Cold double-brick house problems

Hi Forum,

We have a 1940's double brick house in Melbourne and although it has ceiling insulation, ducted heating in the roof and a gas heater in the lounge its a struggle to keep warm in winter.

Is it just the nature of double brick houses to be cold ?- its perfect in summer but cold in winter..

Some things we're considering, but need advice on:
We think the ceiling insulation is pretty crap, how can we tell what rating it is, and can we just add extra insulation over the existing to increase the R rating or would it be better to rip out the old and install new? Don't care about rebates or anything, the cold is the issue!

Is it worth having the cavity between the internal and external brick walls filled? Is there much heat flow from the internal wall into the cavity and is this over-kill in Melbourne?

The thermal mass of the bricks works for us in summer as it takes days of high temps to heat up but how do we make it work in winter as well? Can we actually pump enough heat into the house to heat the walls up and keep it there for some time without 24x7 heating?

Any advice appreciated, especially from people dealing with or who have dealt with the same problem.


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