There’s a lot of stuff out there that tries to be helpful. This page contains links to external resources that are known by members of the Collective to be of sufficiently high-quality to be worth passing on. It is NOT exhaustive – please drop us a line if you know of other material that you think we should add to the list.
Videos:
- Loco Home (Glasgow) on Vimeo, including:
- ‘Insulating Traditional Lath & Plaster Walls‘ (Chris Morgan, John Gilbert Architects, 06/23)
- ‘Tenement Flat Case Study – superior comfort and low bills‘ (Lisa Pasquale, personal retrofit journey from choices to implementation, by a building physicist, 01/22)
- ‘Improve Boiler Efficiency (and get Heat Pump Ready)‘ (Chris Carus, Loco Home, with Heat Geek. Techniques for optimizing boiler efficiency 12/21)
- The Edinburgh Building Retrofit and Improvement Collective on YouTube includes:
- ‘Insulation vs Ventilation: How buildings ‘work’ in relation to retrofit‘ (Jon Stinson PhD, Building Research Solutions. Accessible technical overview of fundamentals of building physics. Also links to slide deck files etc, 06/23)
- ‘An Introduction to Moisture in Buildings for Existing Householders‘ (UK Council for Moisture in Buildings. Helpful animated overview of moisture and damp issues and the idea of moisture balance. 11/17)
- Illustrated ‘Domestic Draughtproofing Advice Talk‘ (Tony Cowling from Reading DraughtBusters. What to use, where. 06/22)
- ‘£5 DIY Double-Glazed Secondary-Glazing Insert‘ (Daniel Connell, OpenSourceLowTech.org. Press-fit unit, ideal for private rental tenants. Developed by – and can be made with assistance from – local volunteer citizen support group ‘Warm Edinburgh‘, 01/23)
- ‘Magnetic Strip Secondary Glazing, with Acrylic Sheet‘ (Eco Lewes, 02/15. Simple, cost-effective DIY approach. Kits of parts are available from local plastics wholesalers. Written details document)
Guides / Books / Websites
- ‘Sustainable Renovation Guide‘ (Pebble Trust / SEDA-Scottish Ecological Design Association / Historic Environment Scotland. Very well-regarded, accessible and detailed information / drawings of exactly how parts of a building can be upgraded along with a commentary on practical issues to look out for. Free to download. 2nd ed 09/23).
- ‘Guide to Energy Retrofit of Traditional Buildings‘ (Historic Environment Scotland. Primarily for designers and contractors. Describes retrofit measures to improve the energy efficiency of traditional buildings, whilst maintaining as much of their historic fabric as possible and creating healthy indoor environments. Free to download. 11/21)
- Refurbishment Case Studies (Historic Environment Scotland. Many of the techniques described in the Guide above have been tested in real case-studies and documented. All free to download.)
- ‘LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide‘ (LETI: Low Energy Transition Initiative. Primarily for professionals, including architects, but also for ‘clients looking for guidance about best practice retrofit’. Well-regarded, built on expert input. 10/21)
- ‘Responsible Retrofit Wheel‘ (STBA – Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance tool for researching the interactions between different options of retrofit. The Wheel is both an aid to decision making, primarily for professionals, and a way of learning about traditional building retrofit. Latest update 2020)
- Guides on How to Save Energy in an Older Home (Historic England website area, with some related documents, including (for example) four on different areas to consider for draught-proofing, from DIY upwards. 2016)
- Colonies Windows Guidelines (to be reviewed before linking here)