Where Warrington Homes Lose Heat — and the Right Order to Fix It

Most people approach home energy efficiency backwards. They start with the thing that’s easiest to buy — a new boiler, a smart thermostat, thicker curtains — and only later get round to the building itself. It’s an expensive way round, because none of it works properly until the house holds heat.

Here’s the order we’d suggest for a typical Warrington home, and why.

Where the heat actually goes

In an uninsulated or under-insulated house, roughly 45% of heat is lost through the roof and up to 25% through the walls. The rest goes through windows, doors, the floor and uncontrolled draughts. That distribution tells you almost everything about where to spend first.

Heat rises, so the roof is the biggest single leak in nearly every property. It’s also the cheapest and least disruptive part of the building to improve — which is a rare and welcome combination.

Step one: the loft

Always start here. Loft insulation to the recommended depth of around 270mm, cross-laid so the joists aren’t acting as thermal bridges, with the eaves kept clear and the hatch insulated. It’s typically a one-day job and it will do more for your heating bill per pound spent than anything else on this list.

If your loft has been converted, the equivalent step is insulating the sloping ceilings and dormer cheeks — usually with multi foil, because the depth isn’t there for anything thicker.

Step two: the walls

Next biggest loss, next in the queue. If the property has an unfilled cavity — which covers most Warrington housing built from the 1920s onwards — cavity wall insulation is done from outside in about a day.

If the walls are solid, or if an exposed elevation is getting saturated by driving rain, a breathable ProPerla wall coating keeps the masonry dry, which improves its thermal performance as well as stopping damp.

Step three: draughts and gaps

Cheap, quick, and consistently underrated. Loft hatches, letterboxes, unused chimneys, gaps around pipework and skirtings, and old suspended timber floors all bleed warm air. None of it is glamorous and all of it pays back quickly.

One caution: draught-proofing is not the same as sealing a house up. Deliberate ventilation — trickle vents, extractor fans, airbricks — needs to stay working, or you trade a cold house for a damp one.

Step four: heating and controls

Now, and only now, is the time to look at the boiler, the radiators, the controls or a heat pump. A heating system sized for a leaky house is oversized for an insulated one — so doing the fabric first can mean a smaller, cheaper, better-matched system. Do it the other way round and you’ve paid for capacity you no longer need.

The exception to the order

One thing jumps the queue: if there is spray foam on the underside of your roof, deal with that before anything else. It affects surveys, mortgage applications and the condition of your roof timbers, and you can’t sensibly insulate a loft around it. See our page on spray foam removal.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do it all at once? Yes, and there are efficiencies in combining loft and cavity work in one visit. But if budget is staged, the order above is the one that gets you the most comfort for the least money at each step.

Which single measure makes the biggest difference to how the house feels? For most people it’s the loft — the difference in how long a house holds its warmth after the heating goes off is the thing they notice first.

Do you cover my area? We’re based in Warrington and work across Widnes, Runcorn, St Helens, Newton-le-Willows, Golborne, Leigh, Culcheth, Lymm, Frodsham, Northwich and Greater Manchester.

Free home insulation survey in Warrington

Not sure where your house is losing heat? We’ll come and look, tell you honestly what’s worth doing and in what order, and quote for none of it if that’s the right answer. Over 30 years’ experience, all work and materials guaranteed.

Call 073 5919 5156 or get a quotation today.