Can't find the source of heat loss and stuck for ideas
Information, help, tips and advice on cavity walls, ceilings and lofts etc....

AlwaysLearning
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Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 10:59 pm

Can't find the source of heat loss and stuck for ideas

by AlwaysLearning » Mon May 18, 2020 12:47 am

I've a first floor bedroom that feels cold. Not always, but often. It just seems to loose heat faster than anywhere else. I'm at a loss what I can do or investigate to improve things.

Here's some of my hair pullings.

- Heat loss through the ceiling? Nope, attic insulation is up to spec and none of the other bedrooms are effected.
- Heat loss through stud partition walls? Adjoining rooms don't cool as quickly so I don't think that's a factor.
- Heat loss through the party wall? The house is a semi. There is an uninsulated cavity wall wall between us and the neighbours. But the bedroom on the other side of the house that also shares that party wall doesn't cool as rapidly, and it faces NE.
- Heat loss through the external wall? Perhaps, but the other bedrooms on that wall don't cool as quickly. Even the bedroom above the garage stays warmer longer.
- Draughty replacement UPVC window? I've stripped back the internal uPVC strips used to hide the mess fitters make and sealed the gaps. No air flow there!
- Poorly sealing windows? Seals seem good, no air moving on a windy day, but now temporarily taped closed to see if that was the problem. No noticeable improvement.
- Air coming through the gaps between floorboards? Ok, so wall to wall carpet on top of underfelt. Can't feel anything.
- Air moving in suspended floor? Voids between joists are filled with rockwool but it doesn't entirely fill the voids. However, the void is filled where the joists run under an internal partition. Not much air movement that I could feel.
- Air bleeding from floor void under skirtings and into the room? Sealed any gaps between the bottom of the skirtings and the floor.
- Air bleeding into the underfloor void due to joist ends shrinking away from masonry in party wall? Joists were built into the masonry wall. Some had changed shape over the years. There were gaps, but half a day with a can of PU foam sealed every vertical edge of the joists to the masonry wall and horizontal gaps between the first floorboard and the masonry. No air leakage now.
- Cable voids to sockets? Some airflow there, but faceplates off and sealant applied. No air movement now.

I'm stuck. I'm struggling to think of any more sources of heat loss? All three sealed DG units failed? Poltergeists?

So if anyone has a line of questions that will lead to a eureka moment, fire away.

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