warm air heating

Dan-Dan

Pros and cons ?

I know the flue on warm air outlets are usually made of asbestos etc , what else should i look out for , and is it a deal breaker?

My bro is a gas engineer so i could get it swopped out one way or other but it`s all about cost....

Dan-Dan

Oh and while i`m here , it`s also a flat roof mid terrace!

any tips welcome before we view!

martinsurrey

I lived in a house with warm air heating and hated it,

its either hot or cold as the thermal mass of the building doesnt get much heat, so the air is roasting or freezing.

but it was an old system... so I'm sure tehre are good ones out there

Dan-Dan

Cheers Martin , we certainly will still go to look , i just know that many people `hate` them and do their best to replace...

Anyone got any thoughts on the shared flat roof....?

rickeeee

Noisy perhaps Dan Dan mid terrace?

Neighbours joined both sides

Dan-Dan

i know , but we are trying to compromise , the best our money would ever get is sem anyway....we looked at the neighbours properties , they looked well kept etc , i knwo that doesnt mean they dont try to throw each other through the walls each night but.....

vectistim

Personally I don't understand why they aren't popular - since they only heat the air they respond much faster when you turn the heating on (although conversely that means it cools down faster when you turn it off if you have a leaky house). In addition you get more internal wall space as the air vents take up rather less space than radiators.

When the system in my parents' place finally failed (30+ years old) lots of installers just lied and said they weren't being made any more and the whole thing would have to be replaced with a radiator system. There was then some embarrassed coughing when we pointed out models designed as direct replacements for the '70s systems.

holly_hobby

This sounds like a 1970s ex-local authority build - I have fond memories of my own Nana's who had this heating system, which was lovely and toasty.

But, you'll find it difficult to get a modern engineer out to it when it breaks down (as they typically aren't trained on them any more due to the now rarety of them - with even local authorities ripping them out of their housing stock some yrs ago, and replacing with radiators). And you will find on windy days depending on how the flue is set up, the flame may keep blowing out, leaving you with no heating (which may also control the hot water, unless the water is on a electric immersion).

My Nana's was replaced with a new warm air system in 2000 - which wasn't as good and gave no where near the heat of her old system. It kept breaking down, and the only engineer we could find to fix it (as everyone we called out the yellow pages and contacts, said they didn't touch warm air systems) was the manufacturer themselves - who sent a chap from their nearest centre in Hull, all the way to Merseyside, every time we had to call him - so not ideal, and in the end we got radiators for her.

The walls of the heating cupboard where the unit is, will be asbestos - but as long as the walls are tact, then it poses no danger. Although your surveyor may go a bit whobbly and ask for it to be removed and replaced with other fire resistant material - you could make that a deal breaker with the vendor (costs circa £500 or upwards for a professional asbestos practioner (inc disposal), and depending on size of job).

Personally, I would have the warm air blow system replaced with radiators, as having had experience of them and the issues with finding an engineer to fix it, I wouldn't buy a house with this set up, or would want the price revised to allow for my to replace it myself.

Flat roof - standard advice is to renew roofing every 10 yrs, BUT if well maintained and with a good level of ballast (little small stones that help with drainage and deflect of rain water etc - as you can imagine the pooling issues on a flat roof), they can live a much longer life than this. Ensure you ask your surveyor to have a good inspection of the roof, to see if it requires any repairs or even replacement.

Hope this helps

Holly x

Stratus

Wam air - some people love it, some hate it. On the positive side it heats the house really quickly so you can come in to a cold house, turn it on and feel the warmth pretty quickly. It's a little more noisy than a wet system but needn't disturb you too much. You gain lots of wall space that would otherwise be taken up by radiators. My parents have such a system and have been happy with it for years.

hazyjo

I grew up with it (from age 9 in 1979 to 1991). All I remember is that it was either too hot or too cold, it turned everything to static, and you could listen in to one room from the one beneath/above where you were (ear to the vent). There were all connected to the same inner metal shaft. I wouldn't be talking about someone unfavourably in a room below or nearby lol! Me and my sis used to eavesdrop on things or talk to each other!

Have to be careful what goes in front of them too, I think. It can blast out heat and the vents (metal) get very hot.

My parents had it all changed to GCH eventually.

On a good note, the washing dried quickly when put in front of it!

Jx

tim123456789

Stratus wrote: »

Wam air - some people love it, some hate it. On the positive side it heats the house really quickly so you can come in to a cold house, turn it on and feel the warmth pretty quickly. It's a little more noisy than a wet system but needn't disturb you too much. You gain lots of wall space that would otherwise be taken up by radiators. .

OTOH

if you get rid of it, you gain a huge great big storage cupboard

tim