Energy and insulation

Internal dry lining

Insulating a wall from the inside with insulated board.

Post a task Internal dry lining by county

Whether this needs a licence in Ireland

Ireland

No licence required

Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer

Irelandwww.cru.ieChecked 14/10/2026

Internal dry lining: what the job involves

Insulating the external walls from inside, by fixing insulated plasterboard or a stud wall filled with insulation to them, sealing it for airtightness and skimming it ready to paint. It suits solid-wall houses where the outside must not change, and it can be done one room at a time.

Also asked for as: internal wall insulation · insulated plasterboard · dry lining grant · insulate walls from inside · thermal board

How the job is usually done

Survey each external wall for damp, wall type, window reveals and the services that will have to move.
Empty the rooms and take off skirting, window boards, curtain poles and radiators.
Have sockets and switches on those walls moved forward by a registered electrician, and the radiators by a plumber.
Fix the insulated boards or build and fill a stud frame, with a vapour control layer and taped joints.
Insulate the window reveals and seal around the windows and at floors and ceilings.
Skim the boards, refit skirting and window boards, and rehang radiators and fittings.
Record the work for the grant and the BER.

Internal dry lining: what is included

Usually included

Insulated boards or stud and insulation, with airtightness taping
Insulating window reveals where there is room
Skimming the new walls
Refitting skirting and window boards

Usually not included — agree it separately

Moving sockets and switches, which a registered electrician must do
Moving or replacing radiators
Painting the rooms after skimming
Treating rising or penetrating damp found on the walls
New windows

Materials and who supplies them

Insulated plasterboard (PIR or phenolic backed) or timber or metal studs with insulation, supplied by the contractor
Vapour control membrane and airtightness tape
Skim plaster
Replacement skirting and window boards if the old ones do not refit

How long it takes

Around a week for a typical house done room by room; longer where many fittings, radiators or damp repairs are involved.

When to book

Can be done any time of year; doing it room by room when the heating is not needed makes living in the house easier.

Internal dry lining: the rules in Ireland

What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.

For the grant, the work must be done by a contractor on SEAI’s register for that measure, and only after the grant offer is accepted — work started before approval is not grant-aided.
Applies to: the homeowner and the contractor
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland · hes.seai.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
The grant must be claimed within eight months of the offer, and a BER by a registered assessor is needed after the works before SEAI pays.
Applies to: the homeowner
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland · seai.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Building work on a home is charged at the reduced VAT rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business, unless materials make up more than two-thirds of the price.
Applies to: the contractor
Revenue · revenue.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Moving sockets, switches and circuits is Restricted Electrical Works for a Registered Electrical Contractor, who issues a Completion Certificate.
Applies to: the electrician
Safe Electric Ireland, for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities · safeelectric.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Lining walls makes rooms more airtight; ventilation must meet the Building Regulations guidance so condensation and mould do not follow.
Applies to: the contractor
Building Regulations Part F (Department of Housing) · gov.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

Grants

SEAI internal wall insulation (dry-lining) grant
€4,500 for a detached house, €3,500 for a semi-detached or end-of-terrace house, €2,000 for a mid-terrace house and €1,500 for an apartment.
Who qualifies: Owners of homes built and occupied before 31 December 2010, using an SEAI-registered contractor, with approval before work starts.
seai.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Enhanced rates and the Warmer Homes Scheme
Higher “enhanced” grant rates apply to first-time buyers who bought on or after 1 January 2025, people on qualifying welfare payments, and homes with a HAP or RAS tenancy. Homeowners on certain welfare payments in homes built and occupied before 2006 may get a fully funded upgrade instead.
Who qualifies: Owners who meet the scheme’s conditions; the fully funded route has a waiting list SEAI quotes at about 15 months.
seai.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
SEAI One Stop Shop
A registered One Stop Shop manages a whole-house upgrade to at least a B BER, handles the grants and deducts them from the price up front.
Who qualifies: Homeowners planning several upgrades together that bring the home to at least a B BER.
seai.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

What internal dry lining costs, and why

What jobs on Talqero came to

Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.

What affects the price

Number of external walls and rooms
Sockets, switches, radiators and kitchen units on those walls
Window reveals and how much room there is to insulate them
Board thickness against the floor area lost
Damp or failed plaster that must be dealt with first
Whether the work is part of an SEAI grant
VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business — unless the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, when Revenue’s two-thirds rule applies the goods rate to the whole job. Ask whether a quote includes VAT.

What insulation costs: SEAI’s median figures

What insulation costs: SEAI’s median figures
Upgrade and home	Median cost
Attic, semi-detached or end of terrace	€2,101
Attic, detached	€2,700
Cavity wall, semi-detached or end of terrace	€1,585
Internal dry-lining, semi-detached or end of terrace	€9,843
Internal dry-lining, detached	€8,600
External wall insulation, semi-detached or end of terrace	€23,219

Median cost of grant-supported upgrades completed January–June 2026, as reported by contractors to SEAI — before the grant is deducted.

SEAI — median costs of individual energy upgrades, January–June 2026

Paperwork to ask for at the end

An itemised invoice and the SEAI declaration of works for a grant
The electrician’s Completion Certificate for moved sockets and switches
A post-works BER for the grant

Safety

Cutting boards and sanding skim is dusty; rooms being worked on should be sealed off.
Any electrical work behind the boards must be finished and tested before they go up.
Old plaster, textured coatings and floor tiles in pre-2000 houses can contain asbestos and should be checked before they are disturbed.

Internal dry lining: before you hire

Questions to ask a tradesperson

Are you on SEAI’s register for internal wall insulation?
What board or system will you use, and how thick?
How will you deal with the window reveals?
Who moves the sockets and radiators, and is that in the price?
How will you make sure the rooms stay ventilated?

What you can do yourself

A competent DIYer can fix insulated plasterboard to a sound wall, but grant work needs a registered contractor and any socket moves need a registered electrician.

What to put in your task

How many rooms have external walls to line?
What type of home is it?
What is on those walls that would have to move?
Are there damp patches or mould on any outside wall?
Are you applying for the SEAI grant?

Photos that help

Each external wall inside, with the window in frame
Radiators, sockets and switches on those walls
A window reveal, close up
Any damp patches or mould

Internal dry lining by county

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Energy and insulation

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Questions about internal dry lining

Does internal dry lining need a licence in Ireland?

No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.cru.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.

How much room space will I lose?

Typically the thickness of the board plus plaster on each external wall, often in the region of 60 to 100 mm. In a small room that matters, so agree the thickness with the contractor.

Can I do one room at a time?

Yes, and many people do when paying for it themselves. If you want the SEAI grant, agree the scope with the registered contractor before splitting the work up, because the grant is paid for the measure on the house rather than room by room.

Is dry-lining better than external insulation?

Neither is better everywhere. Dry-lining leaves the outside of the house untouched and can go room by room, but it loses floor space and needs fittings moved; external insulation keeps rooms as they are but needs scaffolding and changes how the house looks.

Often booked with internal dry lining

Insulation installers