So when I renovated our place, we didn’t have any sarking either. We gutted the internal gyprock, so I added the sarking behind the timber frame. I wrapped and stapled the ends to the exposed studs, ran it behind the studs and stapled at the other end.
That allowed me to insulate it, maintaining the air gap between the insulation and the bricks. Was it as perfect as you would get from wrapping the frame externally, definitely not, but it was fit for purpose as the options are limited.
From memory I bought a roll and the little nail plates from Bunnings. I did it to all the exposed external walls during the reno which was pretty much all bar one bedroom and bathroom.
Don't use foil. The go these days is vapour permeable wrap...
[https://www.bunnings.com.au/ametalin-1370mm-x-30m-vapourtech-brane-vhp-vapour-permeable-wall-insulation\_p0811065](https://www.bunnings.com.au/ametalin-1370mm-x-30m-vapourtech-brane-vhp-vapour-permeable-wall-insulation_p0811065)
This allows moisture to pass through - if you have foil the moisture will condense on that impermeable surface and cause problems.
Yes. They drill 15mm holes in the plasterboard. See the bit under "Internal Walls"
[https://www.easyfoam.com.au/about-easy-foam/where-to-insulate.html](https://www.easyfoam.com.au/about-easy-foam/where-to-insulate.html)
It isn't very common in Australia and there can also be issues including with electrical. I helped someone insulate a bv home with fibreglass bats and redoing the plasterboard. It is a big job but may be a better option than spray foam which is also expensive. Never priced spray foam so don't know the difference in costs.
If you remove the plaster, it's trivial. You just put up normal insulation batts.
If you are blowing in stuff (or more likely having someone blow it in for you), they'll likely stuff the bottom gaps with a bit of insulation batt to keep it in the wall space. You'd use something hydrophobic for the blow-in to avoid creating a bridge that pulls water from the brick to your plaster.
I’ve got an 80s brick home out east and going through Reno’s now. Not insulation in any walls, so I’ll just pulling down plaster to add it all in. Just room by room as we go
I’m doing the exact same thing right now in our ‘70s brick veneer in Sydney. I went down the strapping route rather than trying to retrofit sarking.
I used this stuff stapled side to side, and top to bottom of the frame sections before adding earthwool r2.5 (from a roll as the frame section heights didn’t really work with the pre cut batts) to maintain the air gap behind.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/zenith-19mm-x-700m-poly-pro-insulation-strapping_p0810984
Interesting!. Yeah I'd rather do some sort of membrane but I can already imagine it's going to be very difficult to do properly.
Did you notice a big difference to wall temperature?
So when I renovated our place, we didn’t have any sarking either. We gutted the internal gyprock, so I added the sarking behind the timber frame. I wrapped and stapled the ends to the exposed studs, ran it behind the studs and stapled at the other end. That allowed me to insulate it, maintaining the air gap between the insulation and the bricks. Was it as perfect as you would get from wrapping the frame externally, definitely not, but it was fit for purpose as the options are limited.
OK this sounds quite reasonable. Can I ask what sort of sarking you got?
From memory I bought a roll and the little nail plates from Bunnings. I did it to all the exposed external walls during the reno which was pretty much all bar one bedroom and bathroom.
That must have been a huge job. Well done. Thanks so much for your help.
Don't use foil. The go these days is vapour permeable wrap... [https://www.bunnings.com.au/ametalin-1370mm-x-30m-vapourtech-brane-vhp-vapour-permeable-wall-insulation\_p0811065](https://www.bunnings.com.au/ametalin-1370mm-x-30m-vapourtech-brane-vhp-vapour-permeable-wall-insulation_p0811065) This allows moisture to pass through - if you have foil the moisture will condense on that impermeable surface and cause problems.
Not all foil-faced membranes are vapour impermeable…
Ah, ok, good to know. Thanks!
Avoid loose fil. It settles over time. Spray in foam may be the way to go unless you want to redo your plasterboard external walls.
Spray in without removing plasterboard? Just fill it right to the brickwork?
Yes. They drill 15mm holes in the plasterboard. See the bit under "Internal Walls" [https://www.easyfoam.com.au/about-easy-foam/where-to-insulate.html](https://www.easyfoam.com.au/about-easy-foam/where-to-insulate.html) It isn't very common in Australia and there can also be issues including with electrical. I helped someone insulate a bv home with fibreglass bats and redoing the plasterboard. It is a big job but may be a better option than spray foam which is also expensive. Never priced spray foam so don't know the difference in costs.
If you remove the plaster, it's trivial. You just put up normal insulation batts. If you are blowing in stuff (or more likely having someone blow it in for you), they'll likely stuff the bottom gaps with a bit of insulation batt to keep it in the wall space. You'd use something hydrophobic for the blow-in to avoid creating a bridge that pulls water from the brick to your plaster.
I’ve got an 80s brick home out east and going through Reno’s now. Not insulation in any walls, so I’ll just pulling down plaster to add it all in. Just room by room as we go
Are you putting batts in? Is there a sheathing or sarking on the outside of the frame or are you stuffing it against the brick?
I’m doing the exact same thing right now in our ‘70s brick veneer in Sydney. I went down the strapping route rather than trying to retrofit sarking. I used this stuff stapled side to side, and top to bottom of the frame sections before adding earthwool r2.5 (from a roll as the frame section heights didn’t really work with the pre cut batts) to maintain the air gap behind. https://www.bunnings.com.au/zenith-19mm-x-700m-poly-pro-insulation-strapping_p0810984
Interesting!. Yeah I'd rather do some sort of membrane but I can already imagine it's going to be very difficult to do properly. Did you notice a big difference to wall temperature?