Services · 04
Whole-house retrofit
Turning an existing house into a low-energy, comfortable one
A client who had us retrofit their older house put it best in their review: expertise in insulation and thermal efficiency, including retrofitting to older houses. That's the specialism — improving performance without wrecking the way an old building manages moisture.
We work through the fabric in the order that actually pays: air leakage and loft first, then walls and floors, then glazing and services. Doing it in the wrong order is how people spend a great deal of money and stay cold.
Fabric first, in the right order
Loft and roof insulation, floor insulation, internal or external wall insulation, and a serious attempt at airtightness — sealing the gaps around joist ends, service penetrations, loft hatches and skirtings that quietly move a house's worth of warm air outside every hour.
Old houses need breathable thinking
Solid stone and brick walls have to be able to dry. Where internal insulation is the only option we use build-ups that let moisture move, rather than trapping it behind a plastic sheet and rotting the joist ends. On listed and period property this is the whole conversation.
Ventilation isn't optional
A tightened house needs controlled ventilation, or you've swapped draughts for condensation. We plan extract and background ventilation as part of the works — it's not an afterthought and it isn't expensive when it's designed in.
Room by room, or all at once
Not everyone can move out for a whole-house retrofit. Where it makes sense we stage the work so you can live through it, with each stage self-contained rather than leaving your house half-wrapped over a winter.
What's included
- Survey of the existing fabric, damp and heat loss
- Loft, roof, floor and wall insulation
- Airtightness sealing at junctions and service penetrations
- Breathable build-ups on solid-wall and period property
- Ventilation planned alongside the fabric works
- Making good, plastering and decoration throughout
Knaresborough family builders · Rated 5.0 ★ on Google · serving Knaresborough, Harrogate, York & Leeds
From the project gallery
Related work — W T Hall's own photographs.
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