I arrived her last August 2011 and didn't realise how cold the Winter was going to be.Having served with HM Forces in Canada for just over two years I thought I could handle any Winter as you may know they have some real bad Winters.What I didn't expect was the lenghth of the cold spell that we had through February of this year and I was told that it was the coldest Winter for 45 years and I managed to be here for it.
Now the point of this is that I have Fribraned my house as cavity wall insulation is a bit difficult with a stone built property. It was a bit expensive to buy but doing it your self is not that hard and well worth it and it has the reverse effect in the Summer by keeping your house cool
The tools that you need is a sharp knife a tape measure a plasterers trowl and some scaffolding and a sponge and an electric drill. What you need to buy is the 4cm Fribran and not the 2cm thick as it speaks for it self why and do not buy the 1 meter lengths. Also reqiured is the plastic duvals (spikes) and plastic netting(scrim) and Teracol (cement) the good stuff like "
Webber"
which is about 12 lv a bag.On approx 60 sq mtrs you will need about 15 bags of Teracol around 500 duvals and of course the plastic netting to cover the area.

Step 1.Cut the netting to size as it comes in rolls about 1.5 meters wide.
Step 2. place netting against the wall and blob some teracol to hold it in place.
step 3.Cover the netting with a thin layer of teracol and wait until dry and do this until the desired area is covered.
Step 4.Cut your Fribran which comes in 4x1 Meter lengths as mine did to size( you may not have to depending on the size of your wall).
Step 5.Place healthy blobs of teracol on the Fribran making sure that the interlocking grooves are the right way giving you the back.
Step 6. Place the Fribran on the wall with pressure applied and use your level to ensure a level surface.If not put more Teracol on.
Step 7. Using a 8mm drill bit drill holes around 6 per meter into the Fribraned wall and hammer home each hole with a plastic duval.
Step.8 Using your plasterers trowl cover the area with teracol as smooth as you can and allow to almost dry( Not to large an area)
Step.9 Take your sponge and a bucket of water and dampen the sponge to almost wet and in straight movements either horizontal or verticaly
smooth out the ridges to a perfect flat finish and DO NOT use circular movements or you will tear the teracol off or leave more ridges.

This does not make me an expert by any means but I used to do plastering many years ago and if you follow these steps I think you will achieve good results. I live in Brestak village near Vulchi Dol and if you live close enough come and have a look and a cuppa!
I will let you know this Winter how the Fribran has affected the insulation of my house.

We put Fibran on 2 years ago and I can assure you, you will notice the difference.

You will also need to insulate your loft space if you can get to it. Ordinary Polystyrene is ok but again the thicker it is the better. The rational behind doing this is hot air rises and you may well lose part of your heating through the ceilings. some people may well say but the ceilings are solid concrete but heat will find a way through. Stay warm

speedgunner that is a Well done!!

Glad you are doing well and settling into life in BG. Look forward to more of your fab posts!!!

Hope to see you at the Silistra Garden Party this year Sat 6th Oct

Oddy

we insulated our roof and had to drop the heating by 2 degrees, fab.

speedgunner I love it when a plan comes together....

Insulation has been our main function since we bought our property, first of all the windows had to be sorted and all taken out, siliconed, pinned and puttied, no windows had more than a few inches of hard useless putty left in them, the house was like a sieve when the wind blew Our kitchen has 32 panes of glass and we have 10 rooms, so that was a big job. Then the rain came through in several parts of the house and that had to be taken care of. For the past few weeks I have been crazy paving two large walls which are on the outside of our utility room. These walls needed cementing and covering with paving to stave off the cold and seal them safely for the coming Winter. Haven't got around to doing anything with the expansion tank with the central heating radiators, but that will certainly have to be done when I can get up into the loft.