One room considerably colder than rest of house - why?

P

pator

Registered User
Messages
307
The house was built in 2004,
Bought off the plans and opted for the garage to be converted to a room - this was before the ground was broken so from day zero was always going to be a room. This room and the utility behind it are considerable colder than the rest of the house.

It is a two storey semi d with the garage and utility a single storey at the side.

Any ideas why these rooms would be colder than the rest of the house? Stuck my head up into the attic and there is insulation up there.
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

Maybe the other rooms are dry lined/insulated but this one is not?
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

I reckon it could be evil spirits.
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

When we replaced our windows, the fitter showed us why one room was freezing, the window was badly fitted. Check that possibility. Is there any evidence of dampness?
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

pingpong said:
When we replaced our windows, the fitter showed us why one room was freezing, the window was badly fitted. Check that possibility. Is there any evidence of dampness?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. What checks should I be doing around the window?
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

In a semi D The rooms with two external walls will always have greater heat losses than other rooms. there is nothing unusual about it.

You possibly have insufficiently sized radiators for those rooms

I rarely see a comfortable converted garage. by builder or DIY.
 
Last edited:
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

We have some rooms which are much colder. Its probably because they not sheltered. I was also wondering about the room vents. I always though they should be offset so there isn't a direct line between inside/outside grills. But in our house they are straight though which causes a massive draught in some rooms. GCH so I assume all rooms need to be vented?
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?



Thanks for that, that would make sense.
Is there any other way than drylining that wall ? Cause its in the middle of essentially is it impossible to pump insulation into it?? Or are there other options? With ur suggesting of reducing size of room I would hope to only do this as a very last option.

Also is there something else the builders should have done or is this just a standard feature/issue/flaw?
 
It is a two storey semi d with the garage and utility a single storey at the side.
Click to expand...

Quite simple - all to do with surface areas.

The amount of heat lost is proportionate to the surface area of the room exposed to the eliments. Think of each room being a cube with 6 external surfaces. Then count the number external surfaces.

In your standard semi with garage/room, the rooms in the main part of the house usually only have 1 or 2 surfaces exposed i.e are single or double aspect. However, thing about a single story garage/room. In a standard semi, it will have the front and side walls PLUS the flat roof exposed to the elements - a much greater surface area that the other rooms in house. So heat will be lost quicker. Even if the walls etc have same standard of insulation construction etc. as other rooms in house, will always lose heat quicker. The solution is more heaters or extra insulation e.g. dry lining.
 
Re: One room considerable colder than rest of house - why?

1234 said:
...
The best solution would be to dryline the wall from floor to ceiling on the single storey side of the cavity wall. This will reduce the size of the room however.
Click to expand...
Would it not make more sense to dry-line the three external walls of the "garage" as dry-lining the party-wall with the house would probably only make the "garage" colder?

I'd also suggest checking that the foundation for the "garage" is also insulated and that the ceiling there is doubly-insulated as compared to the house.
 
Did they stick a big window into the 'converted garage'?? Is this window north facing?
 
my house had the exact same problem as you have pator. i recently got the garage converted and was going to dryline/insulate the wall but this was taking up too much space. i opted for pumping insulation into the cavity of the wall, which immedialty made a massive diffrence to the whole house, not just the converted room. some builders dont bother insulation an external wall that has a garage or a utility room attached onto it, i suspect your problem lies there
 


Thanks a mill for all the help guys.

Manus its d wall between the house andthe garage/extension that u insulated ya?

Are there many guys doing that pumping work?
Approx what knid of cost is it?

Mathepac - how do I check the foundation insulation?

Will double insulating in the actic over that section make a noticeable difference?

This was just a standard build so I can assume that there was nothing extra the builders should have done?
 
pator said:
Mathepac - how do I check the foundation insulation?
Click to expand...
Can you check with the builder?
pator said:
Will double insulating in the actic over that section make a noticeable difference?
Click to expand...
Probably only in combination with the other measures suggested here.
pator said:
This was just a standard build so I can assume that there was nothing extra the builders should have done?
Click to expand...
If its a "standard build" from 2004, there is probably a list as long as my arm that needs to be checked!

For starters, insulation in the semi-detached party wall, between the extension and the utility and the external walls of the extension.
 
Quote: For starters, insulation in the semi-detached party wall, between the extension and the utility and the external walls of the extension.


Is there a way I can check these?

Assuming the builder is just going to say everything that should have been done is done
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register