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Property/DIY

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Original poster

No heating upstairs? Are we mad!

77 replies

bounty007 · 08/02/2012 20:17

we are building a new house and have installed underfloor heating downstairs and in the bathrooms upstairs...bedrooms are plumbed for radiators but we decided not to install any...are we mad?

OP posts:

whoknowsme · 08/02/2012 20:47

You may be affecting the resale value of your home if buyers suss there are no radiators in the bedrooms and have to put them in themselves.

Just instal them and don't use them if you don't like a warm bedroom.

It may be your "forever home" (for now) but it will ultimately end up on the market.

Nospringflower · 08/02/2012 20:47

I dont like warm bedrooms and so dont switch on the radiators in our house, but, we do have an open plan downstairs and the heat from downstairs goes up and heats the bedrooms a little. If I leave the bedroom door shut its bloody freezing. We live in Scotland too. I think it really depends on the layout of the house but at least you can try it and add them later if its too cold.

orienteerer · 08/02/2012 20:48

No, you're not mad as long as you're building a super insulated house. We lived in a new build in Austria (i.e proper cold winters and Germanic building standards) with underfloor heating. The downstairs underfloor heating and upstairs bathrooms were connected to central heating but the upstairs bedroom underfloor heating was on a stand alone system. I can honestly say that we never switched on the upstairs underfloor and we were never cold.

LadyHonOricellaDedlock · 08/02/2012 20:49

bit trickier with a very compartmentalised house...

if you say the bedrooms are plumbed I would just try out if it works and if it doesn't add the radiators; sounds like you've done the hard work by getting the pipework in

ginmakesitallok · 08/02/2012 20:49

It's not the bedrooms I'd be worried about - it's the bathrooms. Getting out of the shower or bath when its cold??? no way!

redrobin · 08/02/2012 20:50

bounty, i'm in scotland, big old drafty house that it costs a fortune to heat...i turned the radiators off after our last shocking bill, and can i tell you that it is absolutely bloody miserable. install them, leave them off if you want to, but if and when (and it will be when!) you can get some heat. mind you, if its a modern house, you might be ok....(says me optimistically!)

Original poster

bounty007 · 08/02/2012 20:50

Thanks hellhasnofury as you say, at least the plumbing is there and we don't have heaters turned on in any of the bedrooms in our ancient single storey house...

OP posts:

mycatsaysach · 08/02/2012 20:51

you really need the opinions of people who have lived with underfloor heating i think as it does heat a house differently - we had it in our childhood home and no heating upstairs - it was fine

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 08/02/2012 20:53

There's no way I'd put radiators in my lovely new build house just in case it has an impact on the price IF I decide to sell it in the future, no way, they're bloody ugly things.

However, to make the house comfortable I'd have them put in.

Why not talk to the person putting it all in and see how difficult/more costly it would be to put them in in a months time later on down the line if you feel you want them?

I can't see underfloor heating downstairs being enough, especially in Scotland.

thestringcheesemassacre · 08/02/2012 20:54

no heating in the bedrooms and you live in Scotland?
Even for the children?

MoreBeta · 08/02/2012 20:56

If it is well insulated and you have good ambient heat diownstairs and heat in the bathrooms you will hardly ever use the radiators upstairs.

Nice heated blankets and a cool bedroom are good for health and comfy too.

That said, if you have the pipes in you are hardly saving any money by not fitting rads.

Francagoestohollywood · 08/02/2012 20:56

Sidge, yes!

Jajas · 08/02/2012 20:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Francagoestohollywood · 08/02/2012 21:00

Some radiators are actually nice. Have a look at the Zehnder ones

ChooChooWowWow · 08/02/2012 21:00

We removed all our upstairs radiators on two floors because they were never on and just looked ugly. It's fine, the bedrooms aren't cold at all. Our house is well insulated though. I keep the heating at 22 degrees downstairs in the winter and the heat rises to keep the upstairs floors at a nice temperature.
I hate being cold so if it works for me I'm sure your house will be fine.

Original poster

bounty007 · 08/02/2012 21:00

string you make it sound like child abuse!
It's a NEW BUILD HOUSE!! It has serious insulation to keep up with the current regs... Surely it will be warm enough?!

OP posts:

Hulababy · 08/02/2012 21:01

Mad - quite probably!

I grew up in a house with only heating downstairs and it was cold upstairs at night and in the morning. Granted the insulation wasn't great back then, but even so.

I live in a very warm house now, three stories and very good insulation. But on a cold day rooms without the radiators on are cool.

lubeybooby · 08/02/2012 21:02

Heat rising is crapola, not enough will get upstairs at all! It will be brassic. get some radiators!

From someone who isn't even in Scotland who had a broken bedroom radiator for a while. Brrrrr

Original poster

bounty007 · 08/02/2012 21:04

Not having radiators as don't want them...nothing to do with cost.

OP posts:

eurochick · 08/02/2012 21:06

I don't understand why on earth people wouldn't take advantage of things on offer (like radiators!) to make their daily lives more comfortable if they can afford it.

hellhasnofury · 08/02/2012 21:11

If it's a modern, well insulated, well built house I don't think it will be cold in the bedrooms. Our house is around a 1985 build but with extra cavity wall and loft insulation and we absolutely do not have cold bedrooms despite the fact that they are not heated. If we put the bedroom heaters on we need to open the windows to cool the rooms down which seems kinda counter-productive.

wigglesrock · 08/02/2012 21:12

I have a new build super duper insulated house, holds the heat like you wouldn't believe but still need the radiators upstairs sorry. I'm in NI so assume climate/temp would be fairly similar.

ImpYCelyn · 08/02/2012 21:12

You'll be fine. We have a wood burner downstairs, the only heating in a detached house in the middle of nowhere (so no heat from neighbours/city). Even with our current insulation the upstairs is just about warm enough (currently -7), but we're planning to put in even more insulation and it'll be fine. So if you're building it yourselves and putting in loads of the stuff you should be fine.

We're looking at putting in geothermic UFH in a few years time, that'll only be downstairs too. Friends who have it say that's all you need.

ImpYCelyn · 08/02/2012 21:13

Sorry, meant the bedrooms are warm enough despite the outside temp being -7, the bedrooms are a lot warmer than that :o

Hulababy · 08/02/2012 21:14

Maybe at least just one up there on the landing for very cold times?

My house is very modern - just 6 years old, and 3 stories so lots of raising heat. Lots of insulation, good thick double glazing, etc.

But without the radiators on it gets chilly. Not cold, but chilly. We often turn ours off or down after a while, but at least we have the opportunity to turn them in when the temperatures do drop.

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