Is This Normal? (May be in wrong section)

dannymccann

Hello! This may be in the wrong section, not sure, if so please someone move it!

Quick question though, is it normal for single story downstairs bathrooms at the back of a house to be silly cold all the time? With or without heating? To the extent that sometimes even if the heating is on, you can still see your breath?

At a guess I would personally say this isnt supposed to be the case, and the poor insulation (read that as : no insulation whatsoever in the walls or roof) is what causes it?

Dan

Magentasue

Same here. We're hoping to move ours upstairs this year and then sort out the extension (at back of kitchen). In our last house, stripped out the extension, boarded and insulated the walls and put a suspended floor down. Was fine after that but we've run out of money for this house so it's got to wait.

This winter, I've lined the windows with bubble wrap but there's not much else we can do.

dannymccann

So its basically due to the lack of insulation then? Its rented place and we are looking to move before the cold period sets in due to it being draughty and poorly insulated (and bigger properties in better areas for less/same price per month, go figure) so we wont be doing anything like this at out own cost. Its all double glazed and everything so its not the windows.

Just didnt want to rule out another downstairs bathroom in a new property based on bias instilled from this one!

Dan

jimexbox

How cold a room is will be dependant on not only adequate heating, but also how many sides of the room are outside walls. Therefore heat will be lost directly through said wall, and no heat transfer from an adjoining inside room.

When a plumber measures a room for radiators size, the number of outside walls are factored into the equation, more outside walls, bigger radiators. The cheapest way of conserving heat given off by a rad is to reflect (convect?) heat back into a room by placing reflectors behind the radiators so you minimise the amount of heat absorbed by the wall.

Magentasue

Yes, poor insulation. Tends to be Victorian houses (which I love) where the bathroom was put in the old scullery. If people go to the trouble of boarding out the room, it's usually because they're moving the bathroom - ours will be done when it becomes part of the kitchen. Would definitely not go for a house with a downstairs bathroom unless I could move it.