Un insulated sun room in old house.

Has anyone got an old sun-room in their house they have managed to insulate successfully? We have, it is match stick lined and I don't want to remove it. The floor is too low to ground to insulate under it. I have blinds and curtains over all the windows. Not sure what to do, without ripping off the walls and gibbing and plastering etc. which would completely ruin the character of the room.

I think you have answered your own question. If you dont want to change anything, things will remain the same.
Carpet or mats on the floor will help your blinds and curtains to some degree.
Maybe just accept the cost of the extra heat you will have to put into the room to make it comfortable. A fan heater can warm a small room quickly. My late Mother had one with a remote control which worked well.

Isolate it from the rest of the house and use it only in suitable. weather?

Use the 3M window insulation kit, available at a hardware store to create heat retention for the windows. You might need to prep the frame paint though, for the tape to seal well. Check all nooks and crannies around window frames for draughts. Seal these up.

This is a cheap and easy way to stop cold air infiltration and heat loss through the glass.

Do you have weatherboards as the outside cladding? Friends insulated their sunroom prior to painting the house by removing every 5th or 6th weather board and sliding batts down each cavity with some building paper. Being an older home they studs were 100mm and batts 90mm thick so were able to maintain an air gap between the paper and weatherboards. They were careful removing the boards and were able to reuse most of them again. Once prepared and painted you couldnt tell.

How about getting the existing joinery retro-fitted with double glazing? What is the roof - can it be lifted and insulation put in, then replaced?

The windows are not the issue, the walls are. The roof is also matchstick lined. so same issue - no access.

Yes this is a good idea (retro fitting double glazing) and will make a difference. While waiting you can put on the film double glazing. I put this on a south facing stained glass window and it has made such a difference. All you need is the kit and a hair dryer. The match linings I have come across sometimes have a more 'intense' structure behind than for gib board, ie more dwangs etc so match lining should provide good insulation by itself. .

Also curtains, to be effective, need to come well below the sills, floor length is better. They need to start above the windows themselves ie on the wall above to provide the best seal. Curtains need to be lined ie two layers, even if one is a thermal drape type. If you are handy with a machine you can make detachable linings to go on the backs of the curtains. I use old curtains in good condition and put a layer of bumpf on and then put on the curtain. You can take these off in summer. They do not need to be as gathered as the main curtains.

If you have not got pelmets then these are good as well. You can find period type ones at demo places or make them from old skirtings.

If the windows are opening then there are products that can be used to make a good seal - for casement windows this is a white plastic & foam type product that compresses. This is available from the Sustainability Trust. On double hung make sure you wriggle the windows until they are properly shut then use the turn around catch to secure. These, usually, make a good seal but I have seen bad seals where people have not wriggled the windows to make sure the catch goes right around. I have also used heavy single draught sausages with the double hung windows along the meeting place. There are fittings often used in bathrooms that can be used as sealers across the join of the two parts of the double hung windows.

If the floor is to be carpeted then talk to a builder about laying something over the existing boards, then have the best quality underlay then the carpet.

Make sure to open the curtains each day as usually these rooms are sun traps winter and summer. Close curtains before it gets dark to trap the solar heated air.

You can put a draught sausage on the floor for the door opening. Double sided ones are good.

If you have no door but an opening then make a heavy curtain, the track should start above the door wall opening and the length should
'puddle' on the floor. The tracks should go a distance on either side of the, my south facing back door has a curtain & track that goes 25cm each side.

Disagree with this. Windows are where the greatest heat loss occurs and where you can achieve greatest heating gain rewards by making these more efficient. A sun room by its very name has lots of windows and was usually on the sunniest side of the house (winter and summer). Dealing with the windows, and in my parents house their sun-room had at least 10-12 casement style windows, will make such a difference. The film then the secondary glazing as I could afford it would be my plan.

Here is the link to the best windows seal for casement style windows. https://shop.sustai-
ntrust.org.nz/collections/drau-
ght-ventilation/products/v-pro-
file-weather-strip

Any competent builder will be able to remove the match lining on the ceiling, install batts or similar and then replace. Ask around there will be builders working in older houses and therefore well aware of the desire to keep these wonderful rooms. Similarly there will be builders who can cut out the floors, install a cradle for under floor insulation, put the insulation in and replace the floor boards. Actually enthusiastic and careful amateurs can do this too!

If you are carpeting, as above they may also be able to put a floor over the top.

Shanreagh, I say the windows are not the issue because they already have seals around the frames to block draughts, and very good Thermal Roman blinds PLUS bumf lined curtains on a double track. I also have a draught exclusion roll attached to the door. onto the porch.
Also. have you tried to get a builder to call you back? We have been contacting builders as we need a double garage built with a studio above. No one calls back. A friend of mine who's husband is a QS wasnt even able to help me recently with any leads. such is the shortage of builders in Wellington/Hutt region.

Yep, starting to think this may be the solution, but DH not keen. thinks it sinks, bad for the wiring etc etc.