Draughts Behind T&G Panelled Walls

[fallen121]

My husband and I have bought an old stone built cottage and spent the best part of 5 years renovating it. We have a new roof, loft insulation and double glazed sash and case windows. Only trouble is, the house loses heat REALLY quickly in winter, due in part to concrete floors. We have got around this by installing the best possible carpet underlay we can afford.

We have traced the heat loss problem to the tongue and groove panelled walls, where the panelling is fixed to the stone by means of horizonal batterns held in place by huge nails driven direct into the stone walls. Only trouble is, the wind whistles behind the panelling in winter and causes draughts, leading to any heat getting quickly sucked out from the room and straight up into the attic. We need to insulate behind the panelling, but removing it all will be a messy business and replacing it will require skilled joinery. We have wondered about using routed MDF instead but lack knowledge of a good supplier. Also this does not negate the need to insulate, but the problem of condensation worries us.

Extensive research on the internet hasn't turned up anyone else with a similar problem, wondered if anyone on here could offer up any advice?

Thanks

 

[mointainwalker]

Can you not find out where the draught is coming from and block it ?

Moving air carries away more heat than still air so doing that would be a vital first step for whatever work you undertake.

If you think that replacing the T&G requires a skilled joiner, what advantages do you see with MDF - don't understand.

What's the distance wall to T&G and can you afford to lose say another 10 cm in the room if the wall had to be moved out ?

 

[fallen121]

I think that it is quite possible that there is a chimney behind the wall and that is the source of the draught. And the chimney will need to be vented, so we will never block it completely. This is a cottage, so no upper floor, the space behind the walls vents straight up into the attic. As I mentioned, we have insulated the attic, but because of differences in heights of ceilings and an extension butted onto the rear of the house there are areas we can't get to in the attic or which are blocked by beams.

The T&G is an unusual size so not easily replaced as most of the modern T&G we have sourced has been of a different width. So we would have to "make" the boards ourselves and lack the skills and tools to do this. So that is why we considered MDF as we could at least rout that ourselves.

Also the T&G extends up past the line of the ceiling - we would have to saw it off, we can't just pull the boards out as they extend up past the line of the ceiling - not sure why constructed this way, but maybe walls were constructed before the ceiling was put in.

The T&G covers not just walls but ceiling and also around windows too. We risk damaging the window frames and possibly the sash and case weights if we bodge this - and that WILL require professional intervention.

Yes, we appreciate we will lose some space to insulate, but you try waking up in a bedroom that is so cold your waterglass is frozen - and that's with a bloody radiator on!

 

[jeds]

It's not impossible that you have an actual draught but bear in mind that even in a modern house you will invariably get a draught coming from from behind wallboards and panels. These draughts are convection currents caused by differences in temperature.

 

[mointainwalker]

Well you've got to start somewhere so make it the chimney.

I'm puzzled by your tentative phrasing "..quite possible there is a chimney..." Chimneys do usually give themselves away quite easily by outlets on the roof/rectangular structures"tacked|" on outside walls etc.

If there is one and you don't want it you could block it up temporarily to improve your situation this winter and deal with it properly in the summer i.e. get it checked/swept and install an air-brick for ventilation.


Once that's done you can see if you are much more comfortable and how much more work you want to do.


By the way I am well acquainted with cold bedrooms .Mine was 1 C today.

 

[fallen121]

We could deal with the chimney, but in order to expose it all the T&G and quite a bit of plasterwork will need to come out first. I don't think it will be possible to sleep in the bedroom whilst all this is going on, so we'll need to empty out the dining room and camp in there. The chimney also possibly straddles the second bedroom where my daughter sleeps as the room divisions were created only about 40-50 years ago and I think both rooms were originally a much bigger single space served by a single fireplace. God knows where she will sleep whilst all this is happening - there's not that much room in the dining room (which is also a corridor to the kitchen) and her bunk bed will need dismantled, and we will have to find somewhere to store 3 sets of full length curtains - no mean feat in a cottage with no storage space.

A lean-to has been built on the side of the cottage and that too is quite old, hence the uncertaintly as to the chimney location.

 

[mointainwalker]

Well we've been around the problem and for both insulating behind the panelling and/or blocking up the chimney you recognise that the T+G has to come off - FACT.

The fact that it goes beyond the ceiling makes it more difficult as does the use on the ceiling

Since this now involves so many different elements, I don't feel I can give any reasonable advice except call in a good carpenter to advise on the best way to remove/replace the T+G and he may know where you can source the unusual size used,

Sorry