Central heating before or after plastering?

[faycat]

Hi

I'm a complete novice so please asume that I know nothing and be gentle with me!!!

We are renovating a 1880s stone mid-terrace house and have several walls with damp patches due to condensation and poor ventilation and guttering problems [which have now been fixed.]

My question is should we put in central heating before we plaster all walls and ceilings [this will help dry out damp patches and help plaster dry but then we will have old messy walls behind radiators] or should we repair walls and plaster before we put in central heating [easier for decorating].

Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks and Happy New Year!!

 

[gas4you]

Personally I would strip the walls, treat the damp, possibly put a de-humidifier in for a while, plaster then fit the ch.

It's not just where the rads hang, what about any pipe drops etc?

Always best to fit to nice new walls

 

[faycat]

Thanks Dave,

That's what I wanted to do but had been told we needed central heating to get rid of damp. Pipes will be dropped under staircase [not sure if that changes anything?]

The only other consideration is that if we have central heating done first we can get rid of old boiler and cupboards and a gas heater [all in bedrooms] which we need to do before we plaster...so I keep going round in circles

 

[gas4you]

You need to have everything removed from the walls, holes patched and then walls plastered first to do a good job.

Have you an immersion in your hw cylinder for dhw?

Why not budget for 4 or 5 electric convector heaters to use befoer the new heating is installed? They don't cost much at B&Q.

To do a job properly you will have to be inconvenienced at some point.

You never know, you may find an installer like me that lends out electric heaters as part of the job to keep you warm

Edit; What about any re-wiring, I take it this will be done before plastering as well.

 

[faycat]

We have been managing with convector heaters for the last couple of months so that's not a problem. We have no other source of heat as the gas fire doesn't work properly anyway.

We have an electric shower and then there is a big boiler with a switch that we turn on if we want hot water for washing up. So if that was taken out would we be left with no water at all or just no hot water [i realise you are possibly choking on a mince pie at the daftness of that question!! ] but I really don't know how it all works...

Also do we need a plumber or gasman or builder to take out the boiler and the old gas wall heater in the bedroom?

We are having the house rewired on Thursday.
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[gas4you]

Best to get a gasman, RGI, to remove anything to do with gas and to install new heating system and boiler.

 

[Synchrouk]

I'm in exactly the same situation as you and I have been going around and round about what to do first :-/

Except we are on System 7 electric heating at the mo', with no gas at the house....yet. Plus damp work means lots of replastering

 

[faycat]

Thanks again, you've been a big help.

 

[JohnD]

drying out is quicker from ventilation than from heating (though this is not the best time of the year to open all your doors and windows)

you might consider using a dehumidifier (in a room with doors and windows SHUT) to dry it out fast.

 

[faycat]

I'm in exactly the same situation as you and I have been going around and round about what to do first :-/

Except we are on System 7 electric heating at the mo', with no gas at the house....yet. Plus damp work means lots of replastering

Well that makes me feel better, cos I thought it was just me being really fussy. I think the climate and time of year makes everything worse as it's so cold and damp that the walls have no chance of drying out. Our house is like a meat locker!!

 

[faycat]

drying out is quicker from ventilation than from heating (though this is not the best time of the year to open all your doors and windows)

you might consider using a dehumidifier (in a room with doors and windows SHUT) to dry it out fast.

Yes we have tried a dehumidifier but the problem we have downstairs is that the old windows have been painted shut and the kitchen window doesn't open at all. I think that we will get new windows in ASAP and really try to sort out the damp problem before we do anything else. Thanks for your advice.

 

[bengasman]

You don’t need central heating to get rid of damp, but proper damp proofing.
If I were to do the whole job, I would sort out the electricity first, completely. Then plastering and heating last. Make sure that your electricity is sorted out before you do anything else.
Removing gas fittings is work for an RGI only.

 

[faycat]

Thanks for your reply Bengasman. We are having house rewired on Thursday then next will be new windows for some proper ventilation. Then if the damp doesn't improve we'll pay to get it sorted. Then we'll do the plastering and central heating. Just hoping it doesn't snow too much in 2008! Really glad I found this website.