A walk around our historic highland villages, in the cool crisp winter sunshine is one of life’s pleasures. For added enjoyment during your walk, play a game of Heat Loss Bingo.

Look at the roofs of the buildings along your route. The pattern of frost on the roof slates will give you an idea of the heat loss for each property.

• The houses with a complete and even covering of frost across the slates are well insulated warm and economical to heat.
• The houses that have a reasonable covering, but with some frost melting around the ridge are likely to be warm but less well insulated and cost a more to heat.
• The that have little or no frost will have a high heat loss and are spending a lot on bills, trying to heat a poorly insulated house.

See if you can find 3 in a row of the same type to score Bingo !

It can be a challenge to insulate a traditional home and many people, including builders make mistakes. Our expectations for a warm comfortable home have increased a lot over the years and this creates an internal environment that will expose any inadequacy in the choice of materials or method of construction used to improve the building fabric.

Here are some simple tips;

• Don’t apply external insulation to a traditional property. It can lead to problems such as "cold-bridges", these cause cold or damp spots internally that may become mouldy.  
• When you are planning to install heating or insulation, don’t look at a wall, roof or room in isolation, you need to have a whole house strategy.
• Remember, ventilation is critical. You need fresh air to stay dry and importantly healthy. Draughts are uncomfortable, so control is essential but don't seal yourself up in a plastic box !

More information on this subject is available in our members area. Which can be accessed here...

MAAC studio are accredited conservation architects and principal designers working with traditional buildings throughout the North of Scotland.

If you need independent advice give us a call ?