The seriously hot thread - advice required

[thrax]

Ok, Looks like the God of Heat has turned on the seriously hot switch and this weekend we can look forward to temperatures in the hight 30sC. Now we've done a lot to keep the house cool such as keeping the persianas closed, doors closed etc (but we refuse to install air con). Last night we sat on the terrace wondering whether or not another glass of vino was required and getting a positive response I walked towards the front door and was greeted with a blast of heat coming from inside the house. So, at night we have the persianas open, windows open and have a lovely breeze of cool air but whatever we try the house turns into an oven during the day and retains the heat all night.

Last night it was 23C outside and 31C inside. Today it is 28C outside (a cool day) and 21 inside. What we are looking for is a way of establishing cooler nights inside. Now, of course, there will be those witty ones amongst you who will suggest sleeping outside or in the pool (hazzardous) but because we are notoriously old fashioned we yearn for sleepy nights in bed in a bedroom (I have considered removing the roof but have been vetoed from doing this).

Suggestions will be most welcome. Witty, sarcastic or caustic suggestions should be sent, in the first instance, in triplicate to:

Mens Loos,
Third wash basin on the right,
Just behind the waste pipe,
Victoria Station,
London,
England.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by thrax

Ok, Looks like the God of Heat has turned on the seriously hot switch and this weekend we can look forward to temperatures in the hight 30sC. Now we've done a lot to keep the house cool such as keeping the persianas closed, doors closed etc (but we refuse to install air con). Last night we sat on the terrace wondering whether or not another glass of vino was required and getting a positive response I walked towards the front door and was greeted with a blast of heat coming from inside the house. So, at night we have the persianas open, windows open and have a lovely breeze of cool air but whatever we try the house turns into an oven during the day and retains the heat all night.

Last night it was 23C outside and 31C inside. Today it is 28C outside (a cool day) and 21 inside. What we are looking for is a way of establishing cooler nights inside. Now, of course, there will be those witty ones amongst you who will suggest sleeping outside or in the pool (hazzardous) but because we are notoriously old fashioned we yearn for sleepy nights in bed in a bedroom (I have considered removing the roof but have been vetoed from doing this).

Suggestions will be most welcome. Witty, sarcastic or caustic suggestions should be sent, in the first instance, in triplicate to:

Mens Loos,
Third wash basin on the right,
Just behind the waste pipe,
Victoria Station,
London,
England.

do you have toldos?

if you keep them pulled out to keep the rooms in shade I find they work better than the persianas - I find they can make a room hot, too

we have aircon but I hate it - I much prefer an oscillating fan at the foot of the bed - have been known to tke one out on the terrace at times!!


less alcohol would probably help..................

[thrax]

Less alcohol???? How could you suggest such a thing? We don't have toldos but we do have fans, it's just we want to try and stop the temperature rising inside as much as possible. In place of toldos we have a huge covered terrace so I suspect toldos wouldn't make much difference unfortunately.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by thrax

Less alcohol???? How could you suggest such a thing? We don't have toldos but we do have fans, it's just we want to try and stop the temperature rising inside as much as possible. In place of toldos we have a huge covered terrace so I suspect toldos wouldn't make much difference unfortunately.

toldos & all the windows wide open to take advantage of whatever breeze there might be, going through the house - if the covered terrace keeps the rooms in shade that should do the trick anyway

we only pull the persianas down when we leave the house

[Alcalaina]

Two years ago we bought a portable (relatively) aircon unit with a hose going out the window, which we stick on for half an hour before going to bed. It brings the temperature down from 30 to 24 so we can sleep. Worth its weight in gold.

[jojo]

um........ well here in the UK we have floods! But the good news is that they're lifting the hose pipe ban Hosepipe bans to be lifted by Thames Water, Anglian Water and Southern Water after 'monsoon June' heavy rain and floods | Metro.co.uk



Jo xxx

[Pesky Wesky]

As you don't want to sleep outside and you aren't allowed to take the roof off I suggest moving the house round to make sure the beroom faces north...

PS Can't send this to the Mens Loos because you forgot to include the post code - Silly thrax.

[Solwriter]

Probably too late for this year, but there are some structural things you can check on.
Part of our house still has the old (Tin or Asbestos) roof and the bedroom beneath it gets very hot in summer and is too cold in winter.
Neighbours told us that getting the roof tiled would help considerably. Maybe next year....

Outside walls - our original Brit builder used Spanish bricks (with holes in), but then rendered one of our outside walls with a heavy cement mixture, rather than the white rendering used on most Spanish houses because it reflects some of the heat.
That particular wall gets so hot in summer you can hardly touch it. Air con in that room is a must, otherwise it would be completely uninhabitable.

Air con - we cannot do without it. Opening the windows for a flow of air brings in more heat. Most people in our village keep all windows tightly shut, apart from first thing in the morning, when you may be lucky enough to get a coolish breeze.

But one thing we do use in our smaller bedroom (not fitted with aircon) is a portable aircon unit purchased a few years ago in Carrefour. We fill it with water and it then gives out cool air. It uses around 80 watts of power, which works out much cheaper than our fixed aircon units which can use around 2.5 kwatts.

[thrax]

Originally Posted by Pesky Wesky

As you don't want to sleep outside and you aren't allowed to take the roof off I suggest moving the house round to make sure the beroom faces north...

PS Can't send this to the Mens Loos because you forgot to include the post code - Silly thrax.

You're right. Silly me. It's VIC TORY. You might have met his cousin....

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by Solwriter

Probably too late for this year, but there are some structural things you can check on.
Part of our house still has the old (Tin or Asbestos) roof and the bedroom beneath it gets very hot in summer and is too cold in winter.
Neighbours told us that getting the roof tiled would help considerably. Maybe next year....

Outside walls - our original Brit builder used Spanish bricks (with holes in), but then rendered one of our outside walls with a heavy cement mixture, rather than the white rendering used on most Spanish houses because it reflects some of the heat.
That particular wall gets so hot in summer you can hardly touch it. Air con in that room is a must, otherwise it would be completely uninhabitable.

Air con - we cannot do without it. Opening the windows for a flow of air brings in more heat. Most people in our village keep all windows tightly shut, apart from first thing in the morning, when you may be lucky enough to get a coolish breeze.

But one thing we do use in our smaller bedroom (not fitted with aircon) is a portable aircon unit purchased a few years ago in Carrefour. We fill it with water and it then gives out cool air. It uses around 80 watts of power, which works out much cheaper than our fixed aircon units which can use around 2.5 kwatts.

Sooo, seriously if you have a big problem then you'll need a "big" solution such as Sol gives.
We had the opposite problem with our living room being very cold. It faces north so as we can't do anything about that it was the insulation that was changed. The outside wall was restuffed with an ecological paper filling. (Neither of us are keen on introducing more plastic into our lives). There were sliding French patio doors (I think that's what they're called) and we were told that they were poor quality and sliding is not the way to do it nowadays, so they were replaced. You get a better close on "normal" windows/ doors. The thickness of the double glazing was raised also. Doing that, along with new radiators and a different distribution of heat has tranformed the room into a liveable space, so I would recommend looking at insulation of walls, windows and doors. If you don't want aircon try ceiling fans and perhaps a fan tower that turns.