Freephone
0800 298 5424 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heat Loss in a Poorly Insulated House
Surveyor's reports and surveys are not all the same1stAssociated.co.uk surveyors have great interest or possibly better to say intrigue in the way that we are moving with regard to improving energy efficiency of properties. There have been all sorts of different types of progress in this market over the years and with energy efficiency reports being carried out on properties and various government initiatives to get us to save energy we are getting to the point where the energy efficiency of a building is changing the way it is constructed more than it has ever done in the history of house building and commercial property building.
Plain English survey reportsThis article we have written is to stimulate interest in this area. We have also written it to show how we use lots of sketches and photos in a report. The feedback has shown time and time again that our clients really like having the sketches and photos as well as our plain English reports. Along with being independent surveyors we call these our unique selling points but they really shouldn't be unique, all surveyors should offer such a service.
surveyors will meet you at the surveyWe would add that we would always recommend that you meet your c surveyor at the property as it is best that the surveyor gets to understand your needs and requirements first hand. Most surveyors are happy to walk you around and you can even give the surveyor a helping hand during the course of the survey! Please feel free to phone us on 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.
Insulation – at one time there was no insulation
Roof InsulationAs you can see from the above sketch on heat loss it shows that: 25% of heat loss can be lost through your roof 35% through the walls 25% through the windows 15% through the floors It is very important then to insulate the roof as most people know that heat rises. Current Building Regulations require roofs to be insulated, we did use the term heavily insulated originally but who knows how thick the insulation will get in years to come. We typically see roofs in older properties insulated from nothing (although we don't see many of these) to more typically 100mm - 200mm of fibreglass insulation. Interestingly in roofs we often find rolls of insulation have literally been thrown in the roof and never used. Whilst we know that your roof is not the most interesting place and normally used for storage of Christmas decorations and suchlike, the occasional look in the roof is well worth while, if not for roof leaks, at least once you have had your insulation carried out to check that all your insulation has actually been laid.
Insulating flat roofs
Substantial improvements have been made to flat roofs and we have even used it ourselves to add insulation to a flat roof. As you can see in the photograph and sketch insulation can now be put into flat roofs to improve their energy efficiency, this is known as a warm roof. A cold roof is one without insulation or with insulation between the ceiling joists.
Wall insulation
Adding in wall insulation at a later dateThere are a number of potential problems associated with cavity wall insulation which is added at a later date which can lead to problems with the wall ties rusting due to the way that the insulation allows dampness to bridge the gap. From what we understand, most of these original problems have now been eliminated but the one problem that remains is that insulation added in a cavity at a later date is not held in place and it does over the years settle and sink. When you purchase a property we would always recommend that your Legal Advisor checks and confirms if insulation was added when the property was originally built or if it has been added at a later date. A surveyor will often be able to see if insulation has been added by looking for the holes that are drilled in the walls to pump in the insulation.
Double glazing reduces heat lossJust as a reminder: 25% of heat loss can be lost through your roof 35% through the walls 25% through the windows 15% through the floors The heat loss from windows and doors is 25%. The installation of double glazed windows and doors does reduce heat loss from your property. However we would argue that the benefits of double glazing have been oversold by the double glazing industry. It is an industry which is often portrayed as having very strong methods of selling. We personally haven't experienced this and we have dealt with a number of double glazing companies over the years and have had double glazing installed. One thing you may not be aware of is where there is a mixture of double glazed and single glazed windows we have found condensation is drawn to the single glazed windows. We recently came across a very expensive refurbishment which had double glazed the front windows but the rear windows were single glazed and had condensation on.
Insulation to floors
As heat rises there is a relatively low percentage of heat that goes through the floor. We would also say that insulation to floors is a relatively new additional requirement for Building Regulations since around 1994 (we would just add that new in surveying terms can mean in the last one hundred years!). We have personally lived in a property where some of the floors had been insulated and some hadn't. In all honesty we couldn't tell the difference. The reason some floors were insulated and some were not is because we added a modern extension to the house.
Theory of insulated floorsWe understand the theory and again as you can see in the sketch of percentage heat loss there is fifteen percent heat going out through the floors so it is important that this area is insulated too. It is relatively easily carried out as long as it is insulated when it is being built.
Thermal imagingSurveyors can carry out thermal imaging for you which will identify any heat loss areas that your property has providing they are trained in using thermal imaging cameras. Thermal imaging cameras have changed considerably over the years, the technology has improved and the price has come down slightly. We can carry out thermal imaging of your property if you so wish. The climate does have to be managed and controlled for best results. As you can see from the thermal images below it is useful in many situations.
Other articles on the 1stAssociated.co.uk websiteWe would remind you that we have carried out many articles on the 1stAssociated website, we hope you found this article interesting so far. On the heat loss and insulation point of view we have written the following articles we would recommend you read:
Insulation, Damp Propf Courses and Energy Performances Certificates Energy Efficiency, Have we got it all wrong? Why you have never seen any building surveys or structural surveys like ours Rising damp, condensation and damp through your walls Spray foam insulation within roofs, Does it work?
Borescope or Endoscope used to look inside wallsWe have over the years used Borescopes or Endoscopes, whichever you wish to call them, to inspect within cavity walls to see if any insulation is present. Interestingly, in the sketch shown the insulation had sunk down approximately 1 metre over the years so there was no insulation at the top of the property. We have spoken to various other surveyors on this matter and some say that they think insulation can settle to almost half its original. We have over the years gone off using endoscopes or borescopes as we find the pictures are relatively restricted even with a camera endoscope like the one below which takes videos. We much prefer, if at all possible, to remove a brick to get a better view.
With ventilation and insulation a balance is needed
What can a Surveyor do for you?Building surveyors are experts in looking at building problems and can analyse a building and advise how best to carry out energy efficiency for that era of building. What's more, the building surveyor should be able to do it as part of a building survey or structural survey when you buy the house so you have the information from day one.
Independent SurveyorsIf you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a building surveyor we are happy to do valuations, building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects reports, home buyers reports or any other property matters. Please contact us on 0 800 298 5424 to have a free of charge friendly chat with one of our surveyors. We feel our surveys are quite unique, as they are written to your level of knowledge. The surveys include photos and sketches and definitions. The survey will also include an action required section and an estimate of costs in the executive summary. We are more than happy to meet you at the property whilst carrying out the survey to discuss any specific issues you may have or have a general chat about what we have found at the end of the survey.
Commercial PropertyIf you are looking for commercial property, whether it is freehold or leasehold, we would recommend a survey as this will prevent dilapidations claims in the long run. You may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com , both of which we have been advised are very helpful! We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human). The contents of the web site are for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision. All rights are reserved the contents of the web site is not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or part without the express written permission of www.1stAssociated.co.uk.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|