Keeping a steel frame house warm-rented

skintmumof2

Hiya.
We moved house a month ago into a 3bed semi. Most down the road are council owned with a few private rented which we are.
For a start everything has been rosy, moved when their was a heatwave the house was warm. Now the temperature has dropped and boy can we feel it!
Had a government grant to have loft insulation done recently and was told we can not have the walls filled as it is a steel framed house.
Does this mean that all our heat is going out the walls??
I cant believe everyone down this road puts up with a cold house!!
We have an open fire in the lounge which is roaring away and oil central heating but we have not had any money to get any oil yet so probally when we do might feel warmer?
Also its wood floor all downstairs, does this make it cooler?
Any tips on how to keep it warmer!

kk20

We had a concrete house once. Line the wallpaper.

poppysarah

Did you get an EPC before you signed for the property?


http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Roofs-floors-walls-and-windows
But if it's rented it's probably tough unless you can persuade the landlord to improve.

Wobblydeb

Use blackout (or padded) lining on your curtains.

kk20

I doubt it would do much. We used to get more condensation on the WALLS than the windows in winter.

DTDfanBoy

Keep in mind that open fires are incredibly inefficent, chances are by using it you are actually making rooms further away from the fire colder.

Get yourself some oil and fire up the central heating.

skintmumof2

Hi
reviving my old post.
We had 500l of oil in beginning of dec and the heating on in the morning and the evening.
The house is still so damn cold!! Especially this cold snap we having now. We have had the fire going, heating on and electric heaters on aswell to try and keep rooms warm.
Now we have run out of oil and wood and relying on our electric heaters again.

Doe3s anyone else live in a steel framed house and have any tips for keeping it warm. Everything is so cold to touch.
We lived in a bungalow before which was toasty warm but it was smaller.

Soapn

skintmumof2 wrote: »

Hi
reviving my old post.
We had 500l of oil in beginning of dec and the heating on in the morning and the evening.
The house is still so damn cold!! Especially this cold snap we having now. We have had the fire going, heating on and electric heaters on aswell to try and keep rooms warm.
Now we have run out of oil and wood and relying on our electric heaters again.

Doe3s anyone else live in a steel framed house and have any tips for keeping it warm. Everything is so cold to touch.
We lived in a bungalow before which was toasty warm but it was smaller.

Are your floors wood or laminate. We shivered through a few winters with the gas fire and radiators on in the lounge, but would sit with icy feet because the laminate floor seemed to be literally sucking the heat out of the room. We changed to carpet and it is 100% better.

I also find that walls that are only painted tend to be colder to the touch than walls with thicker wallpaper on them, it feels like the hot air is being sucked out through them.

Uk_Lover

If sanded floorboards fill the gaps with resin filler mixed with wood dust from your boards. really finished them off good and will stop any drafts.

ed110220

Is it a British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF) house by any chance? That is the most common type of steel framed house and has a distinctive appearance (though it may have been re-clad):-



I live in one and I think while it's certainly not as warm (well insulated) as a modern house, it's better than the older houses ie pre-1930s houses that many (most?) people live in. It's definitely warmer than both the Victorian house I used to be in and the Edwardian house my parents have.

This makes me think that maybe your heating isn't up to scratch.

The other distinctive thing about a BISF house is that the cavity between the inside lining of the walls and the exterior cladding is well ventilated, so if there are any gaps say around sockets, where cables come in to the meter etc you can get a strong cold draught. Go around on a windy day to feel for draughts and seal up any gaps.