Improvements possible?

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Hi all. Brief back story here. I bought an older house (mid 80s) as the location and space it offered was considerably better than the new homes in my area. I'm currently weighing up options for a heating and insulation update. Going to do the walls (external), new gas boiler, new rads and attic insulation. This obviously won't be cheap. I don't plan to stay in my current home for ever so my question is, will I see a considerable improvement in home comfort by doing all these updates, and am I over killing it if I plan to sell in the medium (5-10 years) term.

agusta

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Hi all. Brief back story here. I bought an older house (mid 80s) as the location and space it offered was considerably better than the new homes in my area. I'm currently weighing up options for a heating and insulation update. Going to do the walls (external), new gas boiler, new rads and attic insulation. This obviously won't be cheap. I don't plan to stay in my current home for ever so my question is, will I see a considerable improvement in home comfort by doing all these updates, and am I over killing it if I plan to sell in the medium (5-10 years) term.

Yes ,you will see a considerable improvement. Also when you sell the house you will get your money back and more as it will improve the ber rating of the house. Also consider zoning the heating system.there is a grant there for this

Markcheese

I dunno, I think the insulation and the boiler controls are a no brainer,(if only for reasons of comfort), plus they're grant aided... The new boiler and rads ect.? ..id wait a bit if they're still working fine...

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Thanks guys. The boiler as it's set up now has only one zone. Heats the whole system with no way to easily tune it to just hot water. It's also an old oil model. I'm toying with the idea of switching to gas (it's on the road, a lot of the neighbors have done it). I'd just need to plan the works in the right order. Insulation first, then boiler as I don't want to pay bord gais to come out and move the meter for the insulation. Is gas preferably over oil?

Also, the previous owners converted the garage to a room that sticks out at the front of the house in line with the porch. This has its own roof but as a low gradient, possibly 10 degrees but not much more. Is there insulation options for this roof? If I'm going to do the house I'd want to do it right

seamus

The meter has to go outside anyway, so it'll be unaffected by installing the insulation. If you're definitely going ahead with this, make the appointment for the gas connection ASAP, the lead time can be 6 - 8 weeks.

Cost-wise gas and oil are about the same, and the modern boilers are about as efficient as one another. So ultimately it's down to preference. I moved to gas because filling the oil tank was a pain in the hole, and it meant I reclaimed garden space by removing the oil tank and boiler.

In general your plumber will install whatever pipework he needs before the insulation is installed, then the insulation is put down, and the boiler installed.

I would also like to know the answer to your second question. There's a "bay" window at the front of the house, which I suspect has little or no insulation above it, which is why it's so cold in winter. Be interested to know if it's insulatable or if I should just leave it alone.

Markcheese

The zoning isnt that hard.
Lots of products and companies out there that specialise in it, and while the grant is there it's not expensive...

antoinolachtnai

You either need to replace the boiler or you don't. It's basically about the age of the boiler. If the boiler is the age of the house, it is time to change it.

People generally like to buy or rent a house with gas heating in my experience. It is less hassle than oil. I agree with what is written above about efficiency (though arguably gas boilers have a small edge).

If the tank is the age of the house, it is likely that it now needs replacing.

Insulating the roof is well worth doing. It will save a lot of money for little outlay.

What is the point in changing the radiators unless there is something wrong with them? It is basically a cosmetic issue. It will not add much value to the house unless it is at the high end.

If you are getting the boiler changed, that's the time to get zoning done and put in TRVs.

Insulating the walls is an expensive job. You are unlikely to see the money back in reduced fuel bills.

It is worth looking at what condition your windows are in. If they are currently single-glazed or in poor condition, it may be worth replacing them.

For the garage room, it really depends. This will probably be expensive to put right. Fixing it is the right thing to do, undoubtedly, and it will give comfort and savings, but I don't think you will see the value back if you sell in 5 or 10 years.

Ultimately you need to decide whether you want to fix the critical things, or do a 'deep retrofit' to sort out all the issues.