Installing air bricks

If you do a search on Google for information on air bricks, you'll find a lot of people have had the same problem. Since conservatories have become cheaper to erect they have started to pop up alll over the place. Many unprofessional building will install a new conservatory without considering the need for ventilation. This was my problem!

We have a conservatory on the back of our house that has a solid concrete floor. When this floor was layed it blocked two air bricks that provided ventilation to the dining room. I can only think that the builders involved didn't care or weren't aware that blocking air bricks can cause problems such as dry root and smelly voids. They could have quite simply used some draining pipes under the concrete to allow the air to travel from the air brick, under the conservatory to the outside.

I've now got the task of installing two air brick along the outside of our dining room. This isn't something I've done before so I've been looking around online for advice. Apparently installing an air brick is really easy and should only take a couple of hours as long as you have the right tools.

Points I must consider:
Will the new air bricks be high enough above the ground but below the damp proofing?
Should I go for solid or plastic air bricks?

I'll come back to this post later to let you know how I got on so watch this space

Double Glazing Salesman

I've been getting quotes for UPVC double glazing and couldn't believe one of the companies who came out to see me. The salesman initially quoted £3750 for a kitchen window and slim french door. When I told him that I had other companies coming to quote he started to reduce the quote. Every couple of minutes he would look at his calculator and come up with some reason why he could knock of a bit here and there. Eventually he got the price down to £1700 which I still wasn't going to agree to before getting more quotes. He then said that it was company policy to ring his manager on his mobile before he left. His manager wanted to speak to me so I thought fine at which point he dropped the price further to £1500 if I signed up there and then. I still said no.

Since that day I've had four other quotes ranging from £850 to £1800. I feel that this double glazing company tries these sales tactics with everyone and I imagine on many occasions it works. The fact that they tried to get £3750 at the beginning was disgusting and I expect a pushy salesman could get a vulnerable person such as the elderly to cough up the full/ridiculous amount.

Dealing With Condensation

Last winter I had a major problem with condensation which was especially prominent under the bay window in the living room and the built in wardrobes in the front bedroom. I spent some time researching the causes of condensation and found that ventilation is key. The built in wardrobes were especially bad because they were located on a North facing external wall. They were also full of clothes and the when the doors were closed there was no ventilation.

Last winter I stripped the wallpaper in the built in wardrobes because it was covered in black mould and smelt musty. I bleached the walls and painted them with an anti-condensation paint. This did get rid of the smell but the walls were so cold that the anti-condensation paint didn't make any difference. When the warm air in the bedroom hit the cold wall within the wardrobe there was no stopping the water vapour from appearing.

Last week I thought to myself - "I need to do something about this condensation before winter arrives". Not knowing what the solution was I took a trip to B&Q and had a look around for anything that might have helped and there it was - 'Warmaline wall lining', basically a roll of polystyrene that you use just like wallpaper which provides an amazing insulation from the coldness of the wall. I added three layers in all just to ensure that it worked and to my amazement the walls have been consistantly warm. Not only does Warmaline insulate the wardrobe it also stops your clothes getting cold which in turn stops and damp and mould growth on the clothes.

Let's Start At The Begining

First of all, thanks for visiting my blog.

So why am I writing about my Victorian house?
My Wife and I purchased our house in May 2007 when house prices were rather high. As you maybe aware, house prices have since dropped by almost 15% due to the global economic crisis leaving us with no option but to stay put and concentrate on making our home more comfortable.

So what's the plan?
Well, we have loads of ideas but we only have a budget of around £12k. Here's what we plan to do:

• Replace original slate roof
• Re-plastered the entire downstairs (including painting the ceiling)
• Re-carpet the lounge and dining room
• Install new kitchen units (including a new cooker and hob)
• Replace the single pain dining room window with a french door
• Replace kitchen window for UPVC double glazed window
• Re-decorate both children's bedrooms