Dormer windows/roofs - can you polish a t*rd?

[garyo]

I'm currently looking around for our next house to move to, and there are a surprising number of 1960's dormer bungalows in our area. A lot of them have a good amount of land too so tick my boxes in terms of doing DIY extensions etc.

My concern is that they're inherently flawed from an insulation point of view, and won't be a pleasant place to live for a family for the ~10 years we're likely to be there.

I realise that these kinds of general questions are hard to answer, but is there much you can do with them, other than rip all the plasterboard out, fit PIR between the joists and then 50mm of PIR backed plasterboard over the top?

Or am I being unfair - are they not as bad as I think I should really just think of it as throwing another £50/month away on heating and put it out of my mind?

I presume that a 1960's build would have zero insulation anywhere, and it's so awkward to retro fit that most owners wouldn't have bothered... happy to stand corrected!

This is one such example:

Thanks

Gary

 

[Nige F]

You might get 25mm of fibreglass in the flat bits of the roof- that's it . Also you may have horrible foam in the cavity walls from long ago - C.Rap stuff. The 60's wasn't the finest decade for building. I'm OK with my one because I know what to expect and it's in a good position

 

[garyo]

Cheers Nige. I'm not after a Part-L compliant gold standard or anything, but wondering if I should avoid these kinds of houses. My current house is a 1950's red-brick 50mm cavity traditional build. I've gone to town on it in terms of insulation and draft excluding, with a good attention to detail, and it's very comfortable so even with it's little boiler it can make the house uncomfortably warm in no time.

I suppose the bottom line is that the price is the price, and as long as I think the price reflects the energy performance then I should be happy.

 

[catlad]

If the house is detached it could be worth redoing the roof and putting insulation over the rafters, a 60's concrete tiled roof will be coming to the end of its life anyway.

 

[Nige F]

Cheers Nige. I'm not after a Part-L compliant gold standard or anything, but wondering if I should avoid these kinds of houses.

I suppose the bottom line is that the price is the price, and as long as I think the price reflects the energy performance then I should be happy.

I'm in a 60's bungalow now but I had a late 50's chalet bungalow and you lose a lot of room where the ceilings slope and there was no insulation in that slope.4 bedrooms there and 2 living rooms But 80k btu boiler ! Now we have 1 living room and 2 bedrooms and a 40k btu boiler. Plus the large lounge/kitchen windows face S. and the heat gain from the sunshine is amazing.

 

[garyo]

I think it's the sloping portion of the ceilings that are the main problem too. I expect I'll be able to make access hatch hatches to the other two areas (flat portion of ceiling and eaves areas)

As you say, the trick will be trying not to lose too much more head room.

The warm-roof option is interesting. Not one of considered and could be the best approach after all the costs associated with making good after replastering inside are weighed up.