Hello!
Uncertain if this is the right part of the forum or not.....
We recently bought a 70s villa of 190 sqm with a 120 sqm basement.
The inspection showed no major problems, the worst was actually the roof which is in good condition but probably from the construction time, and therefore has reached its technical lifespan.
However, we have a few things we want to do, and we're having some difficulty deciding the order to do everything. I expect it will take a few years - both due to the cost and to make the best use of rot/rut.
- Replace district heating with geothermal heating. Here, I also want the option to install free cooling...
- Replace the roof and install solar panels. We also want to change the color of the wooden parts (the house is brick with some wooden parts). It will take some time to both decide and probably apply for planning permission.
- Improve ventilation. It is currently natural ventilation and has radon readings just over 200. There is a radon fan that hasn't been used regularly. My thought was to take measurements Oct-April with the radon fan on - I don't know if FTX is worth installing - or if there's something that can be done in conjunction with geothermal heating?
First floor:
- Install underfloor heating on the first floor. Right now it's water-borne radiators, so they will need to be removed. There's a bathroom on the first floor that we would like to wait with renovating if possible. Then in the future switch to underfloor heating there when we redo the entire bathroom.
- Renovate the kitchen - at the same time as underfloor heating? It would be good to redo the water pipes/drains at the same time.
- Rewire the electricity (currently ungrounded, from construction time) this might/should be done before the floor? There should also be some extra sockets and network cables installed.
Upstairs:
- Renovate the bathroom
- Perhaps install underfloor heating here too? Otherwise, ensure that the pipes to the radiators are in good condition/or replace them.
There will also be wallpapering/painting throughout the house when the other work is done.
My wife's priority is to redo the kitchen, I mainly want to do everything in the right order to avoid unnecessary costs or having to redo everything.
The basement is in good condition - we are considering draining it later - maybe in connection with a pool in 5-10 years. There were no elevated moisture readings in the basement.
Thanks in advance!
Uncertain if this is the right part of the forum or not.....
We recently bought a 70s villa of 190 sqm with a 120 sqm basement.
The inspection showed no major problems, the worst was actually the roof which is in good condition but probably from the construction time, and therefore has reached its technical lifespan.
However, we have a few things we want to do, and we're having some difficulty deciding the order to do everything. I expect it will take a few years - both due to the cost and to make the best use of rot/rut.
- Replace district heating with geothermal heating. Here, I also want the option to install free cooling...
- Replace the roof and install solar panels. We also want to change the color of the wooden parts (the house is brick with some wooden parts). It will take some time to both decide and probably apply for planning permission.
- Improve ventilation. It is currently natural ventilation and has radon readings just over 200. There is a radon fan that hasn't been used regularly. My thought was to take measurements Oct-April with the radon fan on - I don't know if FTX is worth installing - or if there's something that can be done in conjunction with geothermal heating?
First floor:
- Install underfloor heating on the first floor. Right now it's water-borne radiators, so they will need to be removed. There's a bathroom on the first floor that we would like to wait with renovating if possible. Then in the future switch to underfloor heating there when we redo the entire bathroom.
- Renovate the kitchen - at the same time as underfloor heating? It would be good to redo the water pipes/drains at the same time.
- Rewire the electricity (currently ungrounded, from construction time) this might/should be done before the floor? There should also be some extra sockets and network cables installed.
Upstairs:
- Renovate the bathroom
- Perhaps install underfloor heating here too? Otherwise, ensure that the pipes to the radiators are in good condition/or replace them.
There will also be wallpapering/painting throughout the house when the other work is done.
My wife's priority is to redo the kitchen, I mainly want to do everything in the right order to avoid unnecessary costs or having to redo everything.
The basement is in good condition - we are considering draining it later - maybe in connection with a pool in 5-10 years. There were no elevated moisture readings in the basement.
Thanks in advance!
Hello.
Fix the electricity and ventilation at once when you have access to everything without risking having to tear up recently renovated rooms.
It's easier when you don't have to worry about the surroundings.
We moved into a 70s house a few years ago and installed FTX right away. Natural ventilation is terrible.
With FTX, we got good air, a more comfortable indoor climate, and the house smells fresh when you come home.
Fix the electricity and ventilation at once when you have access to everything without risking having to tear up recently renovated rooms.
It's easier when you don't have to worry about the surroundings.
We moved into a 70s house a few years ago and installed FTX right away. Natural ventilation is terrible.
With FTX, we got good air, a more comfortable indoor climate, and the house smells fresh when you come home.
Mechanical exhaust with fans running consistently in the bathroom, laundry room, etc., combined with fresh air vents (if needed) provides much better ventilation than natural draft at a much lower cost than FTX.
Switching from radiators to underfloor heating requires reviewing the windows for tightness to avoid drafts from the windows.
Electricity, tap water, and sewage should be replaced room by room as they are renovated to save money.
Today, grounded outlets are rarely useful since very few devices are grounded. However, it is very good to soon install a residual current device for the whole house.
Switching from radiators to underfloor heating requires reviewing the windows for tightness to avoid drafts from the windows.
Electricity, tap water, and sewage should be replaced room by room as they are renovated to save money.
Today, grounded outlets are rarely useful since very few devices are grounded. However, it is very good to soon install a residual current device for the whole house.
I would probably install geothermal heating first, ftx only if the house is sufficiently tight for it to be worthwhile, which is often not the case with a 70s house.Gareth said:
I would have contacted a local ventilation company to come and make an assessment and then prioritized getting good ventilation.If the facade and windows are in good condition apart from the cosmetic aspect, I would have waited with that otherwise I would have applied for a permit etc. already now to be able to fix it before it affects the timber etc.
If you're going to install waterborne underfloor heating throughout the ground floor, it can be done step by step with some technical solutions if I haven't misunderstood it. Then I would have gone room by room and taken the opportunity to change the electricity at the same time. But clearly, if you're going to install underfloor heating in the kitchen, it should be done at the same time as the kitchen renovation. If you want to install underfloor heating on the entire ground floor at once, it means you basically need to renovate the entire ground floor at once.
The bathroom upstairs - definitely worth installing underfloor heating when you renovate it. I would also do the roof before starting to renovate the upper floor. It would be unfortunate if a leak occurs and ruins the nice work done, and it's good to get the solar panels installed as soon as possible with today's electricity prices.
How are you going to run the network cable? And how many extra outlets? I think you often end up needing to tear down the interior walls to rewire the electricity if more outlets are needed, unless you use external variants. So then I would have changed the electricity room by room as you get time.
In summary:
Do things that in the long run save money first - geothermal heating and solar panels. Change the roof before spending a lot of money on cosmetic renovations. Ventilation is important - enlist the help of professionals and plan for measures according to their suggestions as soon as possible. If there's a residual-current device, you can sleep well, otherwise one should be installed immediately.
Then take the rooms step by step and settle in before throwing yourselves into a kitchen renovation etc. - many good ideas come when you have lived for a while in a house!
Why geothermal if you have district heating? It might be hard to justify financially and if you're going for solar panels, you can use that electricity to power an air-to-air heat pump for cooling in the summer.
Otherwise, I would definitely recommend ftx, even if it doesn’t pay off economically, you get a much better indoor climate, avoid radon problems, and if you're going the geothermal route, you can connect a cooling coil to the free cooling.
I wouldn't worry too much about the electricity, make sure there is an RCD and if you want to sleep soundly, you can hire an inspector to check the condition. Generally, cables from the 70s last quite a while. They can be reviewed advantageously when you do surfaces in each room if you want to move/add outlets.
A roof from the 70s could be finished, but it could also be perfectly fine. Make sure to remove moss, that all tiles are intact and properly in place, and do some spot checks to see how it looks under the tiles and in the attic.
There doesn't seem to be any panic with the house, so fix the ventilation and make your wife happy with the kitchen, and you’ll have tailwinds in all upcoming discussions. Then the roof might be suitable if you're worried before tackling the surfaces elsewhere.
Hello!
Thank you for the responses!
Geothermal heat was for several reasons. Primarily because the operating cost is much lower - in 2021 the house had 32k for heating, and that was with one person - I suspect the costs will be even higher when we move in due to increased district heating prices and 4 people using hot water instead of 1 person.
The second reason is to have the possibility to install free cooling and also heat a potential future pool. I understand that the installation cost is high with geothermal heat, but the operating costs are much lower.
Thank you for the responses!
Geothermal heat was for several reasons. Primarily because the operating cost is much lower - in 2021 the house had 32k for heating, and that was with one person - I suspect the costs will be even higher when we move in due to increased district heating prices and 4 people using hot water instead of 1 person.
The second reason is to have the possibility to install free cooling and also heat a potential future pool. I understand that the installation cost is high with geothermal heat, but the operating costs are much lower.
We moved into a 72 villa at the end of 2020 and did several renovations right away. Our house is a one-story 114 sqm (4 rooms and 2 bathrooms) and had direct electric heating and a fireplace. We chose to install an air/air pump at the end of last year, which has given us significantly lower electricity consumption since then. We also replaced all the radiators right away, should be more efficient than before (but we did it because they looked better and we wanted a more uniform look than before). Our roof is also in good condition, which is why we are waiting to replace it. We might also install solar panels then.
We contacted the building permit department in the municipality to change the color of the wood, but we were allowed to change it without a permit because the color is not "determined" in the zoning plan (all houses on the street have different colors). Our windows were replaced by previous owners, and we lack vents in them so it unfortunately gets a bit stuffy when a lot of the natural draught is blocked, our house must have become relatively tight. However, we have not looked into alternative ventilation options yet but are airing out and keeping interior doors open.
We rewired all the electricity as it was mostly surface-mounted and hidden in ceiling moldings, and because we needed several new outlets etc. We repainted ceilings, walls, and replaced floors in all rooms. We completely renovated the kitchen and slightly moved the drain pipes. We immediately renovated a bathroom where we installed electric underfloor heating, as well as ran new water pipes. The only thing we have left inside is a small toilet that will get a part of the laundry room to fit in a shower, at which point we will replace the last water pipes we have left.
Had we installed ground or ground source heat pump heating we would have chosen underfloor heating throughout the house, but overall we are satisfied with the choices we made. We wanted the home as we desired aesthetically, and therefore did most of it before moving in. We preferred the risk of higher operating costs and spent the money on kitchen/bathroom renovation instead of ground/ground source heat pump. However, it is not easy to arrange it afterward now if we would want water-borne so that is something to keep in mind
Roof and potentially drainage first (seems like it can wait as long as you don't do outdoor measures), the rest is economy and cosmetics, with heating being prioritized. However, it's unclear how much you save by switching from fjv, but if it's justified, I would prioritize it. The earlier you make the investment, the quicker the pay-off. Especially as components and electricity prices are likely only heading in one direction.