How to heat 1900s terraced house during winter

FreshlyCutFlowers

Hello! Hoping to get some advice from more experienced home owners around temperatures.

In the past I have rented well insulated houses in other countries and in London I only ever lived in flats where I rarely/ever needed to put heating on, even in winter. Now however, I own a 3 bedroom terraced 1900s house and am waking up every morning seeing that its as cold inside as it is outside. I knew insulation was going to be an issue (D rating) but I didnt realize to what extent. To be clear, I don't really mind the temperatures when I wake up.. I put the heating on for 30 minutes and some extra layers while I walk around in a ~15 degree house. But at night it gets cold and im worried for the reasons below:

• On the ground floor living room, sitting room and kitchen the temperature is the same as outside at night. It drops fairly fast - I'm worried about fridge/electronics being damaged when it goes below 10 degrees later this winter? Not sure if this is a real concern.

• I've noticed that on one of the walls the plaster is creating thin hairline cracks. Some vertical cracks starting at corner of windows and also cracks between the top of the wall and the ceiling. More-so, it's also creating vertical lines where the plaster bulges/lumps outwards, like the opposite of a crack I suppose? This is only happening on a specific wall so I don't know if they just did a bad job with the plaster there or the fact that the other side of this particular wall is outside.. or if its just the inside cold? The house is generally around 75% humidity as well if that matters. There is a plastic vent on this wall, and I can slide it to be covered/open. However open or closed I'm fairly certain it leaks heat rapidly regardless so if I want to keep the room heated at night it's going to get expensive and wasteful?

• In my 1st bedroom floors there are vents in the brick wall with no way of covering them, I believe this is normal and quite frankly I don't have a problem with it so far (though if it gets colder it may be less comfortable..? My main worry is.. will this ever damage the room inside if it gets proper cold outside? Kind of what is happening to the wall downstairs?

• In the 2nd floor bedroom I have slit-vents in the window which allows me to control it a bit better, it retains the heat really well so not an issue.
  

If you made it through, thanks. I could do with some guidance on what to do/whether or not I should be worried.

Thanks!

grumbler

FreshlyCutFlowers said:

• On the ground floor living room, sitting room and kitchen the temperature is the same as outside at night. It drops fairly fast - I'm worried about fridge/electronics being damaged when it goes below 10 degrees later this winter? Not sure if this is a real concern.

I don't think so.

• I've noticed that on one of the walls the plaster is creating thin hairline cracks. Some vertical cracks starting at corner of windows and also cracks between the top of the wall and the ceiling. More-so, it's also creating vertical lines where the plaster bulges/lumps outwards, like the opposite of a crack I suppose? This is only happening on a specific wall so I don't know if they just did a bad job with the plaster there or the fact that the other side of this particular wall is outside.. or if its just the inside cold? The house is generally around 75% humidity as well if that matters. There is a plastic vent on this wall, and I can slide it to be covered/open. However open or closed I'm fairly certain it leaks heat rapidly regardless so if I want to keep the room heated at night it's going to get expensive and wasteful?

Random hairline cracks on walls and all sorts of cracks on ceilings are normal for lime plaster. So us bulging - if the bond between the plaster and the wall is poor.

• In my 1st bedroom floors there are vents in the brick wall with no way of covering them, I believe this is normal and quite frankly I don't have a problem with it so far (though if it gets colder it may be less comfortable..? My main worry is.. will this ever damage the room inside if it gets proper cold outside? Kind of what is happening to the wall downstairs?

I think the vents can be covered of closed. They were needed for fireplaces.

If you aren't going to move in the nearest future, it's worth thinking about insulating the house - inside or outside.

Chickereeeee

Could the vents on the inside of the walls be ventilating a disused chimney flue?

Generally, dry cold in a house would not be much of a problem (if it stays above zero), but high humidity and cold is not great.

FreshlyCutFlowers

Chickereeeee said:

Could the vents on the inside of the walls be ventilating a disused chimney flue?

Generally, dry cold in a house would not be much of a problem (if it stays above zero), but high humidity and cold is not great.

Yes there are chimneys in both of these bedrooms but the chimney opening look to be blocked. There's a small area where I can  place wood from the looks of it but no opening above so I assume it means the chimneys are not in use..
Am I allowed to close it off? I heard that if you have a fireplace in the room its illegal to cover it up in any way unless the chimney is blocked off?

On the ground floor however I believe they installed this vent as a way to ensure they control moisture. The moisture is naturally high, its basically the same as outside due to poor insulation I imagine. I didnt realize its 75% - 80% in summer but in winter its more obvious. I have a dehumidifier which I run occasionally when cooking but getting it lower than 75% is useless as it evens out with the outside once I turn the dehumidifier off..

Is the humidity something I should worry about then? If not the outside I'm not sure what could be making this happen.

FreeBear

grumbler said: I think the vents can be covered of closed. They were needed for fireplaces.
If you aren't going to move in the nearest future, it's worth thinking about insulating the house - inside or outside.

Few people will have fires in the bedrooms now a days, so any vents in those rooms can/should be blocked off. If the fire places have been boarded up, a small vent should be put in - It only needs to be about the same size as a window trickle vent. Also get the pot capped outside to stop rain getting in.

If the exterior still retains period/original features, insulate internally - You lose a bit of floor space, but gain smooth flat walls and you don't have to worry about detailing at the roof line or around window/door openings. The other downside it makes a lot of mess, but that is only a short term issue. Depending on how far you want to go with the disruption & mess, insulating under the floor will help to keep the place warm.

Getting trades in to do any work this side of Christmas will be next to impossible (if you want the good ones), so it may pay to invest in an electric blanket to see you through the winter.

grandadgolfer

Well Greta and her friends will expect you to spend a fortune and get some nice heat pumps......but don't forget the extra jumpers

Chickereeeee

FreeBear said:

grumbler said: I think the vents can be covered of closed. They were needed for fireplaces.
If you aren't going to move in the nearest future, it's worth thinking about insulating the house - inside or outside.

Few people will have fires in the bedrooms now a days, so any vents in those rooms can/should be blocked off. If the fire places have been boarded up, a small vent should be put in - It only needs to be about the same size as a window trickle vent. Also get the pot capped outside to stop rain getting in.

I was confused by this response, but think I understand it now. When you have an open fire in a room, you should have some form of permanent ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide build up etc. These are the vents (if they exist) that Freebear is referring to that can be blocked off. They go to the outside. However, a disused chimney should have a vent, between the room and the flue void, to prevent damp (FreeBear's trickle vent) and this should not be blocked. As the fireplace is sealed, I suspect you only have the latter anyway?

Do you have wet central heating (radiators, boiler, pump)? Solid walls are being assumed, is that correct (no cavity)?

Teapot55

Sorry to hear about your problems with your house.

Just checking: you haven’t got any windows open when your dehumidifier’s on?

Also, are the insides of your windows wet with condensation in the mornings?

Have you got black mould and if so, where? 

twopenny

I've had fridge and freezer in stone tiled unheated kitchen. Rarely did it go below 10 but when it did they just stopped firing up-nothing went off or defrosted - and fired up again as soon as the temperature rose.
They were only cheap ones and lasted 20yrs.
Wanted to keep the bills down and bought fleecy trousers and tops. Fabric like onsies. Not needing to impress anyone at night they were heavenly to wear. The odd occasion someone visited winter night I put the heating up.
Open fireplace I made hardboard covers for the openings. Also used bubble wrap to stuff inside the flue because no open fires used in the house or next door.

Teapot55

‘Chimney Sheep’ are very good for draught-proofing a chimney: 
https://www.chimneysheep.co.uk/ 
They’re a big sort of pad made of sheepswool. Made in Cumbria. 

Eldi_Dos

twopenny said:

I've had fridge and freezer in stone tiled unheated kitchen. Rarely did it go below 10 but when it did they just stopped firing up-nothing went off or defrosted - and fired up again as soon as the temperature rose.
They were only cheap ones and lasted 20yrs.
Wanted to keep the bills down and bought fleecy trousers and tops. Fabric like onsies. Not needing to impress anyone at night they were heavenly to wear. The odd occasion someone visited winter night I put the heating up.
Open fireplace I made hardboard covers for the openings. Also used bubble wrap to stuff inside the flue because no open fires used in the house or next door.

If you are using a combined fridge/freezer in a area where temperature drops so low that it stops working one solution is to put a bottle of lukewarm water in fridge compartment in the evening, somehow this keeps fridge from shutting down which would lead to the temperature in freezer rising.