Wallpaper can function as a beautiful, personal aspect to a home. But there are other aspects that it can serve beyond just that. It can even act as a way to insulate a room as well.
Wallpaper isn’t technically made to insulate a room. However, there are similar products such as thermal liners and insulation boards that can act as insulation and still resemble the look of wallpaper. Whichever option you choose, you should have no problem installing it on your own.
Sometimes a house just isn’t insulated well enough and needs some extra work to keep in more of the heat. Below, you will find some different options to help you choose how to insulate your room, as well as some tips and reasons for doing so.
Thermal Liner:
Also more commonly known as thermal wallpaper, the thermal liner is an insulating liner that can act as wallpaper. It’s the most popular method used to insulate walls from the inside that have already been completed.
According to the website The Greenage, thermal liner is defined as “…basically a thin material that is used to help maintain heat in a room. It is made from wood fibres interwoven with durable textile fibres. This gives you is a very strong, flexible material that when attached to the walls is said to increase the energy efficiency of the room in question.” Source
The material is typically white and applied similarly to wallpaper. Basically, all you have to do is mark your vertical, straight lines on the wall, cover the wall in a generous application of liner adhesive, and apply the liner with the fluffy side down.
Thermal liners are not terribly expensive either and rather easy to install on your own, as explained a little more in the process above.
If you would like your thermal liner to look even nicer, you can paint over them or even put additional wallpaper on top of it. The material of the liner is very durable and can handle the additional work if you’d like to change the way it looks on the surface.
The most popular option, and probably the best one too, for thermal liners, is Wallrock Thermal Liner. It is described by the website Go Wallpaper as “Made from a technologically advanced thermal insulation material bonded to a high quality lining paper.” Starting prices for the liner is given on this website as well. Be advised that it is based in the UK so prices are listed in pounds. Source
Insulation Boards
These are other possible options to help insulate a room. Insulation boards are most commonly made out of some mix of plastic and polystyrene (which is a type of foam). Once these boards are attached to the wall, they can still be covered with wallpaper as well. Paint can be used on insulation boards, but only certain kinds such as water-based acrylics and latex paint.
More than one type of insulation panel exists, so let’s look at some of the different choices.
PIR insulation boards: These are probably the most efficient type of board, as it does a wonderful job keeping in heat even if the board is thin. If your house has cavity walls, this board will be a good option for insulation.
XPS insulation boards: These boards are rather pressure-resistant and also work well for cavity walls.
PUR insulation boards: This type of insulation board is one of the best there is and can come in the form of a foam variant as well. These boards are fairly thick and are recommended for wall insulation among many others.
Other Options For Conserving Heat
There are a few other options to help insulate a room, though they aren’t as easy.
The first is thermal paint. There is such a thing as insulating paint and it works similarly to thermal liners except in liquid form. While it does take a few coats for the paint to help warm up your room effectively, it is another insulating option and one that can still leave the room looking nice and decorated.
Another option depends on the type of walls the room has. If the room has any cavity walls (which is when there are two walls right next to each other with a hollow center in between), which is highly probable if the house was built after the 1930s, it is possible to insulate it. To do this, there is a process where you drill holes into the wall and fill the space with either Polyurethane spray foam, insulating beads, or different types of fiberglass.
Tips For Installation
The first thing to do is identify what type of wall it is. Once you know if it’s a cavity wall or not, you can pick which way you would like to insulate it.
If you use a thermal or foam liner of any kind, don’t bend it around the corners of the room. Cut it instead and this will help it to fit better.
Use a seam roller or something long and flat to smooth out the liner or wallpaper after it is put on. This will make sure that there are no bubbles or extra ridges. Then you can wipe off any extra adhesive that may have squeezed out. Be sure to use a damp cloth to do that!
Why You Should Insulate Your Walls
There are many reasons for insulating your walls. Keeping the room warmer, of course, is one. Up to 35% of heat in homes is lost through walls, so it’s very beneficial to make sure your walls are insulated. It also helps to save energy and money because of the extra heat that is preserved. Insulation helps to heat up a room more quickly as well.
A benefit of insulating your walls that may not be as noticeable is soundproofing! That’s right, whether it’s to keep extra noises around the house out of a specific room or to keep noises from a specific room from being as noticeable anywhere else, insulating your walls can help to keep your house much quieter.
