and breathable stone house. It seems like you've gone closer to the breathable old school way of working. How do you find humidity and ventilation inside the house? Are you happy with the results?
it's decently air tight but ive not done a smoke test at all. I've no issues with ventilation or humidity the windows built in vent do vent it enough, i also have two log fires which will vent it. having said that the stair well remains unchanged for now. stone buildings need to be breathable for moisture else you get damp walls, see the blog I linked in the comments here for draining around the walls.
Yep, see my blog posts jriddell.org/2023/07/13/insulating-a-pre-1919-stone-built-scottish-house-esk-tower/ jriddell.org/2023/07/13/keeping-stone-dry-a-french-drain-on-pre-1919-scottish-house-esk-tower/
I believe that's an option but I've not looked into it myself. The insulation would need to be moisture permeable (breathable) as it is here so don't use Kingspan style expanded foam for example.
Yes everything needs to be beathable for moisture. www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/diathonite-evolution Diathonite Evolution is a mix of lime, cork and clay. The paint and wallpaper also need to be vapour permeable.
I'd also love to know the answer to this. If you want to mount a TV for example, do you need to tap through long bolts with plugs all the way through the insulation to get to stone? Not sure you could hang anything heavy on the skimmed plaster and wood board.. but that mantle piece above the fire looks heavy, so I wonder what the answer it?
After some years where there was no house construction due to war there was a lot of construction of buildings using different materials like brick and concrete
I realise it adds a lot of extra effort to film on top of the huge project you have taken on so many thanks for taking the time and trouble. Unfortunately, I had to stop watching half-way through. because the jerky camera movements and over-fast pans were making me feel a bit sick. I enjoyed your narration though and it is always fascinating to see what is lurking behind the walls of an old property.
Yes, I felt the same! Jonathan - interesting video and thanks for doing it, but if you ever do any more filming of your projects, please do some panning both ways, not always to the right so fast!
Lovely old house
It's lovely to see people using this method, we are doing the same in our cold Victorian cottage with solid walls. It's worth the money and effort. I would recommend a fibreglass mesh though, I found the lime plaster is prone to shrinking and cracking.
Well done! Thanks for taking the trouble to document that work.
Amazing Jonathan well done 🙂😻
fantastic work, thanks for sharing, very helpful
Sounds like the pilot on my flight 😅
I reposted the Twitter threads on my blog
Insulating a pre-1919 stone built Scottish House, Esk Tower
jriddell.org/2023/07/13/insulating-a-pre-1919-stone-built-scottish-house-esk-tower/
Keeping Stone Dry, a French Drain on pre-1919 Scottish House Esk Tower
jriddell.org/2023/07/13/keeping-stone-dry-a-french-drain-on-pre-1919-scottish-house-esk-tower/
I'll definitely have a look at the French drain aspects as I've moved into a '60s property in Highland Perthshire that needs some attention!
Thanks for sharing. Im moving into a stone cottage in the borders soon and trying to figure out how to insulate it… This is all brilliant but its a LOT of time and wet trades. You said it’s called on the harth, is there another method? Would be great to see an update on how it has/hasnt improved over the last couple of years too :)
@@zachpygall3063 No recent changes as my life has been busy but maybe I'll get back to it this winter
I have a not too dissimilar house in a very similar location with a similar name! Needing to do something to tye utility room, probably this!
lots of rivers called Esk in the British Isles, weirdly they didn't want to name my house after the Gore water is actually is next to. feel free to get in touch if you need help
Thanks for sharing. We have a 300 year old stone house in North pennines and are looking at retro insulating in a breathable way. You mention a lime mortar that you mix with sharp sand to repair stonework but I can't catch the word before, sounds like Saint something....is it the make? Or something else? I'm a novice to, strapped for money, no idea but want to do something similar and we'll, so any info would be helpful. Thanks so much 😊
Saint-Astier® NHL I believe. I used NHL 3.5 of a different brand.
Thank you! @@davidleisk580
I think I used Tradiblanc for the stonework, on recommendation of a neighbour of mine masonsmortar.co.uk/shop/hl-modified-hydraulic-limes-natural-cement/tradiblanc/
It's a specialist area though. These people can also likely advise www.lime-green.co.uk/
Lovely method, I watched the video to see if there is a way to mix together modern passive house style air tight buildings and HVAC ERV ventilation with an old and breathable stone house. It seems like you've gone closer to the breathable old school way of working. How do you find humidity and ventilation inside the house? Are you happy with the results?
it's decently air tight but ive not done a smoke test at all. I've no issues with ventilation or humidity the windows built in vent do vent it enough, i also have two log fires which will vent it. having said that the stair well remains unchanged for now. stone buildings need to be breathable for moisture else you get damp walls, see the blog I linked in the comments here for draining around the walls.
Good
Your Twitter thread links no longer work due to account no longer existing. Do you have the information in some other form? Thanks.
Yep, see my blog posts jriddell.org/2023/07/13/insulating-a-pre-1919-stone-built-scottish-house-esk-tower/ jriddell.org/2023/07/13/keeping-stone-dry-a-french-drain-on-pre-1919-scottish-house-esk-tower/
Great video, very impressive. Do you notice a big difference? Did you lose much room space ?
We gained room space as the insulation on the stone takes up less width than the plasterboard and stud box walling. The rooms are nice and warm now.
Would framing out the wall and using batt insulation be okay or could that cause moisture/ mild issues?
I believe that's an option but I've not looked into it myself. The insulation would need to be moisture permeable (breathable) as it is here so don't use Kingspan style expanded foam for example.
Well done - the final result looks great. What approximately were your material costs?
I think these two rooms came in at a bit under £5000
You mentioned the lime mortar is breathable for moisture, does the same apply to the screed you’d used directly onto the stone?
Yes everything needs to be beathable for moisture. www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/diathonite-evolution Diathonite Evolution is a mix of lime, cork and clay. The paint and wallpaper also need to be vapour permeable.
I liked your vid, but it's very quiet. Out of interest how thick are those walls? It's built like a bomb shelter!
See also Twitter threads twitter.com/jriddell/status/1354528361851351041 and twitter.com/jriddell/status/1362507482204143619
What do you need to do to attach things to the wall? I assume long screws to go into the stone?
I think he used glue
I'd also love to know the answer to this. If you want to mount a TV for example, do you need to tap through long bolts with plugs all the way through the insulation to get to stone? Not sure you could hang anything heavy on the skimmed plaster and wood board.. but that mantle piece above the fire looks heavy, so I wonder what the answer it?
What happened in 1919?
After some years where there was no house construction due to war there was a lot of construction of buildings using different materials like brick and concrete
I realise it adds a lot of extra effort to film on top of the huge project you have taken on so many thanks for taking the time and trouble. Unfortunately, I had to stop watching half-way through. because the jerky camera movements and over-fast pans were making me feel a bit sick. I enjoyed your narration though and it is always fascinating to see what is lurking behind the walls of an old property.
Thanks, it was my first attempt at a bit of film making, maybe I should buy a steadycam holder for next time
Omg....did i feel motion sick after watching 🤢....all that spinning around to the right👎....otherwise it was a good watch👍
Yes, I felt the same! Jonathan - interesting video and thanks for doing it, but if you ever do any more filming of your projects, please do some panning both ways, not always to the right so fast!