Retrofit

What is Retrofit?

At this house it meant taking things right back in order to improve the thermal and acoustic performance of the building - ultimately the health and comfort benefits of this will be a long term investment. As a rule, anything that wasn't original to the Victorian house was reviewed and ultimately, renewed. The pebbledash came off the front elevation, not without leaving scars. This was done early doors for the building to dry out. The rear outhouse was demolished and in order to make way for the rear extension, the first floor outrigger bedroom was suspended whilst the new construction enclosed around it. The main house roof and turret came off and was replaced - one of a few surprises we found on site - especially in the latter case, before it would have fell down due to rot. Layers of 70+ years of previous single family ownership were laid bare. These included newspapers from 1938 and they were carefully removed and archived. But sadly there were other, less ideal alterations that needed remediation. Later newspapers found served to date the cycles of refurbishment. Layers of linoleum, underlay, carpet, underlay and more carpet just to get to the floor boards and insulate the subfloor and level the house out. Unpicking these layers became a necessity. Some use of 60's to 90's materials had deleterious effects on the Victorian building fabric - the 90's aluminium framed double glazing had failed mastic in their openings leading to drafts, the internal cement patch plasters on external walls (that were made of breathable lime) needed complete removal before they fell off of their own accord. The trapped mould beneath multiple layers of wallpaper (including some bitumen lined wallpapers) came off with it without much persuasion. The undersized radiators were stripped away and replaced with underfloor heating. Polystyrene ceiling tiles (which trapped moisture, leading to the rotting roof timbers) were stripped away quickly in order for the building to dry out and assess the damage. Despite good intentions to retain, new timbers were required. All external solid stock brick walls were then replastered in lime and insulated internally with wood fibre insulation. Double glazed timber framed sash windows went back into the Victorian openings. These windows better allow for movement and better manage the risk of the interfaces failing and causing drafts. Where modern construction was added, modern and natural insulation was used, sometimes upto 300mm thick to ensure, (combined with triple glazed windows in the bedrooms,) the sleeping spaces stay at consistent temperatures throughout the seasons.