Are single room extensions always cold.

paul5046

Hi
I am looking into having a single storey extension at the back of the house. It will have three exposed walls. I know a few people who have done what i want but both times i visited the rooms were very cold. Is this a problem with extensions of this type, is there anything you can do ie extra insulation.

darich

could be lack of insulation
could be not extending the heating system into the new room so it will always feel colder than the rest of the house
could be poor build quality with draughts

my house is detached ......with 4 exposed walls and it's not cold.

if the insulation is installed in accordance with the regs and there is a heater in the room then there's nothing to make it any colder than the rest of the house.

alanobrien

Depends on lots of things including which way its facing. Most seem to be flat roof which can limit the volume and type of insulation used.

You can have the cavity walls insulated.
Then make sure that the heating source used in the room is more than adequate. Better to overspec than underspec.

Any windows should use low heat transfer K glass.

In short if you build one use the best available insulation methods then overspec the heating a little as a back stop and it will not be cold.

Ours is a single story flat roof design facing North to South. When we moved in it was one of the coldest rooms in the house and needed refurbishment.

We replaced the flat roof and the insulation. We also replaced the patio door and window as the existing ones were 20+ years old. After a few calculations I also replaced one of the two radiators in the room in effect doubling its size.

Its now one of the warmest rooms in the house.
Good job to, as its now my wife's office.

ormus

we have a triple extension. the small bedroom is the one with 3 exposed walls.
and yes its the coldest room in the house. wall insulation is identical to the rest of the house.
it probably needs to be twice that. or should be.

paul5046

darich wrote: »

if the insulation is installed in accordance with the regs and there is a heater in the room then there's nothing to make it any colder than the rest of the house.

Most rooms in any house have only one or two exposed walls.

iamcornholio

They will be cold if the heating is not on or undersized, otherwise they will be as warm as any other room

3under3

We added a 6m x 4m single storey extension to the back of our bungalow two years ago (north facing). It's no colder than the rest of the house - in fact it's actually better insulated than the rest of it.. We have the correct amount of heating and the insulation met with the latest building reg requirements.

paul5046

3under3 wrote: »

We added a 6m x 4m single storey extension to the back of our bungalow two years ago (north facing). It's no colder than the rest of the house - in fact it's actually better insulated than the rest of it.. We have the correct amount of heating and the insulation met with the latest building reg requirements.

Thats nice to know. How many exposed walls are there. What do you have to heat the room?

Tucker

3under3 wrote: »

We added a 6m x 4m single storey extension to the back of our bungalow two years ago (north facing). It's no colder than the rest of the house - in fact it's actually better insulated than the rest of it.. We have the correct amount of heating and the insulation met with the latest building reg requirements.

Same here.

Current building regs are far better in terms of the insulation. Our single storey extension is the warmest room in the house as it's by far the best insulated.

paul5046

Tucker wrote: »

Same here.

Current building regs are far better in terms of the insulation. Our single storey extension is the warmest room in the house as it's by far the best insulated.

Same question. What do you have to heat the room?

Auntie-Dolly

My sister had a a large open plan extension built last year & its lovely & warm. She has underfloor heating.