We're looking to buy in Dublin and sadly most places we can afford are both too small and have a very poor BER. We can live with a small place for a while with the hope of extending down the line when we have the funds, but would want to bring the home up to a level of comfort asap and can better afford retrofitting than extending right now anyway. Would it be mad to do a deep retrofit somewhere, knowing that we're planning on doing a kitchen extension out the back maybe 5 years down the line that might impact some of the retrofit work? Anyone have experience of similar considerations?
Most builders would say to do it all together, but I am not a builder. It depends on the building. It is hard to know without knowing the place but BER doesn't mean a lot. A building might have a bad BER but might be comfortable.
You can spend tens of thousands installing triple glazing and external insulation or pay about 1000 for an airtightness test, attic insulation and some orcon f sealant, which can make a big difference.