House not warming up.

I have a four bedroom mid terraced house. The loftspace and attic floor is fully insulated, it has all A rated UPVC windows and doors. I have had a new boiler installed two years ago and when it's on the radiators get red hot, but the tempeature will not go more than 16°c. I have filled any gaps in brickwork, skirting boards etc. and it has made no difference. There is no cavity inbetween the walls for insulation. I have had the boiler and thermostat serviced and checked. I'm a bit stuck on what to do next. Does anyone have any ideas what else I can try?

This may sound daft, but does the place actually FEEL cold?

I only ask cos i used to live in a flat where the temp was supposed to be 23c plus but i still used the heating; & now i live in a brick built terrace (same as you describe but two bedroom) & the temp can vary between 14c-21c according to my thermometer in my bedroom, but i still feel warm enough or too warm sometimes.

I'd go on how warm the house actually feels, if it feels comfy then its fine. I dont trust my thermometer to be accurate anymore cos too many times i've put the heating on when the temp is supposed to be 12c then boiled to death an hour later & switched it off again.

Also to add, one thing that made a difference to the rooms staying warm was a good pair of lined curtains!

Do you have some of your internal doors open, all open or all closed? It sounds like your house is very much like mine in construction and I found that the internal temperature in my house changed enormously when I kept the door shut between the kitchen and the rest of the house. The air bricks in the kitchen, which are presumably there for a good reason, result in the kitchen being up to 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house when the door is kept shut.

Keeping other doors shut, in particular the one to the attic, does make a difference, but nothing like as much difference as just shutting the kitchen door. For some reason the air brick under floor level in the living room doesn't seem to make much difference, but blocking the chimney does.

Quite possibly cold from the external walls of the house, when it's cold put your hand on the external wall, if it's cold it might be that.

Have a look online at how much heat is lost through the walls in properties.

Have a read up on

IWI (internal wall insulation

EWI (external wall insulation

Hope this helps, Chris

Being a mid terrace, I am assuming that there are no outside walls as such, just the roofspace that goes into the eaves, which you say is insulated. Is there insulation between the ceiling and the slates though? Its a dirty job I know, but replacing the ceiling and installing Kingspan would be the next logical step, other than fitting a larger radiator.

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The roof inbetween the slates and ceiling has 50mm kingspan. All doors are kept closed and the radiators are all new with boiler around 2 years ago. The thing I can try now is insulating the basement ceiling. The house feels cold in all the rooms even with heating on.

Being a mid terrace, I am assuming that there are no outside walls as such, just the roofspace that goes into the eaves, which you say is insulated. Is there insulation between the ceiling and the slates though? Its a dirty job I know, but replacing the ceiling and installing Kingspan would be the next logical step, other than fitting a larger radiator.

 

 

 

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Being a mid terrace, I am assuming that there are no outside walls as such, just the roofspace that goes into the eaves, which you say is insulated. Is there insulation between the ceiling and the slates though? Its a dirty job I know, but replacing the ceiling and installing Kingspan would be the next logical step, other than fitting a larger radiator.

 

 

 

Surely a mid terrace has at least 2 outside walls, one at the front and one at the back.

Surely a mid terrace has at least 2 outside walls, one at the front and one at the back.

Not usually in the attic, as the pitch of the roof will generally end at the attic floor level. A stud wall is then usually erected at the required minimum height and insulated in the void, as described by the OP. Some larger properties may have an original dormer window, in which case there would be an exterior wall.

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He's talking about the entire house being cold though, not just the attic conversion... Did I miss something?

The roof inbetween the slates and ceiling has 50mm kingspan. All doors are kept closed and the radiators are all new with boiler around 2 years ago. The thing I can try now is insulating the basement ceiling. The house feels cold in all the rooms even with heating on.

As far as insulation goes, except for the cellar, I seems you have gone as far as is practicable. Insulating the cellar is best done with loft insulation held up with chicken wire, stapled to the underside of the joists. This is the method now recommended, as it allows air to circulate around the timbers, therefore minimising dry rot issues.

I think your only option after this is extra/ or larger radiators, especially in communal areas such as stairwells and landings.

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---------- Post added 06-01-2014 at 15:03 ----------

He's talking about the entire house being cold though, not just the attic conversion... Did I miss something?

Yes sorry,I wasn't being clear, I had the attic on the brain as this is a prime suspect for heat loss.

Is the thermostat you refer to a room thermostat and if so is there a separate temperature control for the heating on the boiler itself?

My system has both but the boiler is the master control.

How big are the new radiators?

Wasn't the 'old way of doing it' to have a fair bit of ventilation and loadsa heating to compensate??

Now we try and close up every nook and cranny to keep the heat in and the bills down.