Insulation for a room

OldmanMondeo

One of the bedrooms is very cold. Even with the heating on, the room does not heat up. I am thinking of putting a double rad in, but I think I will need to all insulation to the room.

This is where my query begins. What do I need to do? I will probably need to get the whole house done, but don't have that money at the minute. The room is unusable at the minute.

Sir Arthur Daley

Can you give us more details of the room i.e is it single or two story dwelling, north or south facing?

dhog4n

Check if the attic space over the bedroom is insulated properly. Sometimes insulation gets moved out of the way when work is being done or when items are put into the attic for storage and this leaves a gap in the insulation, causing a cold spot. If need be, you can lay out some extra insulation yourself very cheaply - just be sure to wear long sleeves, gloves and a dust mask when doing it.

Also, check if the room vent/window vent is set at the same opening as in other rooms. Don't close it fully though as that can cause condensation and mould.

These are the free/nearly free answers - everything else is more involved.

vinnie13

dhog4n wrote: »

Check if the attic space over the bedroom is insulated properly. Sometimes insulation gets moved out of the way when work is being done or when items are put into the attic for storage and this leaves a gap in the insulation, causing a cold spot. If need be, you can lay out some extra insulation yourself very cheaply - just be sure to wear long sleeves, gloves and a dust mask when doing it.

Also, check if the room vent/window vent is set at the same opening as in other rooms. Don't close it fully though as that can cause condensation and mould.

These are the free/nearly free answers - everything else is more involved.

I would be thinking the same,definitely should be your first steps..
Putting in a double rad will help dramatically

sky6

I suspect it's a box bedroom, over a Porch and on the corner of the house.
If it is then insulate the Ceiling in the Porch first this will make a huge difference.
As has been said, also make sure the attic insulation is up to specification. Then insulate the outside Walls internally with 62 mm insulated plaster boards. This will make a hugh difference to the Room.

josip

OP how much will you spen on a new double rad? €150?
And the same again getting it fitted?

That's around €300 you have to play with on insulation which is not an insignificant amount of money.

And whereas the double rad will lead to higher heating bills, the extra insulation will lead to lower bills year on year.

Single or double glazed window in that room?
Size of room?
Location of room in house?
Aspect of room? North/South
Age of house

If it's an exposed corner bedroom like some have guessed, there could be a considerable influx of cold air through the ventialtion ducts

dmca77

I have something the same problem.

Double glazing.

I blocked up the vent with expanding foam and drilled a 6 inch hole in diameter with closable vent- I close the vent at night.

Corner room over the front door- new front door fitted 2 months ago composite door and the difference in the hall is unreal.

North facing house.

Single rad for a small bedroom.

Last week my 6 month baby work up at approx. 3 am and the wife seen to the child and came in and touched me-- omg I could not believe how cold her hand was so I went and brought the child into our room.

I have adjusted the heating now to come on at 3am for and hour but the rest of the house gets to warm especially our bedroom and its uncomfortable to sleep.

The walls have the white stuff attached to the plaster board so it has some insulation.

Not sure were to go with this- 320mm in the attic.

Some of your generous advice much appreciated.

Thanks

DMCA

slimjimmc

Have ye checked the rad in the cold room is operating at full temp? If it's cooler than the others perhaps your heating system needs to be balanced so that more heat is transferred to the cold room?

dmca77

slimjimmc wrote: »

Have ye checked the rad in the cold room is operating at full temp? If it's cooler than the others perhaps your heating system needs to be balanced so that more heat is transferred to the cold room?

Radiator is grand just the room does not keep the heat like the rest of the house and its the only room that is bare to the outside on two walls!

I am thinking that I need to take down the current plaster board with insulation and update it and also in that room only I take up the floor boards and put insulation there also.

D

josip

Get a min max thermometer and measure the temp in the different bedrooms over a few nights so that you know exactly what you're dealing with.

Also, it's no harm to have the temp in the baby's room a few degrees lower than in an adult's room. 17 degrees if I remember correctly.

If you know the manufacturer and size of the rads you can check the rated output and see if the one in the baby room is proportionately as strong as the others.

sky6

I bet the Electric Box is on the same Wall also. Have you got an open Porch or a patio Door, ? Either way I'd Insulate the Porch Ceiling first. This will save you having to lift Floorboards which is a big job. The Floor Boards usually run through the Landing and the boxing over the Stairs. So you will have plenty of cutting to do close to Walls and across Doorways. You also run the risk of cutting through Cables or Piping if you don't know where they run.
The Electric Boxes allow a huge amount of Cold air into the Cavity.
Which will keep the Bedroom Wall cold.
I'd then insulate the Ceiling in the Bedroom next. Keeping in mind that heat rises so by insulating the Ceiling you prevent it from leaving too quickly. Then I'd finish with insulating the two outside Walls.
If you can do the work yourself with a little help of a mate then total cost less than 200 Euro.
The benefits of it will be realized for Years to come.

OldmanMondeo

Cheers for the answers, yes it is a box room with walls exposed. There is no porch, but the hall door is under this room. The house is years old, when built there was foam laid within the brick work. I will check the insulation i the attic, might get a roll of 2 in-case.

I plan on getting the full house insulation, some neighbours have had this done and it has helped the complete house. All windows are double glazed and I stuffed the vent to reduce the draft.

I was thinking about the double rad to help get heat in quicker, current rad is very small and air locks to easy.

dmca77

Hi All,

Update on my venture for a warmer house.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/stormguard-upvc-seal/89084?cm_sp=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area3&_requestid=341982

I bought the above for the 15 year old double glazing I have.

I done 6 windows with this stuff and it took me approx 6 hours to do the double seals and I can notice a big difference in the draughts into each room but I must say I am very sore as I ended up taking the side windows out to do it correctly as they have double seals on the inside and outside.

I have been around loads of window companies looking for this stuff and all I was told that you can not purchase and you need new windows!

I have noticed a difference in our box room but not to a great deal that I would say YEAH, but the room is holding the heat longer.

I was looking for this stuff for years and never took the plunge until I had a nosey into screwfix in Belfast and took a chance as I was not sure of the diameter of the seal but I was assured they would take it back if unused but it has worked a treat especially in our bedroom.

D