About the Book
This
book is written with the lay reader in mind. S/he is fearful, how will their
kids and their kids make out on a planet that is burning?
Whilst
others must do other things there is one thing an owner-occupier can do:
properly insulate their house. But since next door must be good too, first engage their neighbours so that clubs
of them can do what is necessary house-by-house along the street.
So, with
a view to reducing global warming, “Insulate!!” tells how owner-occupiers in a
street may club together to properly insulate their houses, not just the lofts.
It starts with words of comfort. It then advises on appointment of
·
professionals
eg architects, surveyors, engineers, physicists:
·
sourcing
finance and
·
appointing
insurers especially some to monitor workmanship.
Professionals
then help the club choose a retrofit builder.
Retrofit
will normally be done with people staying in their homes. Insulation suggested
for upper walls is external, in ground storeys it may best be internal, rooms being
surrendered for a working day for its installation.
Following consultation, construction
methods and specifications will be determined by the professionals.
Costs
will be met by mortgages paid off over some years, amounts being similar to previous
electricity and gas bills.
First
there will be some ‘trailblazing’ years following which mass retrofit in
England and Wales will be happening widely and completed by 2040. So retrofit will become an
industry bigger than the house construction industry now is.
Sometimes
houses will have defects that need repair first. So, surveys are carried out in
advance using methods old and new including drone theodolites. Then listings of bulging walls etc can be made and engineers can advise remedial measures.
The
social aspects of mass retrofit are considered including the appearance of
streets, the author shedding tears that English suburban streets will never
look the same again. However the book often has a light touch. Some may find
the “Cast List’ in an Appendix just too light-hearted!
The
sudden death of an owner or calamities that could not be foreseen means a house
drops out of the current programme with insurers paying for this work to be
done later. If there are unanticipated findings in a house, insurers pay for
the occupiers to move elsewhere for a month or three, the kids being taxied to school at insurer's
expense.
Five
chapters take the novice owner-occupiers through the stages, starting with
WhatsApp through to final tidy-up.
Following
mass retrofit an ‘Energy Passport’ is issued for each house. Houses that have
already stood for decades or even from Victorian times will then be ready for
the 22nd century.
Table of Contents:
Preface and introduction
Chapter
One
-
things necessary to know before you and your neighbours decide to set up a
retrofit club.
· Scenes: Anxieties, a WhatsApp group, a
general meeting of the street, progress, the enquiry consultant or broker,
money, initial arrangements;
· CASE STUDY The first mass retrofit, Green
Street.
Chapter
Two
–
possibilities for the retrofit club set-up
· Scenes: structural arrangement, the
retrofit club, funding mass retrofit, insurers, retrofit builders, life plan
approach, surveying and assessments, houses for the 22nd century, government
role, approvals, search and remediate, condensation, full assurance, insurance
risks, nerves of steel, other professionals, building wise – need for
remediation;
· CASE STUDY: The second mass retrofit,
Thunberg St.
Chapter
Three
– including a picture of the sorts of things
your experts need to do to set up contracts to carry out mass retrofit.
· Scenes: surveys, features, not to cover
over defects, current insulation levels, external wall cladding, a new type of
gutter, fixing of cladding, appearance, features of an external wall, ground
storeys, other aspects of external walls, internal wall lining, roofs and their
insulation, how a loose timbered roof was built, loose timber roofs in use,
altering a roof, central valley roofs, trussed rafter roofs, solar panels,
chimneys, incorrect removal of chimney breasts, loft insulation, a water tank,
loft storage, roof safeguards, retrofitting of ground floors;
· CASE STUDY: The 200th mass retrofit, Carson
Street.
Chapter
Four
- The
Event - about what will be happening during the key time that retrofit work is
actually underway in your street.
· Scenes: the event, advance preparations,
initial arrival of the builder, full arrival of the builder, climate emergency,
external wall retrofit methods, umbrella for your building, internal wall
cladding, a week of retrofit, draughts and windows, gutters, inside the house,
non-male operatives, the garden, the big departure;
· CASE STUDY: The Case Of 20 Dioxide Drive.
Chapter
Five
-about
finishing off and follow up and how to encourage others.
· Scenes: Scenes: left over houses, tidy up,
follow-up, snagging, odds and ends, cavities filled, energy use monitored,
passport to the future, how long retrofit will last; time for a party; caution
and endeavour.·
CASE
STUDY: The future of Planet Earth
