Refurb of 1930's house - insulation problem
paulawallis2003
6 years ago
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paulawallis2003
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Conservatory refurb
Comments (0)Hi Everyone, I have the same problem as lots of people with my conservatory, it has a polycarb roof and is either sweltering or freezing. Meaning it has become a way to the garden/ dumping room only. I'd love to make better use of it and have been looking into getting the existing roof and one wall (looks onto a brick wall so visually will not be a loss!) insulated and then plastered to make it warmer and also feel more like part of the house. Ultimately I'd like to then open up the wall between it and the living room to make one big room with more of a wow factor than currently. I've been quoted £2k to just insulate and plaster, to replace the entire roof with a new structure and tile effect would be £5-8k - undoubtedly better but the extra cost would be more complicated for me at the moment. Just wondering if anyone has done either and what the actual difference in warmth was, particularly with the cheaper option? Thank you for any advice in advance....See MoreForever home, wrong downstairs layout. Help please
Comments (46)Hi Suzanne, Here are a few ideas that will give you everything you want with the least impact on your budget. Please understand that I'm only working with a floorplan and a small write-up of preferrences, which limits some of the imput without pictures. Starting from left of your floorplan and working our way to the right: Current Office = new 2nd reception Taking advantage of your southfacing garden with best views: Convert current office into the second reception room/snug/tv den/second closed off living area that you wanted. Knock down wall between office and breakfast room. Add wall - deviding breakfast area in two - this will give you a triple aspect room, taking advantage of the light and garden views & access. Depending on preferrences and your fence line, change windows to double doors and-or enlarge window space on south-facing side to add concertina doors out onto the garden. You mentioned you didn't need an office downstairs - put added a desk in this room if you keep that window as a window rather than convert to doors in case it is helpful. But of course, you can configure your furniture in any of the rooms for how it works best with your lifestyle. This will be a narrow room - hence a snug, garden room, extra tv lounge. A chaise lounge type sectional will give you the snug seating along with a chair or two. However, if you do want to do any extention work, you could think of adding that to the left side of your home to make this room wider and more all-purpose. Breakfast Room = new 2nd reception lounge & utility/hallway As already suggested above, divide the room into two to gain a triple aspect snug/enclosed lounge board up the doorway, or put wall where the doorway is not impeeded (as shown). Convert the rest of the Breakfast room into a tidy (appliances hidden behind cabinets or closet doors) utility area. You'll want to make this room look more like a hallway when not in use as a utility, connecting the rest of the house to your second enclosed lounge. Leave the wall and door between the current kitchen & the current breakfast area as is - which will hide this utility area when in use and muffle any noise from appliances. Garage = Garage you mentioned your partner wanted to keep the garage. moving it seems silly as doing so would possibly knock-out some of your light & views. also by keeping this as is, you will get the benefit of having access to the rest of the house via the garage & 2nd reception lounge, rather than having to go outside. Kitchen/Dinning Room/Hallway = Open Plan Kitchen / Casual Dinning Placing the kitchen cabinetry from the front current dining room window - along the wall shared with the garage & on the opposite wall traveling out into an extended countertop/breakfast bar. This will create a galley shaped kitchen that you can use a number of triangle patterned work stations to make this kitchen functional & beautiful. Put your casual dining area where the kitchen now is and add double doors to take full advantage of the views and the days you'd like to have the doors open onto the garden. Enjoy the double aspect light & open plan space. Keep your privacy at the front through the new kitchen with appropriate window treatment or frosted glass treatment if necessary Living Room = Open plan living room / dining room + kitchen / casual dining By placing a support in and partially removing the wall going from the new open plan kitchen / casual dining into the current living room, you will get the open plan lounge - kitchen - dining that you want. Open the wall from almost to the door next to the downstairs w/c to almost to the stairs (where the current living room door is now) (as shown). The current living room is very large, and can house both a living room - lounge area and a more formal dining room (if that is what you want) or a hobby space - music area or other ??? (there are many possibilities). Keep as is = Porch, Downstairs w/c, stairs with closet underneath for storage Porch gives you extra insulation, privacy & storage Downstairs W/C allows you not to have to move & install new large toilet waste plumbing which is often a higher end budget item Closet underneath stairs - storage! (cleaning stuff like mop & vacuum or coats or whatever) Stairs - by not changing the layout or location of the stairs, you won't have to do costly renovations upstairs (just do any cosmetic updating you desire instead as you didn't mention wanting to do major changes to the upstairs) and can use your budget more wisely downstairs. This plan should give you everything you said you wanted on your list and give you the most bang for your buck without needless spending -- or at the very least give you a few new ideas to jump off from. I've added a picture here. Sorry so un-professional. I am retired, so just keeping my hand in. Best wishes & good luck!...See Morehow to insulate under original floor board?
Comments (16)Sarah if I'm honest it's proving a bit of a pain. Its a UK gov grant so go to the website and then search for registered trade people near you. Supposedly they've only registered for the green home improvements they offer but I've found most ticked ask the boxes. I only found four around us that did under floor insulation and two are completely booked up, one isn't responding and the one we've had a quote from just feels a bit off. They have a handful of reviews online and just something doesn't feel right. so I'm doing some more research before committing. Then lots of paper work to complete but in the end we only pay our share and the company get the rest directly from the gov grant. Hopefully it'll work out...!...See Morecost to replace roof on victorian house
Comments (12)Hi Adam, I agree with arc3d, this is going to be a huge job. Price will depend on where you are based. Choose a roofer carefully, there are a lot of them that will say 15k strip it of and then ask for more money. You are looking at new structural timbers, insulation, roof tiles, gutters, downpipes, lead etc. Potentially chimneys repointing. Roof ridge has a gorgeous detail but this may be hard to find. Kennel dormers are in a bad shape as well. You may need new windows. It is a very tall roof, so prepare yourself for high cost of scaffold, if you need a tin roof over it, that will cost thousands. And then internally all the ceilings and potentially electrics will need an upgrade as well, add decorating. Radiators also look like they could do with an upgrade. Floors are not looking that great either. This is opening the can of worms and could end up costing 60-80k even more if you are in South East. If you are in conservation area you may be restricted on materials and that tends to add more cost. I am also thinking if you are doing such a major renovation, if it would be worth it to look into how the loft can be reconfigured better to suit your needs. Perhaps you can add value that way and improve user experience. Good luck Suzanne & Joseph...See Morepaulawallis2003
6 years agopaulawallis2003
6 years ago
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