Well, I've just spent half a day in the loft adding insulation and boarding - and have only done half of it. As well as lath and plaster there is the original 1930s wiring (no longer live) and new wiring that goes all over the place so job one was to remove the steel pipes filled with 1930s fabric bound electrical wires, and to get all the wires out of the way of the insulation (so there's no risk of overheating.

I'm keen to have a boarded loft, and didn't want to go with the insulated modular boarding option (too expensive) or the option of extending the joists so I've gone for the plan of adding mineral wool between the joists, boarding over, adding XPS board or something, then boarding again. Complicated, but cheaper and hopefully easier to fit round all the timbers.

The cut to fit 100mm thick stuff was quite hard to find - everyone has the 200mm stuff that you put over the top, but I had to go to three stores before I found one that did it (Homebase in Ewell). However, it was really good - not very itchy and easy to cut to shape with scissors into the various thicknesses and shapes.

The boarding was just 20mm chipboard which I bought in a couple of big sheets, then the guys at Homebase sliced it into 40cm wide strips so I could fit it up through the loft hatch. I then cut it roughly to shape in the loft and screwed it down to the joists.

So now next step is stage 2: getting into the side loft above the extension (where there's currently no access), and stage 3: an extra level of insulation boarding above the mineral wool between the joists. Watch this space!

The house came with an old inefficient fridge freezer - so we thought we'd get a new efficient one. However, we foolishly took the old one to the tip this weekend on the day the old one was due to arrive - and then it didn't arrive and won't for a week. So we're making do with this little bijou borrowed one for the next few days. It's even smaller than it looks.

OK, first things first, I've fixed the windows at the front so they close. Partly to keep out burglars, partly to save some energy. The problem is that the plastic window plates that the window latches fit into have all broken. As a result the previous owners had used draughtproofing tape like sellotape to keep the windows closed and the draughts out (!). Didn't work very well, and not very good at keeping burglars out - most of the ground floor windows could just be opened from the outside using fingertip pressure.

I guess this is a problem with quite a lot of aging double glazed windows, and we had a bit of a think about what to do to fix the problem. In the end we've made (with many thanks to my dad for his brazing skills) 12 replacement catches which have been pop-riveted into the original holes. The windows now seal with a satisfying pull in to the integral draughtproofing strip. Result.

How much will it save? Watch this space.

I've just completed the Home Energy Masterplan survey on my house. I've not completed the analysis of all the options, but the calculations show that the house has an annual CO2 footprint  of 8.8 tonnes of CO2, and energy bills will be about £1420 per year. This seem a bit much, so I'm keen to get some stuff done before winter.

I'm planning to monitor progress on imeasure.org.uk - this is run by Oxford University and allows you to chart your energy use online, compare with other people, that sort of thing. I'll also be using it to compare against the predictions from I've added a couple of readings so far, will try to add readings every week, not sure I'll manage but will give it a go.

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the 'before' house - empty, as we've not moved in yet. Gallery below

I've just bought a new house! It is a semi detached house in Epsom with solid brick walls, a very old and inefficient boiler, and a newer dormer extension and a huge cold conservatory at the back. Quite a typical 'metroland' type house of the time, built in 1935. I'll be doing a masterplan for it shortly, watch this space!