Your Ipswich Vintage House

05/09/2024

Suffolk Preservation Society- Retrofit event in Nov 2024 : https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/retro-fit-for-the-future-tickets-1000512940137?

A guide to upgrading building performance in traditional buildings

02/09/2024

Open Eco Homes 2024 - 4 weeks of free events from 21st Sept - 20th October 2024 brought to us by Cambridge Carbon Footprint. Book now

12/08/2024

The foam insulation we don't want in old houses and the damage it causes.

Householders are angered by the discovery they cannot remortgage or sell their homes after installing spray-foam insulation to cut energy use

18/04/2024

See what others are doing in their homes. The Cambridge Carbon Footprint group has some good resources and even online talks if your can't get to Cambridge.

Open Eco Homes helps you get started creating a sustainable home that suits you.

17/04/2024

Leeds £13 million retrofit project, now this will be a project to watch. We just wish Ipswich could have a huge injection of funds to do just such a project. I'm crossing my fingers for the future. 🤞 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czq5lz3vwp4o?

A council report says the £13m scheme could help reduce people's heating bills.

05/03/2024

If you're interested in looking after your pre 1930's solid wall house (those with no cavity wall) then this facebook group: 'Your Old House UK - Repair and Conservation' is a very good one to join with experts from SPAB to answer questions. Some building related groups on facebook are managed by unscrupulous firms, there are a lot of them on their peddling poor products or services to take your money. So as with anything online always be wary of what you see especially some of the damp pages.

05/03/2024

'Focus on damp and mould in older properties'. Wed 6th March at The Hold ( pre booking needed as it's free with lunch too!). Also if time on Thursday 7th March, there is a free tour of the Octopus energy heat pump research centre in Slough. Book here:
https://www.greensuffolk.org/event/focus-on-damp-and-mould-and-retrofit-solutions-conference/
Note: this is Suffolk County Council and Green Suffolk event so they may be promoting some companies.

A free event to explore making Suffolk’s older homes more energy efficient will take place at The Hold in Ipswich on 6 March 2024. The Retrofit Solutions Conference is open to Suffolk homeowners, landlords and building professionals. It will feature case studies and expert advice on providing inno...

01/02/2024

Winchester Guide on Retrofitting needs to be downloaded from in this link below and this is how historic buildings are different from modern buildings. Generally, old buildings are those pre-1919 as cavity walls and cement mortar was introduced in the 1920s and most pre-1919 buildings are made with lime mortar or clay. It is the adding of modern materials that has caused a lot of the damp problems in older buildings.

By ‘historic building’ we mean a building built before the mid-20th century. Before considering any building or energy efficiency projects on a historic building, it is important to look at how they differ from modern buildings in terms of construction:
Due to the traditional building techniques, historic buildings are often highly thermally efficient. Many have thicker walls and smaller windows than modern buildings, meaning they are cooler in the hotter months and stay warm in winter.
The materials used in traditional methods of construction are highly energy efficient and durable. Historically, the materials would be locally sourced and did not require significant amounts of energy to produce.
Historic buildings made using traditional materials and techniques behave differently to modern buildings as they need to ‘breathe’ – to allow low levels of moisture in and out of the building. Modern building products can trap in moisture resulting in long lasting harm to building fabric and ongoing maintenance problems.
Before starting any work, it is important to make sure that you have a firm understanding on how the work you are planning will impact the building as a whole, both in the short and long term.

Historic buildings have an unavoidable role to play in reducing our carbon emissions, as part of our journey to become a net Carbon Zero district by...

01/02/2024

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

Join us for an introduction to the care and maintenance of period properties, ideal for homeowners and tenants of old buildings.

01/02/2024

SPAB online course old house project part 1 and Lime course for those doing repairs in old houses: https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/lectures/introduction-old-house-project-0 https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/courses/introduction-plain-lime-plastering-3

Watch this recorded online talk to find out more about the SPAB’s Old House Project – an ambitious project to fully repair a Grade II* listed ‘building at risk’ and return it to use.