wwyd with £6000

Trafford321

Hi everyone,
We are looking at improving our home. We have an old tank type central heating system, the windows and doors are drafty and we are also short on living space.

Ideally, moving would be our best option, but is absolutely impossible for us at the moment and the foreseeable.

We have been accepted for a small loan for the above . We requested a little more but it came back as only allowing £6000.

The idea was to have the double glazing done, heating and a conservatory (we knew someone that was going to do it cheap) but obviously we can't do it all.

We then thought about a diy conservatory but don't even know if the conservatory is worth it as people say they are always cold in the winter!

We feel trapped and have no-one to give us any advice really so appreciate any ideas or suggestions anyone has. Sorry post is so long!

HappyMJ

They are cold in the winter and too hot in the summer but you can design it so it's minimized.

I wouldn't replace the windows and doors if you can avoid it.

I would sell up and find somewhere larger that meets your needs.

There's nothing wrong with your central heating. I prefer the hot water cylinder and wouldn't consider ever replacing it. It's got some good advantages over a combi boiler. They are both as efficient as each other so if you did replace it you wouldn't save any money and you wouldn't add any more value to your property....i.e a waste of money.

Trafford321

Thanks for your prompt reply. The heating is playing up and has been for a while. Believe me we wouldn't change it if we didn't need to. You can put the hot water on without the radiators getting hot, sometimes the flue just goes out and now when the water tank is full. It switches the heat to the radiators off too even if the heating switch is on constant. If these are things that could be repaired cheaply then great. Its a Thorne EMI Apollo boiler.

Trafford321

You CAN'T put the hot water on without the radiators getting hot I meant to say sorry.

HappyMJ

Trafford321 wrote: »

You CAN'T put the hot water on without the radiators getting hot I meant to say sorry.

Faulty 3 way port valve? Easy and cheap fix. About £100-£150 depending on what your gas heating engineer charges for labour.

vansboy

If money is tight...then don't borrow for things that don't DESPERATLY need doing.

Windows can be improved with little expense, just DIY painting and some filler on any gaps in the timber frames.

Central heating can be serviced, as mentioned...some would prefer the old (no idea how old yours is) to newer installations.


Conservatories...quite often are NOT in the style buyers want, get used for storing junk and are not usable rooms, without proper design.

Save your money, don't start a debt that will NOT make things much better.

VB

Trafford321

Hi thanks again for replies. What could we do to the dorrs and windows?

We have tried sealing round the windows as we thought that was the problem and had new seals in the door frames but it doesn't help! Cosmetically they look fine!

The heating, again cosmetically look fine. I prefer the old ones to the new too but they are full of sludge from what we can gather. There's also a noise and a knocking that comes from the boiler quite frequently. When this starts, it then makes a clicking noise as if its trying to ignite itself. Is that trapped air does anyone know?

Thanks again