House is freezing

[V8A*ndy]

Moved into a new house some time ago. It's 5 years old in a nice development and I really am struggling to heat the place.

Gas boiler working ok. Rads heat ok. Tonight the house won't go above 17c with heating on full for the last six hours. Temp in rads is fine checked with infrared thermometer and all hot from top to buttom.

I got into the loft and noticed some insulation missing near the chimney stack above the master bedroom and a lot of this seems to be disturbed for some reason, however in general there seems to be a good coverage.(I can't access the entire roof as I have a disabilty).

There is dorma windows and the sides of these seem really cold as does the slopes of the roof either side of the windows. The bedroom above the integral garage is even colder I supposed that is to be expected.

Is there a way to check the walls ect are all insulated properly without getting an expert in.

[Simpo Two]

What about draughts through windows and doors? Place the back of your hand very close to the crack to check. You can also identify cold rooms by closing the door to a 1cm gap, then using the same trick at floor level to see which way the cold air is going.

[hidetheelephants]

Do digital cameras do infrared? Could get a thermal survey done, google turns up these chaps first, I'm sure there are others. You can get pukka thermal imagers like the fire brigade use, but they seem to cost a fortune, even just hiring one seems to be expensive.

[51mes]

Had amazing problems heating my first house...

turned out there was a brick missing behind the boiler, and it was just covered by the chimeny shield - apparently I was very lucky not to have gassed myself with the wind in the wrong direction..

suggestion woudl be close all the doors in the house then leave for a couple of hours and try each room in turn - see if any one is particularly cold...

Loft insulation can make a hell of a difference..

Simes.

[V8A*ndy]

hidetheelephants said:

Do digital cameras do infrared? Could get a thermal survey done, google turns up these chaps first, I'm sure there are others. You can get pukka thermal imagers like the fire brigade use, but they seem to cost a fortune, even just hiring one seems to be expensive.

I actually used to know someone who had one of those but he works abroad now. Beginning to think it's an insulation problem in the loft as the downstairs rooms all ok except the hall and upstairs baltic.

I can't move about too well up there due to my disability but I think the guy who lived here before me has had some problem with the gu10 downlighters (in all rooms). I'm not sure he has the proper covers on them either and he has used tea lights as a source of lighting whilst working at them Wax spilt all over the place.

Looks like i'm gonna need a proffesional in.

[Dave_ST220]

Who made it? Persimmon have been caught on some developments not fitting any insulation to the cavity walls!!! Speak to neighbours-do they have the same issues?

[Kermit power]

If you've got insulation messed around up there, might that suggest mice, squirrels or rats in the loft?

[andy43]

If it's 5 years old and developer-built, build quality may not be the best.
Now they do airtightness testing - not sure when they started that tho', or even if they do it on every house on a development

Missing sections of insulation, dot'n'dab'd plasterboard walls, gaps under the skirting, downlighters in every room, trickle vents to every window, basically as airtight as a sieve that's had the bottom knocked out of it with a hammer.
A relative has such a house - on a windy winters day you can feel a draught at every plug socket as the air runs down the back of the plasterboard from the loft, wind under the sink, cold under every bit of skirting, it's horrendous. Loft insulation is a waste of time in that situation.
Carpets up and seal all the skirting gaps with silicone, intumescent hoods over all the downlighters, redo the loft, basically everything you can do to try and stop air getting in. And stick an extra jumper on.

Edited by andy43 on Saturday 28th November 12:29

[HiRich]

Simpo Two said:

What about draughts through windows and doors? Place the back of your hand very close to the crack to check. You can also identify cold rooms by closing the door to a 1cm gap, then using the same trick at floor level to see which way the cold air is going.

I would certainly do this. I found some major leaks in and out which once sealed reduced costs and improved comfort (I sat close to one of the major leaks). It's also the easiest to deal with - loads of stuff at the DIY store, and some picture framing nails to make sure it doesn't come loose.
Also:

• Shut internal doors: Does a decent job, and as mentioned already helps highlight the problem rooms.
• If you have under-window radiators, make sure the hot air comes inside the curtains rather than between curtains and window (and from there straight outside)
• Run a thin rubber seal around the loft hatch, if you have one. A square of foam-backed aluminium foil on the top face would help as well.
• As mentioned on a recent thread, I'm a fan of foam-backed aluminium foil behind the radiator

[Ferg]

How hot are the rads? I go to so many houses where the rads are simply not hot enough. You should really be running with 80 degrees in the rads.

[Deva Link]

V8A*ndy said:

I can't move about too well up there due to my disability

Are you on any kind of benefit? If so, then perhaps the N Ireland equivalent of Warmfront could help?

[agentsmith]

cavity wall, and 12in of loft insulation makes a massive difference...

[eldar]

hidetheelephants said:

Do digital cameras do infrared? Could get a thermal survey done, google turns up these chaps first, I'm sure there are others. You can get pukka thermal imagers like the fire brigade use, but they seem to cost a fortune, even just hiring one seems to be expensive.

You can convert a webcam to infrared, ought to be good enough.

http://www.hoagieshouse.com/IR/

[dr_gn]

V8A*ndy said:

Moved into a new house some time ago. It's 5 years old in a nice development and I really am struggling to heat the place.

Gas boiler working ok. Rads heat ok. Tonight the house won't go above 17c with heating on full for the last six hours. Temp in rads is fine checked with infrared thermometer and all hot from top to buttom.

I got into the loft and noticed some insulation missing near the chimney stack above the master bedroom and a lot of this seems to be disturbed for some reason, however in general there seems to be a good coverage.(I can't access the entire roof as I have a disabilty).

There is dorma windows and the sides of these seem really cold as does the slopes of the roof either side of the windows. The bedroom above the integral garage is even colder I supposed that is to be expected.

Is there a way to check the walls ect are all insulated properly without getting an expert in.

You mentioned a chimney stack: In the incredibly unlikely case of you having an open fire, if you don't have a fire lit, you'll get one hell of a draft down the chimney, and through the wall vents which are required to ventilate the room. If this is the case, shove a ball of newspaper up there (but don't forget it's there!).

FWIW My pal has an old house, and he had cavity wall insulation fitted: made no perceptible difference whatsoever. Under floor insulation/gap filling, and loft insulation made a massive difference however.

[V8A*ndy]

Deva Link said:

V8A*ndy said:

I can't move about too well up there due to my disability

Are you on any kind of benefit? If so, then perhaps the N Ireland equivalent of Warmfront could help?

I wouldn't qualify as I never bothered claiming for the DLA as I wouldn't have got much and didn't want the hassle that went with it. Silly maybe I know especially when something like this happens.

The advice here has been great. I have lots of things to check now, thankyou

I have one of those dri-master units in the ceiling. This has now been disconnected as it was just blowing cold air into the stair well from the loft. I will probably have to get the vent sealed up. Chimney and vents now blocked up (gas fire I will never use and have shut it off from the mains). Wife sealed up a couple of doors with sticky draft strip from B&Q for me. Downstairs rooms now much better. Upstairs really is cold. Asked a couple of neighbours if they had probs and all I got was puzzled looks back. Guy next door claims his house is very warm.

Looks like I really need to get the loft insulation redone and thickened up. Pointing an infrared thermometer at different parts of the ceiling in one room alone, varies from 16c to 10c on the ceiling. Though i'm not sure if that is really telling me anything but it's in areas I can't get to in the loft to check and surely there should not be as much a variation.

Any more suggestions fire at will.

[Busamav]

are you sure the boiler stst is turned up ?

With integral garages the room above is always cold , I would get 100mm celotex board screwed to the u/s of the garage ceiling

[Deva Link]

V8A*ndy said:

I have one of those dri-master units in the ceiling. This has now been disconnected as it was just blowing cold air into the stair well from the loft.

Was that fitted when the house was built?

They're used to prevent condensation / damp so that would seem to indicate that the house was designed to be pretty airtight. You may find that as you go around sealing all the gaps then air movement in the house will cease and you'll get patches of damp and mould growth.