hi. 1960s ex-council flat retrofit

[keyser]

Hi, I'm here to learn more about MVHR, UFH and heat pumps. Interested in retrofit where I am I now, 1960s ex-council flat. Plenty to learn with this. I think what money I do spend on a retrofit and improvements would mostly come back with increased property price so I think it's worth it.

 

I should get an asbestos test, remove some of all of it. Rewire the place, currently its on top of the walls in plastic trunking. And a new fence both sides, make the garden more secure (one side is next to a disused communal path).

[tonyshouse]

Good luck! Not sure that the sensible investment will be reflected in the  property value, even replacement windows don’t get factored in. 
 

hopefully by time you sell things will have changed 

 

I like Boulder MVHR fitted in the hallway ceiling,all the big fan companies make small MVHR units, I would not go single room route. Minimise duct lengths. 
 

possible floating floor with ufh but if you insulate well might not need ufh. Are there flats above and below? 
 

ASHP can be done nearly on a diy basis, you may get away with one in the lounge only

 

i can’t see EWI but that would be preferred to IWI, I like thick insulation, can you do CWI? 
 

how does hot water work? 
 

could you incorporate the path into your garden saving a fence? I now like slatted fences and using wood and posts and slats 3x1 can workout very economic and they don’t blow over, I prefer horizontal slats 

[keyser]

Thanks. I don't mind spending more on some better solution, I may stay here for longer but at the moment probably will be here for about 10 years and over that time I can make various improvements.

 

It's a ground floor flat, which has solid floors, flats are offset to the neighbour so the kitchen is the coldest room with 2 outer walls. It would be nice to fix the cold floors with UFH, but would prefer to have some insulation too (25mm I guess) off the cold floor and a screed of 35mm, so that would be 60mm height minimum. All of that would then raise the height which would need new doors and door frames, which would need asbestos removal! So it would be a longer project. oh yeah I'm 6'4" 😀

 

The flat isn't cold and isn't draughty, it had some basic council improvements, the whole road got double glazing around 20 years ago and that's still fine. It was the original 60s warm air gas boiler and elec emersion heater for water until 2012 when the council upgraded to gas combi boiler, that's still going fine no issues, gets an annual service.

 

It probably could be improved from an efficiency pov, my bills have doubled now with the recent increases to £140/month although I won't know for sure until the year is done. Usage is about 3350kWh elec, 6240kWh gas per year.

 

In the summer it stays cool which is nice, while my neighbour above complains about how hot his place is. I think I would invest in a portable air con unit if it got really bad but so far I haven't had that issue.

 

MVHR - yes this might would be a quiet unit in the utility room next to the front door, the in/out vents would only need a short run down the hall. Could they just go as far as the top of the doors or should it run to the middle of each room?

 

I had a quick google for these terms  No I don't think EWI would be an option, I mean maybe but it would look better if the neighbour above had it done too, so on that basis probably not. IWI would be possible. CWI should be possible and I don't think has been done down this road.

 

No the communal path links to a communal back door, ground floor gardens, build in sheds, first floor has no garden. The path also carries on inbetween the gardens goes to old garages which is now sold land but the land buyers can only build housing on there and so far haven't done anything with it. That might be a whole can of worms, I would like to dig out the old 1 foot high concrete posts and start again, but worst case my fence would be directly in front of the existing fence, from my garden it would look great..  Also there is only access via the communal door or my flat so no room for any diggers, just person size equipment.

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, keyser said:

It would be nice to fix the cold floors with UFH, but would prefer to have some insulation too (25mm I guess) off the cold floor and a screed of 35mm, so that would be 60mm height minimum. All of that would then raise the height which would need new doors and door frames, which would need asbestos removal! So it would be a longer project. oh yeah I'm 6'4" 😀

Unless you can dig the floor up and add about 150mm of insulation, forget UFH. The temperature differences are to great. All you will be doing is warming up worms.

[tonyshouse]

Top of doors in each room works for me, nice if lounge could have in and out somehow. Last resort is big gap under door 

 

you could try insulating the by digging down to the footings and adding say 100mmEPS vertically up to dpc. This warms up the whole floor Solongo as heat can’t escape up the cavities. 
 

 

 

 

[TonyT]

Demolition asbestos survey would be a good should to get samples taken if in any doubt…

 

peace of mind for you and trades while renovating 

[keyser]

Yeah having a think on this it does sound like UFH isn't worth it here unless I dig up the floor, that might be a pass on that. The carpets can be renewed to a higher tog that would be something.

 

The place needs a new kitchen and bathroom on top of everything else, doesn't have be high end, just nice.

 

It looks like the doors might be metal frames and from what have read pinned into the breeze block, but I just get quotes for these things and see if I need new frames or just get better fitting doors/latches.

 

I guess I'll find out how much hassle this is (and what is even possible) once I get the asbestos survey.

 

I do like the idea of MVHR if only for an automatic shower/bathroom humidity control and general fresh air.