Draughty house. Who best to help sort it out

A

Angies

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Our house is driving us crazy. There are draughts everywhere. We know the windows are a problem so that's easy but there are draughts coming from the skirting, from sockets the dishwasher, basically everywhere. It seems to be mainly all the outside walls. The house is drylined and has beading in the cavity. Would a BER assessor be able to tell us what problems there are or is their somebody else that can sort this out. The builder of the house isn't an option. Many thanks in advance.
 
Angies,
this is something that can be difficult to solve, especially as you have dry-lining which may mask some of the air-leakage points

have a look http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,18749,en.pdf (here) for some pointers and take a look at [broken link removed] best practice

some will suggest that you go around around with plenty of silicone and and expanding foam, but there is a limit to what can be achieved using this method.

its difficult to say for certain with out a survey and of course your budget has a lot to do with the results you'll get.

very few appreciate that a leaky house could easily have an air change rate of greater than 10 m3/(h.m2) at 50 pascals(where as a passive house is less than 1.0m3/(h.m2) at 50p) what all this means is not only are you feeling a draft but you also heating the air in your home as its on its way out..

changing your windows will help but if your doing this please consider installing them in a manor that reduces the thermal bridge around the opes and use a repeatable air-tightness tape.

can you tell me where in the country you are, as I may be able to recommend an architect &/or air-tightness tester to take a look (forget the BER assessor unless there one or both of the above)

here's a post (no. 20) that I wrote earlier, the reason I'm bring this to your attention is that - if you, by silicone, tape, membrane, External wall insulation or whatever means you choose, please note that you still require a ventilation strategy or you'll get excess condensation, mould etc. this means wall vents (which can have a draft reduction contraption put on them), window vents or a mechanical means (HRV or just Mechanical ventilation) must be adequately installed.
 
Thank you so much for that. Most of it is a bit double Dutch to me but it definitely gives me something to research! I didn't know there was such a person as an air tightness tester so that's good to know. I'm in Monaghan so if you can recommend anyone in this area that would be fantastic. But for now I have a lot more information and can make a start on this. As you say it's costing a lot of money heating air that's going outside. I'd rather spend the money now sorting the problem.
 
About The House (Duncan Steward) all about retro-fitting to achieve passive standard last night.
 
Just wanted to thank lowCO2design for your advice. Rang someone who does air tightness testing and over the phone he described our problem to a tee. He gave us advice on what to do to try and solve it. Already our house is much improved and a lot more comfortable. So we are really delighted with the outcome. Thanks!
 
Angies said:
He gave us advice on what to do to try and solve it.
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Hi if not too much trouble could you post what advice he gave and what you did to solve it.

Over the weekend we draft-proofed our attic stairs and this made a huge difference. We also applied a seal around the back door and this too seems to have a huge difference so we going to purchase more seals.

Thanks.
 
Sandals said:
Hi if not too much trouble could you post what advice he gave and what you did to solve it.

Over the weekend we draft-proofed our attic stairs and this made a huge difference. We also applied a seal around the back door and this too seems to have a huge difference so we going to purchase more seals.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

hi Sandals.

What did you use as a seal around the door. We really need a new door, but need to put a seal around the current one as an immediate interim solution .

Thanks,
 
We have drafts everywhere too. Any tips for sealing drafts around kitchen kick boards and patio door keyholes please?
 
Toby said:
We have drafts everywhere too. Any tips for sealing drafts around kitchen kick boards and patio door keyholes please?
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a bit more info,please what age is your house, what is the wall construction, what type of doors do you have what type of money are you willing to spend

from your post above my advice would be to remove the skirting board and figure out where the air-leakage is coming from and as regards your door: replace it
 
lowCO2design said:
a bit more info,please what age is your house, what is the wall construction, what type of doors do you have what type of money are you willing to spend

from your post above my advice would be to remove the skirting board and figure out where the air-leakage is coming from and as regards your door: replace it
Click to expand...


The house is a 1960s three bed semi. Cavity wall build. PVC doors. We couldn't afford to replace the patio doors but would find some funds to improve general air tightness and we have been considering cavity wall insulation but feel we should have an "expert" advise us on the best overall solution for our house rather than shelling out on individual jobs.

I saw in your other post you recommend finding an architect with experience in BER etc to help deal with air tightness problems etc. Could you suggest how I would find an architect in this area. I'm not looking for a direct recommendation as I know thats not alowed on this board. Just wondering how I find a list of architects with this area of expertise. Would RIAI know details like that about their members?

Many thanks. Sorry if I've hijacked the OP's post.
 
I could make a few recommedations for tried and tested experts in this field if somebody moved this into Recommend Suppliers etc forum from here or started a new thread.

I am not in this industry myself.
 
Hi, i had posted a reply to the early question a few weeks ago but didnt realise it had dissappeared.
Anyway here goes again! My drafts are coming under my skirting board as the insulating slabs are stuck on rather than fixed on. So the colder air in the attic is coming down the back of the slab and then out from the skirting. So all we have done is put silicone along the edges of the skirting and it has made a big difference.
I spoke to the man from airtightnesstesting.ie and he described our problem exactly and said it was very common and this was the way alot of slabs are in newer houses. That was about it really!
 
Joseph Little Architects [broken link removed] is a specialised practice in Dublin (but I believe that they work outside of Dublin too as have done work for my husband's sister in Co Meath) who do a lot of work in the Passive and Energy Efficient retrofits etc. I have heard nothing but praise for them.

Also, Archie O'Donnell of Integrated Energy www.integrated.ie is an Air Tightness tester and Ultra Low energy and Passivhaus technical designer (as per his business card).

We are considering an energy upgrade for our own house and those people have been highly recommended by friends, family and a builder www.creedonconstruction.ie who did our renovation a few years back. We are very satisfied with the work he has done and have no reason not to trust him. I'll keep you all posted if we go ahead (cost dependent) and if I discover any other businesses worth recommending.

I hope it's ok to put in those people's web addresses here, if anyone needs them, you can find phone numbers on their websites.
 
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