House Renovation in Cork- External insulation/central heating/double glazing/wiring

dory wrote: »

Hello everyone!

Just moved into a 1950's style 3 bed bungalow in Cork. Looks a bit like this one. I love my house but it's very cold. I stayed here last Christmas as well and had to sleep in front of the fire in the living room to fend off the hypothermia.

So now I am looking to get me some insulation. I'm reading as much as I can on these forums, and I've rang some people looking for quotes. I would love if someone could give me half an iota what kind of figures we're looking at here and if I could get a grant for it (I'm aware of the anti-grant sentiment on some threads over in Heating and Plumbing).

What I figure I need done is:

• External insulation (or internal - I'll need advice on that one)
• Central heating - right now I have storage heaters that do not store heat. I don't know whether to go for gas or oil. I'm told there is gas on my road that I could tap in to. I have bad asthma so can't light fires, so I think a gas fire would be the answer (or can oil do the fake fire thing too?).
• Double glazing, maybe even triple. Also have traffic outside so I'd like to block that out.
• Front and back doors need some insulation, I'm thinking a porch of some sort out the front.
• Electrical power sockets. I'd want the whole house checked out for safety, and one room has no power points.
• Fireplaces - something needs to be done with the four of these - you can block chimneys can't you?
• Extension - I'm thinking of extending two of the bedrooms, I'd be looking for something less that 40sq metres anyway for planning permission purposes(I'll measure properly later).
• I also may convert the garage or at least insulate it somewhat so my stored goods won't get mouldy.

If anyone could help at all I would be very grateful. You're also welcome to PM me quotes or offers to do a quote!

• I would recommend external wall insulation (EWI), and some carefully detailing overlapping the insulation with your new window frames for maximum benefit.

• The type of windows and your noise requirements will in my experience come down to budget, there's always a balance to be found, between price and quality. You have the opportunity to really get things air-tight as you are upgrading both the wall and windows together.
• A closed gas fire/heater may be the most straight forward solution for you, but a more detailed survey of your heating load (following the installation of the windows, EWI, roof insulation and ventilation strategy) would be important before selecting the appropriate system. I'm mentioning ventilation as its one one of the 'big 3' (insulation, air-tightness and ventilation) to be considered when doing work like you are proposing.
• if your doing this renovation and extension, it would be a good time to add a porch. up to 2msq may be exempt from planning permission, but if your door is recessed then it may be very straight forward (low cost)
• for a house of this vintage, I would recommend an electrician (as part of a main contract) do a complete review of the wiring. much of it may be visible in the attic areas and as you'll be insulating the attic, its best to get such things right first.
• extension: don't rule out seeking planning permission straight away. you may find that its not necessary given the 40msq rule but this is a process that should be carefully considered. Its about you getting the best rooms/space, maximising daylight, retaining your garden views and connections to your existing house.
• garage: reasonably straight forward to upgrade, but if there's a problem with mould it may require further investigation.