1

Is it possible to buy insulating indoor wall tiles?

I have just bought a house and am in the process of slowly renovating it. The bathroom is an extension that was added to the house approx 40 years ago and sits at the rear of the property. It has three external walls and although it has a radiator it is always very cold in there.

The walls have had cavity wall insulation done (approx 7-10 years ago) and I have added loft insulation to the roof cavity (the extension is only a single story).

It is currently single-glazed but I do plan on getting double glazing installed in a couple of years time.

I am about to tile the interior walls, but before I do this I want to make sure there is nothing further I can do reduce heat-loss. I have looked around but I cannot see any tiles that have insulating properties, do such things exist? If not, is there anything I can attach to the walls prior to tiling?

EDIT: I live in the UK btw...

Improve this question
1
  • you can get plasic cladding systems for bathroom walls
    – Walker
    Jan 20, 2012 at 22:03

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

What kind of construction is the floor? It seems to me that the floor would be your main heat loss culprit if you're up to a sufficient insulation value in the walls and ceiling.

To answer your question directly: There are no ceramic or composite tiles that significantly add to the R-value of the structure. However, there are additional materials that you can place inside the walls.

I would look into other things, like heat loss through a window, or through a fan vent that draws air, or through the floor. If the room still feels cold, I would definitely include in your renovation a heated floor mat, which gets embedded in self-leveling cement and then tiled over. Having a nice warm floor in the morning when you get out of the shower is one of the ultimate simple luxuries in my opinion.

Improve this answer
2
  • The floor is 18mm water-resistant hardboard (the green stuff) and is currently un-carpeted so it could account for the heat loss. We have access to the cavity below the floor so working on this area at this stage would make sense :)
    – danwellman
    Jan 20, 2012 at 22:56
  • BTW, one of the materials you can place "inside" the wall is Schluter's KERDI-board, which has an R value of 2.0 per half inch. It takes the place of cementboard and membrane and gets attached to the walls.
    – Karl Katzke
    Jan 23, 2012 at 0:12
2

You can install insulating plasterboard. This is slightly thicker than normal plasterboard so will make the interior dimensions of the room even smaller.

Given that you have installed cavity wall insulation already the extra insulation might not be worth the extra cost and effort to install. However, if you are removing the existing plaster/plasterboard for any reason then it would be worth considering.

There area also thin (10mm) insulation boards you can get for floors, but I'm not sure whether they'd work on walls. You'd need to fix them securely to the walls so that they could take the weight of the tiles.

I'd recommend talking to a local tile specialist.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.