House constantly loses heat at a fast rate, how best to identify source?

[mikeey84]

This easy enough to do? I'll look for a video online

Dead easy. I used a 75mm thick bit of celotex, glued into place with expanding foam, then rendered over it.

Buy a joss stick and have a wander round, especially on a windy day

 

[JohnD]

I'd stuff it with mineral wool loft insulation, and screw the vent back on.

It might be useful one day.

Also, use the joss sticks to search for holes in the floor where pipes (and sometimes cables) come up. There may be a plumbing duct in a fairly modern house.

If you do not have access to brown loft wool treated with Ecose, which prevents it shedding dust and fibres, stuff it in a plastic bag.

For fine gaps, scrub them clean to remove dust and dirt (leave them damp) and use expanding foam (preferably the pink fire grade)

 

[^woody^]

GCH, piped in old microbore sp not ideal, I have it balanced so most flow goes to living room. Coldest room in the house is the kitchen (cold to the point it feels like outside) and to be fair the radiator in there is in a terrible position and blocked by tumble dryer, so there are some less than ideal factors but it's the scale of *how* cold it gets and the speed at which the temperature drops which is so unusual

What heating patterns?

If you are not warming the house up it wont stay warm.

And are the radiators sized correctly to actually heat the rooms up?
Even an uninsulated house should be able to be kept warm with correctly sized radiators.

And this old council house, is it a system built one with concrete internal walls?

 

[Mmcgar]

I'd stuff it with mineral wool loft insulation, and screw the vent back on.

It might be useful one day.

Also, use the joss sticks to search for holes in the floor where pipes (and sometimes cables) come up. There may be a plumbing duct in a fairly modern house.

If you do not have access to brown loft wool treated with Ecose, which prevents it shedding dust and fibres, stuff it in a plastic bag.

For fine gaps, scrub them clean to remove dust and dirt (leave them damp) and use expanding foam (preferably the pink fire grade)

I think the existing vent is cemented in so assume I'll have to chisel it out, suppose I'm as well just sealing ot up after that. Never did that sort of work before, I've assumed to leave about 10mm to the insulation then fill with cement?

 

[Mmcgar]

What heating patterns?

If you are not warming the house up it wont stay warm.

And are the radiators sized correctly to actually heat the rooms up?
Even an uninsulated house should be able to be kept warm with correctly sized radiators.

And this old council house, is it a system built one with concrete internal walls?

Heating pattern is basically on for half an hour though the night. On for about an hour about 8am and then it's boosted for 30/45 mins through the day as required, generally on for about 3 hours a day at the moment.
I don't use the thermostat option as my hive unit seems to be faulty (temperature keeps changing causing hysteresis around the setpoint which constantly turns heating on and off in short intervals)

Not concrete walls as far as I'm aware, my old house -also ex council- was concrete walls and floors but this one is a later build and doesn't seem to be

 

[Mmcgar]

Dead easy. I used a 75mm thick bit of celotex, glued into place with expanding foam, then rendered over it.

Buy a joss stick and have a wander round, especially on a windy day

Cheers mate, I've never done this work before so I've assumed it's as follows:
Chisel out old vent
Push in insulation (I already have the polystyrene type boards so will probably use that)
Leave about 10mm gap to front of wall and fill with cement

That all sound about right with what you did?

You think it's helped thermally?

 

[JohnD]

I think the existing vent is cemented in so assume I'll have to chisel it out, suppose I'm as well just sealing ot up after that. Never did that sort of work before, I've assumed to leave about 10mm to the insulation then fill with cement?

View attachment 254682

that looks to me like an old ventilator for a food cupboard, not a drier. Is it quite an old house?

they used to be required by regulations so that people in a small house without a larder could keep food cool

 

[Mmcgar]

that looks to me like an old ventilator for a food cupboard, not a drier. Is it quite an old house?

Oh right, I just assumed it was for an old tumble dryer, I suppose it doesn't make a difference either way in that I should still block it off to try and help with draught/cold issues in kitchen?
House is from about 1975

 

[mikeey84]

Cheers mate, I've never done this work before so I've assumed it's as follows:
Chisel out old vent
Push in insulation (I already have the polystyrene type boards so will probably use that)
Leave about 10mm gap to front of wall and fill with cement

That all sound about right with what you did?

You think it's helped thermally?

That sounds good, although I'd leave more than 10mm, but I'm no expert.

The insulation won't make a huge difference, but draughts make you feel colder than a lack of insulation

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Oh right, I just assumed it was for an old tumble dryer, I suppose it doesn't make a difference either way in that I should still block it off to try and help with draught/cold issues in kitchen?
House is from about 1975

Your photo of the vent, looks like concrete system built, but I may well be wrong. However it looks as if it was put in after it was built so you might be correct, a drier vent.

If you are correct, and there is a cavity wall there, you will need to block both inner and outer leaves of the wall. No point in just blocking the outer as cavity will continue to allow drafts in.

 

[Mmcgar]

Your photo of the vent, looks like concrete system built, but I may well be wrong. However it looks as if it was put in after it was built so you might be correct, a drier vent.

If you are correct, and there is a cavity wall there, you will need to block both inner and outer leaves of the wall. No point in just blocking the outer as cavity will continue to allow drafts in.

Thanks for that, a couple quick questions if you don't mind as I'm going to go tomorrow to buy what I need for this:

You mentioned blocking both the inner and outer parts of the wall, can I do this with a single bit of insulation that bridges the 2 or should I maintain a cavity in between 2 separate bits of insulation?

I assume the best way to remove this existing vent is to chisel around the edge?

Biggest question I'm it sure about, exactly what type of cement/render etc should I use to seal up the hole once I've put insulation in?

Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

You mentioned blocking both the inner and outer parts of the wall, can I do this with a single bit of insulation that bridges the 2 or should I maintain a cavity in between 2 separate bits of insulation?

Bricks/blocks plus sand a cement for the outside. Any insulation you can fill the cavity with will help. For the inside leaf of the wall, sand cement and bricks blocks, or perhaps pink expanding foam. Perhaps cut that back below surface and plaster over the top if you can, or sand and cement if it is hidden. You can get ready mixed sand and cement, just add water - that will be fine.

Is it in fact a cavity wall? No cavity and it will naturally be very difficult to heat.