1930s house with original front door - add enclose porch?

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Hi,

I have just moved into a 1930s detached house from a 1990's semi so am feeling the cold a lot more now we are seeing the temperatures drop.

The house has an original big heavy door with leaded lights (single glazed) down both sides and across the top. The door opens onto an open porch.

It's always cold around the front door because it's draughty and also because there's a lot of single panel glazing which just eats heat.

We are having some PVC windows installed (to replace aluminium) elsewhere in the house and at the same time are considering enclosing the porch with uPVC glazing.

I'm pretty sure this will cut down the draughts, but would be interested in anybody else's experience of having done something similar - whether it made the house more comfortable.

Loft insulation and possibly external wall insulation are also on the list of todos.
 
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We moved into a 1930s semi in January.
First thing we did was upgrade the loft insulation to 270mm and that made a massive difference.

Previous owner had a PVC door installed to enclose to porch. I think it looks awful:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=me...=wtiKZTJehC61wk5QIKUawA&cbp=12,344.63,,1,5.19

I'd prever to re-establish the old storm porch, but we'd loose too much room from the hallway, so my next plan (in a very long list of plans) is to square off the arch, keeping the header course, and install a composite door that looks a little more in keeping with the house and its age.
 
Thanks for the response Chunky.

How deep was your loft insulation before? Ours is mostly 70mm but 0mm :eek: in some places. Trying to get that done via one of the free deals on at the moment. (Will DIY if it drags on too long).

Thanks for posting the pic - we're thinking of doing it in keeping with the original style. E.g. rosewood effect composite with leaded glazing around the edges. We've had a sample of the material and it's a very good match for the existing door.

Perhaps something similar to this: http://www.nigelgrant.net/images/headers/house01.jpg but in a darker colour.

Good luck w/ yours!
 
Will you move the door into the arch or keep it in the current location?
We got a quote to actually replace our PVC door, but the archway actually made the construction more expensive than ordering a standard square type shape.

Our insulation was about 40mm, but it was so old and useless I doubt it was having any effect. I bought the insulation from B&Q for about £50 and did the loft myself. Was hot and sweaty but took no longer than an hour.

Others on here have suggested using rigid insulation for lofts. This was you can obtain the benefits but also have storage facilities available on top.
 
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We'll keep the current door where it is (I think building regs require that anyway).

So the porch will be used for storing coats, shoes, etc, but also to reduce draughts and try to make the house warmer (the current door is old, warped and poorly fitting).

Yeah - this is the issue with the loft. It's all boarded (also has a weird DIY conversion job which needs ripping out, but not yet), so need to re-board at least part of it.

Have seen this stuff, which seems like a neat solution: http://www.loftzone.co.uk/storefloor.html
 

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