Help with cold lounge that loses heat quick

Arnela

twopenny said:

Starting with the cheapest a door curtain makes a big difference.
You can get rails that fit the door and open with it if you're in and out. A closer fitting rail above the door then you have to leave that pulled back if you are out of the house but it will make a bigger difference while you're in sitting.

Heavy curtain, charity shops have some expensive ones donated. It should reach the floor at least.
I used to have draught stoppers (sausage shape) but found on really cold days towels worked much better. Not pretty but I'd rather be warm 😉 and no one but us saw them.

Agree with Dave jp, I had a big hall and staircase. In reality cold weather I hung sheets from the top and across the opening.
Easy to put away when not wanted .
Made a huge difference.

Remember it doesn't have to be forever, just in the cold evening while you save or sort things out.

You also will be getting cold air from the window going up through the top where there is a big gap.
That will both cool the heated air at the ceiling and sink down to the floor.

Could you fit a second set of thermal lined curtains in the window recess, a blind or some such to cover the window ?

I currently have just thermal or blackout fabric, self adhesive velcro attached and the other part of velcro stuck to the window. That doesn't show. I put this home made blind up in hot and cold weather and draw the curtains. Pull it down in daytime.
It can't be seen inside or out. Huge difference. Cost about £5.

Is there any heat going out of the back of the rad? Is it heating the wall? Turkey Foil at the back helps that 🙂

Have the radiator cleaned or replaced eventually.

Yes thick underlay and carpet will help.
What is under the flooring now?

I actually used newspapers under carpet at one time. Works well but they are in short supply 

How about a rug under the radiator so it's not warming the floor.

Thanks, there are some great tips there! I never thought about putting anything in the window recess sonil look into that.

As for the flooring, I've managed to pull a tiny piece up and it seems to be just laid straight onto boarded subfloor. Is there meant to be underlay? Ive never had this type of flooring before. 


Other gaps in this flooring I've found show no insulation either

Eldi_Dos

Use one of the online calculators to work out the heating requirements of the room for to see radiator(s) required for the room. I assume the existing one has been bleed.

If you do go for carpet and underlay budget for possibly getting doors trimmed to suit.

If you could describe or post photos of both sides of the pipe / vent , people will be able to advise more.
Is the photo of that pipe in a garage?

In the cold weather till you get room sorted to your liking you might want to adopt a bit of the heat the person as well as heat the room approach.

What is the humidity in the room like and did the floor under that piece of flooring feel dry, I am wondering if a dehumidifier might help.

Le_Kirk

The current radiator is old, heats up fine but you can't feel the heat coming out of the top like you can with the newer one we have in the kitchen. The rad size is 1800 x 600.

When you write, you cannot feel the heat do you mean if you hold your hand above it or if you feel it with the palm of your hand.  Shouldn't be an issue as it is downstairs but have you tried bleeding it?

WIAWSNB

Hi Arnela.

That is vinyl plank 'laminate' flooring - it is made of a dense fibreboard around 1cm thick, with a decorative vinyl layer on top. 

And from what you say, underneath this is standard chipboard flooring, which will most likely be 18mm thick, possible more. But we don't know what's underneath this - is your floor 'solid' or 'suspended'? The way to check is to look outside, and see if there are any vents in the wall at just below floor level. Please report back.

So, 18+10mm 'board' ain't bad insulation-wise. But the floor is not going to feel 'warm' at any point as it isn't heated, and floor level is also the coldest point of any room - if you feel your 'ceiling' air, that's the hottest!

There does not appear to be any insulation or underlay, which most (all) such laminate flooring should have. Tbh, it ain't going to transform that floor in any case.

If you want a floor that feels 'warm' to stand or sit on, then it has to be an insulating type where it makes contact with you, so - yes - carpet or similar. But, will that help to heat the whole room? I doubt it, and not by much. So I'd only do this if you actually wanted it, and then add a really good carpet underlay. If you prefer the wood/laminate floor look, then you could add a layer of insulation board (low-density fibreboard, about 8mm thick) over the chipboard, then a foil-insulated layer of underlay (around 3mm), and then a thinner new 'plank' on top. 

If your floor is 'solid' under that chipboard, then that would explain the lack of general draughts. If suspended, however, then good chance there are draughts coming in under the skirtings, so worth sealing these gaps off in any case if you are changing the floor covering. 

Re the door to the cold ute, it doesn't matter that much whether it's an exterior type or interior in terms of 'insulation' value, tho' I'd expect a modern ext door to have a good value. What is important, tho' is that it is draught-sealed around its perimeter, so that's the first thing to check. Yes, and a nice thick curtain over it will also help, but proper perimeter seals would be better. 

Folk have sussed that the radiator is a single-panel type, so is completely underpowered for that room - and that is surely the key issue. You have this in hand.

The other is the open staircase, and I'm not sure how to handle this. Where does it lead to? How many doors? I'd suggest trying to perimeter-seal these too, as that layout is currently a chimney! Or - daft idea - fit a thick ceiling-mounted curtain a-la-shower that can be pulled around that staircase when not used. 

To keep energy bills manageable, do not heat any room that does not require it. And heat the rooms that do only when needed. Any unused rooms, crack open the windows to 'vent' position, turn the rad down to 'frost' setting, and shut the door; it'll be cold in there, yes, but should remain dry. 

Albermarle

Although 18c seems warm and I guess it is really, we rented a new build for 10 years before buying this place and had the thermostat set to 24c in winter... it was a much warmer house... and I must admit, I seriously feel the cold... I just cant hack it lol

Of course everybody is different but the usual guidelines ( and my own experience) are that 18 degrees should be OK in most rooms, especially if you are moving around ( like in a kitchen, or doing some housework) and are wearing at least a light jumper or similar. 
If you want to just sit and watch the TV, then 21 degrees is a comfortable temperature, assuming you are suitably dressed for the time of year.
24 degrees is really T shirts and shorts type temperature !

Vitor

Putting down carpet and installing a double-panel rad should make a big difference but all the other suggestions will help. Could be worth renting a thermal camera for a day to look for cold-spots around window, door etc. or signs of 'bridging' in the cavity walls.

Arnela

Eldi_Dos said:

Use one of the online calculators to work out the heating requirements of the room for to see radiator(s) required for the room. I assume the existing one has been bleed.

If you do go for carpet and underlay budget for possibly getting doors trimmed to suit.

If you could describe or post photos of both sides of the pipe / vent , people will be able to advise more.
Is the photo of that pipe in a garage?

In the cold weather till you get room sorted to your liking you might want to adopt a bit of the heat the person as well as heat the room approach.

What is the humidity in the room like and did the floor under that piece of flooring feel dry, I am wondering if a dehumidifier might help.

The floor felt dry, the whole house sits at around 60 humidity. The highest ive seen it go is 65 and I think that was from cooking etc. The windows don't have trickle vents and because I'm fighting with getting the temps up, I'm dubious about opening windows... other than the bathroom anyway 

Eldi_Dos

Arnela said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Use one of the online calculators to work out the heating requirements of the room for to see radiator(s) required for the room. I assume the existing one has been bleed.

If you do go for carpet and underlay budget for possibly getting doors trimmed to suit.

If you could describe or post photos of both sides of the pipe / vent , people will be able to advise more.
Is the photo of that pipe in a garage?

In the cold weather till you get room sorted to your liking you might want to adopt a bit of the heat the person as well as heat the room approach.

What is the humidity in the room like and did the floor under that piece of flooring feel dry, I am wondering if a dehumidifier might help.

The floor felt dry, the whole house sits at around 60 humidity. The highest ive seen it go is 65 and I think that was from cooking etc. The windows don't have trickle vents and because I'm fighting with getting the temps up, I'm dubious about opening windows... other than the bathroom anyway 

That is good news that the floor under the flooring felt dry to the touch.

It might be counter intuitive to ventilate a house when you are trying to heat it but a well ventilated dryer house will be easier to heat.

One well known demonstration, used by housing staff trying to convince tenant's of the benifit of lowering the humidity in a property is, when you have finished drying your dishes sit down with a cuppa place a dry tea towel on one knee and the one used for drying the dishes on the other.When you have finished your cuppa check the respective temperature of each knee, it is quite a marked difference and a house would be similar.

Ectophile

There should be a vent if you have a gas appliance or solid fuel burner (coal fire, log burner) in the room.  There may have been one there in the past.  If not, then you can safely block up the vent.

twopenny

I forgot the flaming obvious.
To keep warmer put a good fleece over the couch.
Feet off the floor.

In times past people used foot stools. I use one when I'm on the computer. Books will do.

Always check when buying a fleece, not all are warm. Wrap your hand in it and it should feel instantly hot.
I have one from a charity shop £3.50 that covers the settee and it's really warm and cosy.