Energy Saving Retrofit of Victorian Terrace House

This presentation was originally made for The Architectural Happy Hour, a community-based event held at The Long Table, Stroud and run by architects Millar Howard Workshop.
Architect, Phil Hurrell and his wife have been renovating a Victorian Terrace House in Stroud, Gloucestershire for the past 2.5 years. Phil Shares his experience of retrofitting the property. When you consider that 80% of buildings that will exist in 2050 already exist - retrofitting homes and insulating them really well is important for us to achieve net zero.
Main considerations were:
To reduce energy consumption and therefore cost. They undertook multiple smaller initiatives to make a marked difference in energy consumption.
The couple also wanted to reduce emissions. They were originally aiming at Passivhouse standards, however, this proved difficult on the budget they had.
In conclusion - they wanted to save on energy bills, do "right by the house" but also for the next occupants in terms of deep retrofit and insulation. They had to balance this with what they were able to afford and the precautionary principles around historic buildings, embodied carbon and the materials they used. They wanted to use natural as far as possible and ensure that the building was sealed but balanced with ventilation. Finally, thinking far into the future, how this building would be taken apart in the future.
Disclaimer:
Please note that this talk is purely about sharing an experience of a personal renovation and insulation project. We will not be held liable or responsible for any action taken as a result of watching this video or listening to the content within. You must always do your own follow-up and technical research on any decisions or works taken on your own projects.

[@adriancogger1477]

Hi Phil, we're about to embark on the retrofit of a Victorian terrace in London and this has been really insightful. Thank you for posting.

[@SebastianPastry]

Interesting stuff, great work!
Would be great to see the slides simultaneously though

[@WorldwideWelshman]

Excellent presentation, thanks!

[@millarhowardworkshop8102]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@martinfreedman]

Great presentation but porr video - where were all the pictures you were discussing and shown at the time you were discussing them.

[@ToxCcc]

So how close did you get to Enerphit standard? did you get close to the air tightness of 1?

[@Truman77.]

I live in an old house with solid walls and found the presentation very helpful with regard to the natural wood fibre board (inner was), which allows the walls to breath. I have heard of people having mould problems on insulating outside walls, but this could be due to poor insulation?

[@patrickdrewello4196]

Phil great presentation - can you send me your slides?

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Nice presentation, but you can see Phil pointing at a screen with his hand which we can't see. So next time try to include these slides.
I'm currently in the proces of a deep retrofit myself, having a detached house which was already white painted brick the decision for EWI rendered over all around was easy, albeit it being very costly.
But at the same time the results are much better than with any other form of wall insulation, unless you are prepared to lose several m² in each room for IWI. Above all no cold bridging if your roof and floor connections are done right. My former damp and mouldy house is now bone dry and I had to place some bowls of water to evaporate, but plants in clay pots also do well in humidifying the air.
A couple of air to air heat pump units and a wood stove are now sufficient to heat the quite large house, even on the few ice days we already had. The wooden floor in the living room still has to go, a solid concrete and well insulated floor with UFH will go in, moisture under the floor isn't an issue, the water table is deep and the foundations are also deep enough, the clay soil seals against any water from outside.
I stick with Phil's philosophy of using natural materials only on the inside, PIR and EPS being on the outside of the walls and roof.
This also for fire safety reasons, the vapours of smouldering plastics can kill very quickly, natural materials will give off smoke which you or your smoke alarms will notice far before these get lethal. Rockwool will not burn but isn't very carbon friendly in manufacturing.

[@999fugazi]

Great to hear about the EWI - was this DIY or did you have a firm fit it, also what material - EPS or wood fibre? Im looking at fitting it when I have finished my renovations, but I will also need to extend the roof to accomodate the EWI

[@mandelbrot2232]

I love these houses but it is a lot of work 😊 thank you for the video

[@millarhowardworkshop8102]

You're so welcome!

[@mandelbrot2232]

@@millarhowardworkshop8102 🤗