north facing house

by **pennys** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:11 am

My property is part of a converted mill. It is north facing with walls of 50cm thickness. the living area is downstairs, the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.
As it's north facing, it is quite cold and dark downstairs. any ideas on making the living area lighter and / or warmer?

by **LCL** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:11 pm

pennys

This is going to sound basic, but:

Make it lighter by painting it a light colour or adding a side window (if possible).

Make it warmer by dryling and insulating the external walls.

Hope this helps.

LCL

by **Perry525** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:53 pm

Obviously a colour scheme makes all the difference to a homes appearance.
Next is the question of cold.
Damp walls equal a cold room!
As a conversion are the walls dry with an effective damp proof membrane in both walls and floors.
Presumably you have double glazing?
Do you know that double glazing is about effective as a single skin brick wall?
Not very effective for keeping warm.
The walls are solid?
Heat always moves from hot to cold - so every minute heat is moving out of your home into the garden.
What about holes in the walls and ceiling?
Even a small hole can loose a great deal of heat - make sure every hole is plugged.
If possible, insulate all outside walls and the upstairs ceilings with five inches of polystyrene.
Condensation?
If you have condensation on the windows, walls, ceiling - check the ventilation. Buy a de-humidifier.

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