Room by Room Retrofit

Q&A with David in North Leeds

A residential street with parked cars along the curb, brick houses with small front yards, a private driveway, and a sidewalk under a partly cloudy sky.

What motivated you to make your home more energy efficient?

Comfort: our house was cold without the heating on.

Health: one of our daughters has mild asthma, and so reducing moisture and thus mould on external walls will benefit her, and the rest of us.

Economies: once we are done, all of the top floor of our house will have insulated external walls which will reduce bills, and make the house more attractive to buyers.

Climate change: a sense of doing our bit, and preparing the house for the installation of a new heating system when the time comes … as it must.

A man in a blue cycling jacket and a woman in a light gray sweater standing together indoors in front of a wooden cabinet, with a window showing a garden with clothes hanging outside.

Why did you decide to do a room-by-room retrofit? 

We live in a three-bedroom Edwardian terrace with two teenage kids and so organising the retrofit room-by-room minimised costs and disruption. We started with the bathroom – the major job – and then with one of bedrooms used by our daughters. We have booked in the retrofit of another bedroom for late autumn.

Small bathroom with a white sink, a mirror, a window, and a shower with a glass door and a rainfall showerhead.

What do you like most about the upgraded rooms? 

The bathroom was designed to reduce the build-up of moisture and thus mould.  Wool insulation combined with the specialist plaster board and lime paint allows the external wall to absorb moisture and there is also a new efficient vent.

The retrofitted bedroom includes a new window and an insulated external wall and the finish is excellent. We painted direct onto the skimmed plaster board and it looks great.

A computer on a wooden desk next to an open window with a view of blue sky and clouds.

How did you convert the ambition to make your home more efficient into action?  

We asked Wrapt to conduct a survey, and then we came up with a plan, working out what was cost-effective, setting priorities, time-lines and working out the logistics. We then set up one job and then the next, and then the next.

Two men wearing red shirts are having a conversation by a window, one smiling and gesturing with his hands, the other standing with arms crossed. The man on the left has short, light-colored hair and is smiling, while the man on the right has a beard and is looking at the other person.

What has your experience been working with Wrapt? 

Knowledgeable: lots of options (for example about the thickness of insulating materials and the design of the bathroom) were discussed. Efficient: they co-ordinated with plumbers and tilers to get the bathroom completed quickly. Reliable: no slippage on deadlines. Adaptable: last-minute adjustments to designs and snags created by a building that is pretty old were handled skilfully.Excellent attention to detail: the job’s a great one.