Parents renovations for a warmer home

Jane_Hodgkiss

Hi there,
My parents live in a cottage built before 1900 with a shared outside cesspit.
Their house is in need of major improvements (just been given a D in the EPH)
I want to move them out into rented accommodation for 6 months plus (they are happy to do) whilst I organise the repairs.
I have rang their local authority and energy supplier to ask for any help toward damp,insulation, new boiler etc to no avail. They have their heating on all day and sit with additional heaters in the evening.
I have contacted Green Homes Grant who may be able to assist once the damp has been repaired through out the house with insulation and solar panels.
I am cautious as I can see a lot of companies offering government approved grants for repairs and wanted to ask advice before and if I should approach them.
They are happy to pay for the jobs but don't want to get scammed. I have no idea as to how much each of the major repairs should usually cost so wondered if anyone has any advice?
Thank you in advance.

knightstyle

Have a look here
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/energy-company-obligation-eco
plus contact local council to see what schemes they have.

FreeBear

Jane_Hodgkiss said: My parents live in a cottage built before 1900 with a shared outside cesspit.

...

I have contacted Green Homes Grant who may be able to assist once the damp has been repaired through out the house with insulation and solar panels.

Be wary about some of these damp "treatments" - Many can do long term damage to the fabric of the building without actually fixing the root cause. Injected DPC & waterproof render/plaster is both expensive and useless. And some of the other "cures" are fraudulent (Schrijver or Dutch damp proof system, Electo Osmosis, Aquapol to name a few).

A 1900s cottage will have solid brick or stone walls (maybe even cob), so needs to be treated with respect and suitable materials used. If you are looking at insulating the walls, talk to someone like Mike Wye before doing anything - They will probably recommend wood fibre boards or cork finished with a lime render. If you can insulate internally, this will maintain the external appearance of the property and avoids some of the problems of external wall insulation. External, the detailing around the roof line, window/door reveals, and ground level is critical so as to avoid penetration of rain.

BUFF

Speaking as somebody who lives in a 1905 house, the chances are that without massive (and very expensive, possibly not cost effective) changes it will probably only be capable of improvement to a C rating or maybe, just maybe the lowest of Bs.
This might be an interesting/useful document
 https://www.betterbuildingspartnership.co.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachment/BBP_Heritage EPC_Insight.pdf