Retrofit

The Whole House Approach is the latest blog from our home retrofit team. Find their other blogs here.   What is the Whole House Approach to Retrofit or Renovation?  If you are thinking about improving your home in any way, it may link to other aspects of your home now, or as you might want it to be in the future.  Windows, doors, draught-proofing / air tightness, insulation, heating, cooling and ventilation are all linked to each other in various ways.  You might be trying to sort out an issue – a room might be too cold or too hot, [...]

Damp and Mould is the fifth blog in a series exploring retrofit. In this one we explore why your house may have damp and mould. There are many reasons why your home can develop damp and mould - here we look at some common examples, and what could be causing them. I've got condensation running down the walls and mould patches are appearing since I had cavity wall insulation installed. This looks like the ventilation wasn’t increased sufficiently at the same time, or maybe the cavity wasn’t suitable for insulation, or the insulation was installed incorrectly, or a combination of [...]

Ventilation is our fourth blog in a series exploring retrofit. In this one we explore ventilation and what you can do to get it right in your home. Draught-proofing and ventilation are 2 sides of the same coin – Seal Tight, Ventilate Right. They are important concepts when considering your retrofit.  Most homes in the UK are not sufficiently well ventilated for optimal health: poor indoor air quality causes a wide range of heath problems, some of them very serious. You can read recent research here.  Getting the balance between humidity and ventilation can be tricky, but as a ruil [...]

This is our third blog in our series exploring different aspects of retrofit. This one looks at insulation - and it’s a big topic!  Most modern houses are now built with cavity wall insulation, but many homes from the 1950s onwards were built with empty cavities that have been filled more recently or could have cavity wall insulation installed. Not all of these are suitable for cavity wall insulation. Older properties tend to have solid walls, or cavity walls that are not suitable for filling with insulation. These properties may be suitable for insulation either internally or externally.  It is [...]