How to Add Wall Insulation Without Removing Plaster

Wall insulation is a vital feature for every property, allowing you to maintain a comfortable temperature without excessive energy use or sky-high bills. While new-build properties have well insulated walls as standard, there are countless older buildings which are in need of retrofit solutions.

In this post, we’ll outline how to insulate walls without removing plaster – and the benefits of doing so.

Removing plaster for wall insulation

Before we deep dive into insulation over plaster walls, it’s worth looking at why plaster is normally removed for wall insulation. Quite simply, it’s down to space.

Aside from cavity wall insulation, insulation boards or sheets are the conventional choice when adding insulation to existing walls. While they can be fitted on top of plaster, doing so will eat away at the space of a room quite considerably, especially as they often need plaster on top of them too.

The additional bulk on your walls also poses problems for fixtures and fittings on your wall. Consider your light switches, plug sockets, skirting boards and cornices – all of which might need removing and refitting.

The alternative? Remove the existing plaster, apply insulation materials to the wall, then add plaster on top of the sheet or boards. As you can imagine, this is time consuming, messy and – as a result – pretty costly.

How to insulate walls without removing plaster

Fortunately, insulation boards aren’t the only way to add insulation to your walls. SprayCork can be used as an internal coating, providing the same level of insulation without the bulk that comes with it. Because it’s made using cork, it also has impressive flexibility, breathability and sound cancelling properties.

Here’s how to insulate walls without removing plaster…

1.    Prepare the walls

Rather than removing existing plaster, walls simply need to be cleaned down to remove dirt, dust or mould build-up. A specialist bleach will do the job, allowing the coating to adhere when applied.

2.    Apply two coats of SprayCork

Two thin 3mm coats of SprayCork will provide the sufficient insulation for your walls. You can expect a smooth, even covering with no need to remove or adjust fittings or fixtures.

3.    Skim over with plaster

Finally, a 2mm skim of plaster provides the perfect surface for decoration after your insulation, taking the overall depth to just 8mm.

Applying insulation over your plaster walls

As you can see with the three steps above, SprayCork makes it refreshingly simple to insulate walls without removing plaster. That said, contractors need to be fully trained to get the best results with a smooth, uniform finish.

At Corksol, we have a National Network of Approved Applicators who have gone through rigorous training to use our products for a range of jobs – including insulation over plaster walls. To get a quote for your project, simply contact our team who can answer any questions you may have and put you in touch with a local applicator.