DIY 1960s EnerPHit retrofit

[@SA-vz7qi]

There is almost nowhere where people discuss having EWI and IWI together. It would be useful to see yhat covered more.

[@xxwookey]

2023 update: We finally got an airtightness test done which came out at 1.52 m3/m2 (at 50 Pascals). That's not as good as the 1 ach that EnerPhit should have but PHPP says even with that we should get to 32kWh/m2.yr once the floor insulation is complete. (Currently we are at 41 kWh/m2.yr)

[@wilyc0y0te]

Great video and result! We’re extending and renovating our 1950s house - the builder has just broken ground - and need to put in an MVHR system (the house is very humid already, with little insulation). How can I get hold of your spreadsheet for the DIY MVHR system calcs? Have been quoted £7k for a system (supply only)! Also, the house has a concrete slab, but ceilings are only 2350mm. Any suggestions for floor insulation? We can’t afford to lose much ceiling height.

[@wilyc0y0te]

Any chance of getting that spreadsheet for the MVHR? 😊

[@xxwookey]

@@wilyc0y0te I replied to you on here with a link about a month ago, and again yesterday. Neither reply is visible here. Did you not see it either? Unfortunately youtube deletes/hides replies containing links to any site other than youtube, but I was hoping you at least would see the reply? Apparently not. I have put the sheet in an easier-to-find place on my website. You should now be able to find it at wookware (search for 'wookey'), then pick 'retrofitting a 1960s house' then 'Ventilation (MVHR)'. It could do with some improvements to make it easy to use for random people, or at least some instructions, in the way of spreadsheets.

[@xxwookey]

@@wilyc0y0te I've replied to this twice already but my replies are not appearing, due to the magic of youtube hiding comments. I'm not hard to find online so I suggest contacting me another way.

[@LowCarbonLiving]

Very impressed with how much your DIY MVHR install cost you (£1300). However, reading your most recent post below, even the extreme measures you took to achieve air tightness were not quite enough. MVHR can actually make a home less energy efficient by pulling in more air through the leaks of a building, instead of capturing heat from exhausting air. I work as an energy assessor for a charity, and your energy efficiency rating suffers if you have MVHR ! This is because the software assumes that retrofitted homes are basically unable to meet the required level of air tightness to prevent this unwanted effect of making the house even more leaky.

[@lukeh3020]

Interesting stuff, thanks. Good to hear it from a DIYer and not somebody with a commercial interest (like most PH resources).

[@Stu-tx8lw]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing your experience. We are just about to start a renovation project of a 1961 bungalow so found this very useful - along with knowledge gleaned from an ongoing involvement in the government SHDF project, this has helped. Whilst we do not have the funds to go to passive house standards we are interested in taking as many steps as possible.

[@jamescaunt2958]

How have you gone with this. We are about to start with a 1950’s bungalow

[@smellypunks]

Would be good to see more videos each with a focus on a single bit of work that can be done in a weekend. For example a video that focus on insulating the door step. Then DIYer have a weekend focus guide video for each of the projects they can take on.

[@bencreese2404]

Great video and an inspiration to do my own retrofit project this year. I have a few questions about some details, is there a generic email to contact you on? Unfortunately I'm not that close to Cambridge otherwise I would be coming along to the monthly pub meetings!

[@xxwookey]

KZbin doesn't allow offsite links but if you search for "wookware wookey" you will find my homepage which has email adresses at the bottom (and my matrix ID which is also a good way to get to me)

[@xxwookey]

55:20 Talks about powermeters. This type is very good: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIOqfJyiq6qrg9E Widely available for under £15

[@markgarnett3521]

I’ve just seen this video a year later; very educational and inspiring. For the 2021 energy consumption due to working from home; a tip for those that can; a Chromebook or Apple MacBook will consume much less energy than something running intel and windows. My work laptop (a modestly fast HP) uses a 115Watts charger block, gets very hot and often runs it’s cooling fans. Many MacBooks and chromebooks don’t even have a fan (and don’t get hot) because they use use so much less energy.

[@xxwookey]

In fact any arm-based device is likely to use less power than an Intel/AMD one. So that includes chromebooks, Macs from about 2020 onwards and some (windows) laptops from 2024 on, as well as various small computers such as OrangePi, Radxa Rock5, etc. All these devices will also run Linux.

[@sparkyoc6766]

Thanks Wookey. One of the more interesting talks on retrofit projects. Thanks for the detail.

[@jxj2684]

Thank you for sharing this excellent video. It's nice to see some practical solutions

[@fitchikalina7507]

Continuous, goes on forever, I think you mean contiguous Mr. Bob 👸

[@SuperDiagnostic]

Great helpful video; love the car radiator fan to pressurise or depressurise the house! ThnX

[@dialog245]

I've been thinking of removing the window reveal bridge as per 18:00 in the video but wonder if I would need to add extra wall ties to reinstate some strength ?

[@a.t.789]

A really interesting talk, thanks

[@tomthomas5929]

Wookey - I think I remember your handle from the old Navitron forums circa 2007/8!

[@xxwookey]

Yep. I spent a lot of time there then. The new Camelot Forum has many of the same people.

[@specialblorb]

Thanks, nice presentation! I started with an F rated EPC house in 2021 and have lots to learn..

[@xxwookey]

Glad it was useful. Fill out the PHPP spreadsheet if you can - it's a much better house model than SAP/EPC, so it's much easier to work out which changes have most effect. But obviously if it's 'F' then pretty much everything needs improving :-) There is another talk here about upgrading an F-rated house, mostly DIY: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZbPmpyQhNqpZqM

[@rap3drums]

RE cavity wall insulation, how do we check if the walls are completely filled please?

[@shuunya]

The talk discussed that. if the cavity wall insulation had been retrofitted then you can tell by the holes in the morter. They found that there were no holes in half the wall. Further to that he recommended buying a usb endoscope and drill 10 mm holes in your walls to check.

[@anthonycraig274]

I am in the process of buying an 80s terrace home and wondered about party wall cavity.

[@xxwookey]

@@anthonycraig274 back in the 1980s these were not usually filled, but are usually cavities (for noise). This means that the air in them heats up and rises so they are a big heat-loss feature (go look at semis and terraces on a snow/frost on roof day - these joins melt first on most buildings, due to the rising warm air. Sealing them at the top (preferably loft-insulation level) e.g. by injecting foam is a very good idea. Filling them with fluff is also a good idea - it won't stop the air movement but it will greatly reduce it.

[@wilyc0y0te]

Renovating and extending our house right now. It has cavity walls, but the cavity is small (approx 20mm). On the walls which are staying as outside walls, we’re fitting internal, insulated plasterboard. Is it worth getting these walls injected with cavity wall insulation as well? We’re going a lot of work and budget is under pressure.

[@xxwookey]

@@wilyc0y0te Cavity filling is pretty cheap, so yes you might as well have it filled. Your insulated plasterboard probably isn't all that thick (

[@francesco952]

Thanks for sharing, great video for a great work. I like the pragmatical approach and how you try to reuse things where possible. Also happy to see that windows "are moved out" to have continuity with the insulation and reducing thermal bridges 31:58 , I've designed the same solution for my own project.