Is this weather making anyone else consider changes to their house?

[Taggiesbeefdaube]

I’ve had a quote for air on for the bedrooms which isn’t cheap (£13k) but is doable. The units would also give heat in the winter. We have solar panels so don’t needto worry about the cost of running the air con.

also considering shutters or brise soleil (mini pergola like things above the south facing windows)

I have thermal blinds on the biggest windows which stop some of the heat in the house.

Wondering about planting for shade closer to the house.

We have an extended family member doing it for us so we get a good deal- around £5k. Considering the conservatory was put on the house a mere month before the previous owners put in on the market and it cost £7.5k I think we are getting a good deal. Just lucky we had the spare money to do it.

Have you already discussed what to do with lawns? Mine is wrecked. I’m not sure what to do. Have had a nice lawn for thirty years in our standard london terrace, but it’s dried out and looks awful. I’ve let the trees grow, so have the neighbours, the garden is quite shady now due to this, even though it is south facing. The whole structure of the garden was based around a lawn and beds.. now looks rather absurd, and… I’ve decided to let my hydrangeas go. They just aren’t surviving.

Lawns do tend to bounce back if they were healthy before. Ours has never been great, so I’m tempted to try alternative lawns like thyme or clover to see if that works better (not that we’re lacking clover at the moment)

I've noticed that the clover in my lawn is staying green despite the rest fading too.

Perhaps clover is the way forward.

I’ve just ordered thermal blinds for the south facing bedrooms. They will hopefully make a big difference in the summer and winter

Listening to R4 BBC 'You and Yours': One of the contributors said the best way to keep heat out was to put shutters/blinds on the outside of the windows and keep them closed when the sun shone on them. DH bought 3 bamboo blinds, suitable for outside use (Amazon) and fitted them (they came in at £100 approx). They took 10 days to come and were easily fitted as they hang on screws in the outside wall.

They have been amazing. The heat in our south facing kitchen and dining area is about 10 deg cooler and we can still see the garden.

For anyone with Velux windows, there are various external shades - we have the fabric sort:

https://www.velux.co.uk/products/blinds-and-shutters/exterior-heat-protection?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16166721084&gbraid=0AAAAADEVwcMx6_bML2unAJFMY0cJoBski&gclid=CjwKCAjwyuDTBhB-EiwANCQhLJjyahLbal2DOtLe-Hl8NVl2toEwTdm4ZTsxbLpmHrzgihPLywiPMhoCcMAQAvD_BwE

I am also surprised at one of my neighbour’s completely paving their driveway with no planting areas at all. That’s one sure way to make your house hotter..,,

Yep we’re moving and shutters and air conditioning are on the non-negotiables list for things we want to do to the new house before next summer. Solar panels and a heat pump are also high up there.