North facing houses (in Scotland)

ajazztune

Hi,
I am thinking of a buying a north-south facing property. It is a three storey victorian townhouse.

To the front (south) is the entrance vestibule, hallway and staircase, living room (1st flr) and bedroom (2nd flr).

To the back (north) is the kitchen (ground flr), guest bedroom (1st flr) and master with en-suite (2nd flr).

My question is: if you lived in a house like this, would you choose the larger south facing bedroom without en-suite as your bedroom or the smaller north facing bedroom which has an en-suite?

The south facing bedroom has gorgeous river views and will get lots of sun, but is onto a fairly busy road (no DG). The north facing one is on the quieter side overlooking the back garden, but this will also be the colder side of the house but it does have DG.

I'm thinking in terms of heating bills etc. would the en-suite be worth it? The nearest bathroom to the south bedroom is the en-suite.

Anyone had experience of this?

I've mentioned that I'm in Scotland because I've noticed lots of people think that south facing rooms overheat, but I really don't think that will be an issue up here (also we're relatively north in Dundee). Given that it is cold for about 8 or 9 months out of 12 maybe the back bedroom would be cold. Would it be worth spending money trying to make the e- bedroom warmer (e.g underfloor heating)?

Any comments really appreciated. Thanks!

I_have_spoken

My house in Glasgow is almost N-S, just a bit of east.

TBH, during the winter it's so gloomy that any extra sun is welcome - I need a SAD light anyway.

So I'd defo. go for rooms which face south

ajazztune

@Ihavespoken Thanks for your perspective. It is the gloom I am worried about. But the ensuite is going to prove handy, no? I guess it would be nice in the dark winter months to be awoken by some sunlight.

witchy1066

how long do you spend in your bedroom awake?

how often and how far is it to the nearest loo ?

I don't spend that much time in the bedroom anyway so it wouldn't really be an issue but I do like nice cold bedrooms so if I had to choose it would be the north facing for me

ajazztune

@witchy1066: Thanks. I don't spent that much time in my current bedroom awake, and if anything the light summer mornings have been a real pain this year (though we installed a blackout and it helped a lot). But I especially don't like waking up in a cold room.

The nearest bathroom would be in the other north facing bedroom across the small landing, so would have to go through the bedroom to get to it. If we had guests in it the nearest one is then down one flight of stairs. I am a bit of a 'midnight pee-er' (sorry, TMI!) and having had an e-s in our current rental house I have really liked it.

Strapped

Our bathroom is north facing and absolutely freezing at night. And we're at the opposite end of the UK. I can only imagine how cold a north facing bedroom would be up there.

witchy1066

The nearest bathroom would be in the other north facing bedroom across the small landing, so would have to go through the bedroom to get to it. If we had guests in it the nearest one is then down one flight of stairs. I am a bit of a 'midnight pee-er' (sorry, TMI!) and having had an e-s in our current rental house I have really liked it.[/QUOTE]

in that case its a no brainer, I win , north facing with bathroom :T:rotfl:

ajazztune

@Strapped: that is why I am wondering if we are better to take that room rather than give our guests the freezing room!

Is it cold even with the heating on? Or do you mean in the middle of the night once the heating has been off a while? Is your house an old house? The bathrooms in this townhouse have been newly fitted and insulated so perhaps that would make a difference?

Old_Git

if you are relying on the outside sun to heat your house then you are stuffed. I would use whichever room has double glazing .

You can decorate a north facing room to make it look bright .Lemons and limes work well to make it look brighter .

ajazztune

@Old Gift: I wouldn't be relying on the sun to heat the house as there are radiators in every room and an open fire in the lounge. I guess I'm just wondering if constantly trying to heat a cold north facing room, especially in the coldest winter months, is less efficient than getting some benefit of the sun at the south end (it is a very open aspect so even low winter sun will come in) and also the nice river views.
The cold north room does have double glazing but if its constantly in shade we will be relying on the heating all year round.

Strapped

ajazztune wrote: »

@Strapped: that is why I am wondering if we are better to take that room rather than give our guests the freezing room!

Is it cold even with the heating on? Or do you mean in the middle of the night once the heating has been off a while? Is your house an old house? The bathrooms in this townhouse have been newly fitted and insulated so perhaps that would make a difference?

It's never "toasty" even with the radiator on full, but it is a big room. It's in an extension to an old cottage, but faces north with mature trees fairly close so not much sun at all. Although having said that, one of said trees fell down a couple of months ago and it is now a lot brighter in the bathroom, so maybe this winter won't be quite as gloomy. I'm sure your bedroom will be fine - just stick a large radiator in it.