# House always feels cold



## blueshoes (9 Feb 2007)

Hi,

Basically i have my heating (gas) on from about 4-10.30/11 at night. Say i go from the lounge into the kitchen i feel the cold, also if i go from the kitchen to the hallway, it is very cold. Ok maybe there is a draught coming in from the front door but i just cant see why the house would not be roasting??

It is a 3 bed semi. I used to live in another 3 bed semi with gas and after 2-3hours of heat on would be so hot you would have to turn it off.

Upstairs isnt as bad. The system is working fine. All radiators are roasting hot.

There is nobody living next door to us, would that have anything to do with it? Also our lounge radiator is on the outside wall of house iykwim.

Any advice would be great because im sick a throwing on a extra jacket.


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## ClubMan (9 Feb 2007)

Get the house properly insulated and draught proofed.


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## blueshoes (9 Feb 2007)

How do you mean properly insulated? This is a new house would it not be already?

Sorry to be so ignorant here. i havent a clue!


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## ClubMan (9 Feb 2007)

Well you said that there was a draught from the front door so that's obviously not well insulated. Are the other doors and windows airtight? Double glazed? Are any of the external walls dry lined/insulated? Is the attic properly insulated?


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## z107 (9 Feb 2007)

Maybe the pump in your heating system isn't working. Maybe the rads need bleeding.


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## niceoneted (10 Feb 2007)

Blueshoes,
I'm intesested in the comment that there is nobody living beside you/attached to you ie I take it the house is vacant. 
I am having a similar problem. The house attached to me is vacant since August so no heating is on since then - next door. I'm in my house 5 yrs and have never found it to be cold (it's always been cosy) until this winter and my gas bills with the increase taken into consideration has gone way up. I reckon I am loosing heat to the house next door. 
Having a house attached I wouldn't expect the insulation to be as good as with the external walls. 
My boliler is well seviced and all is running well.


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## blueshoes (10 Feb 2007)

Hi again,

the windows are all double glazed. the pump is working properly because had boiler looked at there before xmas.

niceoneted, its a new house aswell next door nobody living there since we moved in here. we moved in here last june/july. But only in last couple of months have found the cold. We got a huge gas bill for past two months 480euros. Like we have an open fire and it gives out great heat but i dont light it all the time.

At the moment i have an oil filled radiator in the sitting room and its keeping the room warm but its not ideal, this is even on with the heating.

Mr blue said last night it could also be because of the floors, downstairs is all wooden floors, apart from kitchen and loo which is tiles. He said it could be harder to heat  because the wooden floors are on concrete or something to that nature.  Upstairs is carpet and its no where near as cold as downstairs.


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## extopia (10 Feb 2007)

An oil-filled radiator as well as your central heating? Something is wrong. If the rads are all hot and you are still cold, the radiators are either undersized or your house has inadequate insulation. Heat should not be lost through the floors if the subfloor has been properly insulated.

Is your lounge radiator located below the window? The normal position for radiators is below the window, which provides the best heat circulation, as the window is usually the coldest spot in the room. 

What kind of insulation is in the attic, and if it's a cavity wall construction, are the cavities properly insulated? What's the heat situation in some of your neighbours' houses? Ask them.


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## ClubMan (10 Feb 2007)

Have you tried using a thermometer (such as the ones mentioned here) to establish what temperature the house is reaching with and without the heating on? Are there any thermostats controlling the heating system that may be set too low?


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## DrMoriarty (10 Feb 2007)

Check out all the above, but bear in mind that the top of a house will normally be warmer than the ground floor. If you establish that you're losing heat through walls — although that really shouldn't be the case in a new build! —  'new technology' may be of interest.


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## Deirdra (10 Feb 2007)

I still think that new buildings are still not adequately insulated as they should be. 

Could you get the building spec from the builder and ask some of the Govt. energy departments or a professional to advise you how to 'top up' your home?


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## extopia (11 Feb 2007)

Sadly the age of the house does not guarantee any insulation standards as there really aren't any standards enforceable by law. Good practice would dictate that builders adhere to the building regulations, but the regulations are essentially guidelines and in effect the builder can do what he likes once the planning permission has been granted. Did you buy this house new and if so do you have any guarantee of standards? If so, you might be able to go after the builder if those standards have not been applied to your particular house.


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## pjq (12 Feb 2007)

Check your chimney , if there is a draft when you put your hand in the fireplace , it's hot air escaping and whats worse ... its sucking in cold air through the door .
pjq


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## DangerMouse (12 Feb 2007)

Is there a solution if the Chimney is sucking heat. Can you get a chimney insulated?


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## ClubMan (12 Feb 2007)

See this thread

noisy chimney remedies anyone?

especially the chimney balloon appoach to dealing with chimney draughts (for an unused fireplace!).


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## Meathman99 (12 Feb 2007)

Check your attic.  Is the insulation actually in place?  Is there enough?  Will buying additional attic insulation be worthwhile?


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## DangerMouse (13 Feb 2007)

Thanks a lot, looks good.


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## Buddyboy (13 Feb 2007)

One thing you said struck with me, that there was nobody living next door.  In our three bed semi - there was only (if I remember correctly) block on edge between us and our neighbour.  If this is the case here, then the adjoining wall has no insulation in it.  It therefore will act as a sponge soaking in heat and radiating it in to the cold house next door.

In our house, every room, except the bathroom and one bedroom, had one (long) wall that adjoined the neighbours house.

To test this theory, can you get a couple of thermometers, close the doors and check if the rooms that are adjoining next door are colder than the rooms that are not.

If it turns out to be the case, then you have a problem, until someone moves in next door and turns on the heat.


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## davidoco (13 Feb 2007)

blueshoes said:


> Upstairs isnt as bad. The system is working fine. All radiators are roasting hot.




If you have a thermostat upstairs and in the hall turn down the one upstairs to say 19 and put the hall one at 21.  You need to do that at 5 o'clock and see how you feel later on in the evening.  You might be encouraging all the energy (heat) from your boiler upstairs.

Bag of cig back calcs here.  Can you measure the length and height of the radiator in your kitchen.  How many panels (front and back) 1 or 2 and if there are fins attached to the panels (middle of rad).  Then measure the size of the room.  

PS have you a french/sliding door/big windows in the kitchen.

PS does Mr Blue find it as cold as you do?

Also see here [broken link removed] .  For most places for February so far it is about a degree colder than the same period last year.


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## patspost (13 Feb 2007)

You mentioned that you have nobody directly adjoining you.
Have you discussed it with other neighbours ?
Are their radiators same size as yours?

If they have similar problems there may be some sort of systematic fault like no insulation on walls or under spec'd insul or poor workmanship.

If they have no issues it may be just poor workmanship on your house, perhaps the wall insulation was not properly connected up or not used everywhere it should have been.

You could try blocking your chimney temporarily from below by stuffing something into the bottom of it  e.g. rockwool or something like that.
If this seems to solve the problem a more suiteable blocker could be sourced.


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## corkgal (13 Feb 2007)

do yo have curtains or blinds? getting curtains and blocking up the fireplace really warmed up our living room


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## ClubMan (13 Feb 2007)

Does it not dirty the curtains though?


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