Help! New home & freezing. Insulation?

[RMc90]

Just bought a new house. Ex-council and built in 70’s. It is the home that keeps on giving tbh. Everything looked ok, and as we’re progressing finding more things.

My main concern at the moment is warmth, it’s getting to 13 degrees and I have a wee girl just turning 3, so I definitely can’t have that in her room.

I’m wondering what I could do for insulation, the home report says “walls = system built - no insulation (assumed) any schemes available for Scotland for mid earner or any decent recommendations / ideas on price?

I need to replace the radiators as they get luke warm at best and need replaced based on advise from trusted gas engineer friend. (Boiler is fine that’s only 6 years old and in good condition thankfully)

The windows need replaced too as so draughty even though double glazed, missing handles on some that wasn’t noticeable when viewed home in summer… but not something I can afford at moment, I’ve popped on some insulating tape round the edges for now - again unless anyone knows of any schemes in Scotland could take part of?

All started with black mould being found in the wardrobe, then the bathroom needing ripped out and kitchen plumbing needing sorted, but because everything worked and wasn’t breaking down tikka. Few weeks after I’ve went over the reporting period, just my luck.

just being a bit obsessive because of wee one and not wanting her to be cold especially in the minus temperatures experiencing.

also the home is rated a D on energy efficient apparently and a D on environmental impact if that means anything?

You can get some insulating film that goes on the inside of the window. Have the radiators been drained??? Are they turned up properly?? I'm in a non standard construction council house and it's always cold

Have you bled the radiators?

I don’t know about schemes but I find the draught excluders that go along the bottom of doors work great all mine are snakes which make great props when I am playing jungle with the children.

A D for energy efficiency isn't bad, actually - I think that's the Scottish average.

In my experience, 70s houses do tend to be quite cold in winter. I'd focus on getting the radiators heating properly - look at cheaper options before replacing them - you can try bleeding them yourself as that might help.

And yes, as much DIY draft-proofing as possible - around doors and windows.

If it's a 70s house, I'm guessing you have cavity walls? (like my 1973 house) We insulated our cavity walls 2 years ago when we converted our garage into living space, and it's made a huge difference to how much heat the house retains. We heat it for 2 hours in the morning, and it's still warm until early afternoon when the heating kicks back in..... Ours was done with small foam pellets being injected into the walls - they then stick together and form solid insulation. The country I live in gives you a grant for it as well - don't know if that exists in the UK?

Oh, and for our house it cost just under €3000 (2 years ago though, so prices have maybe risen)

You need to bleed the radiators with a radiator key (small cheap item). If they keep going Luke warm there is probably a leak in the pipework somewhere. Difficult to tell as hot pipes means water evaporates quickly. Listen for gurgle put saucers under junctions to catch minute drips which you might not otherwise notice to find source of leak.
Heating from radiators will make a lot of difference.
Other helpful things are to preserve/maximise solar gain whenever you have it (ie sunshine coming in window) ie no nets and put blinds down, draw (thick)curtains whenever it's not. My brother swears by this in his south East facing living room in Ireland..he draws curtains immediately the sun moves round to the west just to stop heat gained from sun going out of the window, but that is possibly an extreme reaction!
A lot of heat is lost through walls rather than windows but front doors can also be poorly insulated and freezing...door curtains are worth it for them.
Thick rugs on floor in winter also helps stop heat leaching out of a room. IKEA do thick wool ones. I put old (clean) wool carpet as another layer under them.

Open windows for half an hour in the morning and invest in a dehumidifier too when windows closed. Ventilation in a cold house is still crucial to prevent condensation

Radiators need to bleed regularly. Really easy to do but remember to check if the boiler needs topping up afterwards. The radiators may also need cleaning out rather than replacing.

Window handles can be replaced cheaply.

@Nettleskeins I do the opposite in summer to keep the hosue cool. Makes a huge difference.

Also avoid built in cupboards on a freezing wall as they will trap moisture and create black mould behind. Freestanding for good circulation. Wood (not MDF or particleboard as it attracts moisture.)

Apologies everyone, I should’ve mentioned already bled radiators, one is leaking badly and the bleed hasn’t resolved the issues + had gas engineer out for a look at everything (a friend so not doing me out of money) and unfortunately was told they need replaced :(.

Check the attic for insulation. That is a cheapish job you can do yourself and genuinely makes a huge difference.
Also you can put some temporary plastic across the windows to prevent drafts but if you have black mould I would be cautious about that as it could make it worse.
Sounds like you need to sort your central heating though. New radiators arent too pricey and will make a difference immediately.

Do you have dial on your boiler, possibly with a radiator like symbol next to it? Ours has numbers 1-6 and needs to be set at 4 or 5. My SIL rarely has her heating on, but when she does the radiators are luke warm as it's set to 2.

If nothing else, it'd be worth getting your boiler serviced by someone independent and also asking them for their opinion at the same time. If the radiators are just getting warm at the top, could be system needs a power flush.

Okay well there is your answer. It's the radiators/pipework that you now need to spend money sorting. Draughty windows aren't really the biggest issue. A leak will mean that water is constantly evaporating cooling the house down. I had this under a floorboard in a concrete 1960s house and that room was icy as a result. However much heat I pumped into that room was being negated by the water evaporating from the leak in the radiator (in this case pipework), cooling the air. But it might be the pipework not just the radiators. Copper pipes are more resilient to corrosion than steel pipes, so if pipework is old and not copper this might be part of issue. It isn't radiators themselves but all the pipework, sometimes.
Older heavier manky looking radiators can actually be better than new steel ones as they were built of thicker heavier metal. All my old radiators with rusty looking valves 25 years ago were re used and repurposed with thermostatic valves whereas a new steel one corroded very quickly when there was some air in the system due to a hidden leak. It isn't the old radiators themselves that are the biggest issue it's the system or pipework.

Probably silly suggestions but...

1. have you checked dial on radiators is turned up to 6 and not sitting on minimum
2. Have you checked the central heating on the boiler to see what it is set to. For example mine is on the eco setting so it takes longer to heat up but is cheaper.
3. Have you checked what your boiler says for the CH 'setpoint'. I have mine on 60 but I can turn it up or down. I think it makes the radiators hotter but I could be wrong (you also have a set point for your hot water)
4. Have you tried having the system flushed as lots of junk in system can stop it heating up properly (although may reveal more leaking radiators as the junk can be blocking the tiny holes).

Be warned having it flushed costs a few £000's.

My money is on number 3.

How old are your radiators. Some of mine are over 20 years old but still heat up fine.
Anyway good luck.