No radiators in the bedrooms of the house I am buying

Slithery

PadreM said:

Of course you need heating, and if none you'll need to have the existing system extended.

Why? I haven't turned on the radiators in any of my bedrooms for years.

In fact I'd prefer not to have them at all as it would give me more options for arranging the furniture.

Bendy_House

Yup, try telling my two teenage kids - who live in their bedrooms - that heating ain't needed

Suseka97

I'm with the 'wait and see' camp and, as has been said, if you find its a bit nippy a couple of oil filled rads will counter that whilst you decide if putting central heating in the bedrooms is worth it, or something you'd prefer to do.

In our house its a bit of a mix with my daughter, who lives in her bedroom, preferring it to be like the tropics!  Whereas my son, my OH and myself all preferring to switch the rads off and keep windows open even in the depths of winter.  I love going into the bedroom when chilly and jumping under the duvet - also keeps those winter bugs at bay.

Swipe

At least it will keep the bills down. I only heat my bedroom between 13-17C as my electric blanket on for 10mins before going to bed does the job. 

Ramouth

I’m another who likes a cold bedroom but warm bed.  We didn’t have any heating or double glazing in our last house for the first 4 years or so and that was difficult as the house felt quite damp but even then, the electric blanket meant that being in bed was fine.  The difficulty was getting out of bed in the morning!

RelievedSheff

I would not put up with a cold house and no heat in the bedrooms. I like to be warm and comfortable in my home. 

Our whole house is heated to the same temperature, 20 degrees C. There are no cold spots in the house, so you can open doors without losing heat to unheated rooms. 

Our gas bill is still small at 7500kwh per year. It was less at about 6000kwh per year before I started working from home.

oystercatcher

I wouldn't want a house with unheated bedrooms, beds and clothes would be cold and damp in winter. I want to be able to change my clothes without getting freezing cold in the process. If there are children in the house they need a warm bedroom to play or study in. If you need to go to bed unwell a freezing bedroom isn't going to help. What about those wild nights of passion ? Much nicer in the warm !! 

I would plan on extending the heating system as soon as possible or find a different property with full heating.

firstbuyer

Just parking in here to say we actually removed our radiator in the bedroom because we never turned it on and it was put in an awkward place! Spare rooms rad has rarely been on either.

IKEA highest tog duvet keeps you warm enough that we sometimes crack open a window in the evening too! Lol

TBagpuss

I think it's very much dependent on your personal preferences.

My last two houses were both mid terraces and neither had radiators in the bedrooms. The first was an 1900 property which had no heating except a gas fire in the living room. I had a small, plug in oil filled radiator which I used in the bedroom when needed but  never used it much, the second was a 70'd ex HA property - it had an elderly boiler and radiators in the living room . Again, I had a plugs in heater but it didn't get much use.

I never had any issues with bedclothes being damp or cold  and I didn't freeze when changing - the rooms were not as warm as downstairs but they weren't uncomfortably cold, either, and on the very few times it was proper cold, I could turn on the plug in heater.  (I think if you had no heating anywhere in the house then you might have more issues. We moved into a house when I was about 10 which had no heating at all, single glazing throughout - the only heat was from a wood fire in the main living room, and we did spend the first winter scraping ice off the inside of windows, but even then, I don't recall bedding being damp, it was fine in bed, just a bit bracing when you had to get out. My parents did install central heating as soon as possible after we moved in so it was only one winter!)  

Now I am in a 3 bed semi - my bedroom is on the 'outside' end of the house - I do have radiators in all rooms, but in my own bedroom tend to keep the radiator  it on the frost setting or 1, unless I am ill - I'm comfortable with a cooler bedroom, I don't sleep well if it is too hot , and I've got decent insulation. 

That said, adding extra radiators shouldn't be a massive job- why not talk to a local heating engineer to get a ball-park idea of the range of costs , and factor that in. (And do check that there isn't a different form of heating!)

Arrange a viewing now, when it's chilly, and see how warm it feels and look to see f there are additional heaters in the bedrooms.

Jude57

Temperature is such a subjective thing, isn't it? I live in the north east in a poorly insulated housing association flat. I have radiators in every room, thankfully, but also have windows slightly open in bedrooms all year round and other windows slightly open every day. I'm used to central heating and feel the cold due to health issues so was delighted that my landlord has been doing work to improve the wall insulation. Unfortunately, so far it's just causing condensation which I've never had before in my 14 years here!

My sister lives in Cornwall in a 1980's link terrace which has never had central heating. Many properties there don't have central heating. Now she's older and with her own health issues, she's invested in two oil filled radiators, both on timer switches, one is in the living room and the other on the landing and she's warm and toasty. She says the cost of running them isn't too bad.

I agree with those saying to move in first and see whether you really need the extra radiators. It will also give you time to save up if you decide to get them installed.