Anyone with a old house as cold as me? brrr

lauren1983

Hi, im looking for some advice on keeping my 110 yr old house warm. I have had the heating on since 11am this morning and the dining room has only just reached 15!

I had the new central heating system put in about 4 months ago and did think the radiators were to small but though i would wait till winter and see how it goes. Its not going well

The house is a work in progress at the minute so not everywhere is carpeted. Ive put rugs down ect but just wondered if anyone else had any good ideas for getting the place warm.

Thanks

keystone

Who sized (ie calculated the BTU requirements) the radiators for each room? If it was the installer you may have a case against him for not doing the job properly if its cold.

Is the boiler adequately sized for the job?

Was the system properly balanced? That can make a great deal of difference.

Have you got the TRVs wide open?

Cheers

thechippy

As above.....

keith969

I have a similar problem in that the two rooms at the front of the house get very cold overnight.

One room is 3.6m x 2.5m (x 2.4m high) and has a single rad 840 x 600mm. With an outside temperature of -1C it struggles to keep the room above 20C .

The other room is 3.7m x 3.4m and has a single rad 1080mm x 60mm, and with the heating on since 6am this morning and the rad full on and very hot to the touch, the room temp is only 18C.

Both rooms are north facing with 2 external walls and floorboards over a ventilated space, the house was built in about 1964 so am guessing there is no cavity wall insulation. Would changing the rads for doubles be the best option?

Edit: the CH and rads were installed in 1998 so are modern types...

arfurrrr

what about insulation , what have you got . Don`t put biggers rads in just yet , unless your loaded .

ormus

rad sizing is done a on a general basis. ie comfort zone for most peeps is 18/20 degrees ish.
another factor is the house type. ie modern house with fair/good insulation.
an old house will again require x/xl size rads.
if you want to live in a hot house, all rad sizes must be increased from the average, and possibly the boiler too.

lauren1983

Thanks for your replies everyone.

It was the plumber who chose all the radiators to put in and he said the bolier was more than big enough. He has been back since to rebalance them and they do get red hot . When he was here last i mentioned the kitchen radiator as it gets redhot but the room is still chilly. He looked at it again and said that it should be more than enough for the room size. Im reluctant to complain too much at the minute because we havnt got all our carpets and as i said its a work in progress so maybe when we are done it will be warmer. Even with empty rooms ect i would have been sure the rooms should get warm Just as you know plumbing isnt cheap so i was hoping to be sitting toastie warm this winter

paddypaws101

If the house is a work in progress have you...
a) got double glazing or draughty old windows?
b) filled the gaps around doors with draught protector?
c) if you have no carpets are there gaps between floorboards and under skirting boards?
d) got loft insulation?

Some of these may be longer term projects...but meanwhile dress in layers with fleeces and thermals, sit down with a hot water bottle under foot etc

It took me years to do all these kind of jobs in my house but now it is REALLY roasting, in fact I have just popped round to my 83 year old neighbour to check on her....completely unmodernised house with the only heating being a gas fire in the back room...and sitting back here I feel guilty!

pawpurrs

My house was built in 1380 and has no central heating and I am freezing!
Cant wait for the central heating!:rolleyes: 18 sounds toastie right now!

ronaldmacdonald

pawpurrs wrote: »

My house was built in 1380 and has no central heating and I am freezing!
Cant wait for the central heating!:rolleyes: 18 sounds toastie right now!

1380?! :eek: What is that? mud walls and a straw roof?

lauren1983

We have double glazing and have been renewing the skirting boards (sealing draughts as we go) we have loft insulation and have put sheets of hard board over all our floors and all the doors are sealed around.

I have put a thermometer in one of my bedrooms and it is at 15.
This room is around 14x12 has a double glazed window, hardboard on the floors, and new skirting. I shut the door to see if it would heat up but no The radiator is on full and is red hot.
The only thing is that there is no carpet and not much furniture but surely it should still be more than 15. would you think?

Im sorry to moan so much i just cant get warm lol ive got 4 layers on lol