Draughproofing/Insulation advice - small companies

[Sam Maguire]

Can anyone recommend a small company/contractor who can advise on and carry out draughtproofing work in period houses. Im close to Dublin city centre. I have new windows, decent attic insulation (under the floored attic) and a new, effective heating system but my house is leaking heat through the period front door (which has glass panels and is surrounded by 100 yr old single glazed glass) and via original internal doors. The hall is freezing and this is then distributed throughout the house.

I know that a certain amount of draughtsealing can be done as a DIY job but Id prefer to pay someone who knows what they are doing ie my rubber insulation strips are falling off and I'd prefer not to butcher the doors by driling holes all the place if the sealing materials arent properly placed). They would probably seal external doors as far as possible (Im trying to avoid a storm porch) and perhaps suggest adding extra "hardboard" insulation under the roof of my attic. Maybe the panels in and around the front door would to be replaced?

Im not talking about a complete overhaul here (ie new internal and external insultaiton, etc) so I dont want to spend a fortune on architects or the type of company who still charges Celtic Tiger prices.....Dublin is full of similar houses from early 20th century so there must be guys out there willing to do this type of work (in the absence of large scale renovation work).

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks

 

[Sam Maguire]

Re: Draughtproofing/Insulation advice - small companies

Sorry to bump this up but any recommendations?

I've tried several companies/individuals on the BER list but they

1. dont reply (the majority)
2. are only looking for large scalejobs where there is a total refurbishment going on
3. are only interested in giving you a certificate but dont want to address the practical issues or actually carry out the work - they want to give you a tick-list report and you then start off at square one to find a contractor

That was fine during the boom but I'm a bit surprised that there is no interest in doing this smaller work - I would have thought there would be a substantial demand.

Any ideas?

 

[threebedsemi]

Hi
If you intend to do a full energy upgrade you could do worse than appoint an energy advisor to carry out an energy audit on your property and advise on all matters relating to insulation, airtightness, boiler upgrades etc.
If you are only interested in airtightness, there are companies who supply the required materials to the irish market, siga and proclima are the brand names. if you contact these they should have lists of contractors who have completed their training courses. you can do a one day course with the suppliers of siga for €50, which may also be an option.

 

[Sam Maguire]

Re: Draughtproofing/Insulation advice - small companies

Many thanks for suggestions...I registered last week for the Halo scheme but I havent heard back.

As for full energy assessment - yes, I agree there seem to be lots of companies (spawned by BER scheme?) around who will assess the problem, tell me whats wrong and give a BER cert. However, what I want isnt a certificate (at least not at this stage) but someone who will actually carry out the work (which is relatively small scale and not the full refurbishments that contractors would prefer). Its about identifying sources of draughts/heat loss in your average old house and doing something about them.

Seperately I've been looking for someone to repair/draughtproof my period door, and I've emailed a number of leading companies who specialise in restoration of windows but again they cant be bothered replying.

With all the old houses in and around city centre, Im just surprised that there isnt someone doing this kind of thing.

thanks

 

[picassoman]

Have you tried Mellott Windows Ltd, Joiners & Carpenters Co. Mayo, Castlebar Road Ballinrobe ?

Know they restore windows and work in Dublin[broken link removed]