About our articles in the “Blog” tab

Tibor Rigo Blog 11/03/201622/04/2016Building refurbishment, Flat Refurbishment, Injection, mould removal, on-site diagnostic 0 Comment

First of all I would like to thank you for all the positive comments, feedbacks on our articles.

Let me reply to that most common question that we receive.

“Who writes our articles and how is it that the discussed topic (though being quite professional) is so easy to read?”

Our “blog” was / is / will be intended to be a “News” tab that communicates useful information to our customers.
The articles are not written by a freelance copywriter.
They are written by the diagnostic engineer of our company (who also happens to be the director of the company) using his own experiences, expertise.
We aim to use “layman terms” where possible, the articles are intended to give customers, non-professionals relevant information about economical building solutions.
Prior to publishing the articles are revised by a non-professional (just to make sure every bit of information “reaches” our readers the right way).
The main idea is to help the decision making process of our customers; we aim to provide enough information so the topic is readable, understandable yet not too “dry”
Also we noticed that by having these information our customers have a better understanding of the refurbishment / extension project ahead of them.

These articles will provide a picture about us as well, about our ideas and expertise.
Often we will aim to destroy some of the “ancient”, false ideas of building (e.g. mould treatment) – we believe in the success of our method.

We would still like to hear from you, so do keep sharing your thoughts, remarks, critiques even.

And ask for our on-site diagnostics that is still free in March.

(Quote the following code in your enquiry and we grant you a 10% discount of the price of your next project! NART1)

Let’s talk EPC 4.

Tibor Rigo Blog 01/03/201617/03/2016Building Extensions, Building refurbishment, Flat Refurbishment, House extension, Loft Conversions, Loft insulation, mould removal, sprayed foam insulation 1 Comment

How to improve your home’s EPC rating

In the previous part we talked about what important pieces of information we can learn from a property’s EPC certificate. If you have read all 3 previous parts of this article series, by now you are aware that a building’s EPC rating does not necessarily depend on the age of the building or when it was last refurbished.

How can you turn your house into a healthy, economical, energy efficient home, or how can you make nearly double the profit when selling your property?

As we said in the previous part, a property’s market value can be increased by approx. 15-20% by refurbishing it (regardless of its EPC improvement). Taken into account the invested amount (the cost of the refurbishment) one will realise a profit of 6-8%; in some cases this may be as high as 10%.

Below you can see some of the added benefits of economical refurbishment:

Healthy building, (mould-free environment – can mean 10 extra years)
Economical operation of the building, you can save up to 50% on utility bills
Better EPC rating means another 8-15% increase in the market value – this can almost be converted into profit completely (total profit after economical refurbishment: 16-18%)
Reduced carbon footprint (less energy required) – environmentally friendly building
Increased comfort level
The property will be on higher demand, will sell quicker, easier
A well-planned scheduled refurbishment means saving time and money – a highly profitable investment that creates additional value

The increase in the EPC rating can be predicted when the refurbishment process is planned thoroughly, consciously.

The main steps are:

On-site inspection, diagnostics
Energetic calculations, project preparation, implementation schedule
Strict supervision in implementation, daily documented progress
Quality checked materials and technologies
Attention to deadlines
Accountability upon and after completion – even for the structure
Ordering new EPC certificate from independent firm
Repeated survey (if required), even for control purposes

As always, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or just feel like sharing your thoughts.

(Quote the following code in your enquiry and we grant you a 10% discount of the price of your next project! NLTE4)

Let’s talk EPC 3.

Tibor Rigo Blog 19/02/201617/03/2016Building Extensions, Building refurbishment, Flat Refurbishment, Flooring, kill the mould, Loft Conversions, Surface Heating System 4 Comments

EPC rating in relation to comfort level

First of all, let me thank you for showing your interest in this rather dry but absolutely vital topic. EPC rating cannot be ignored during today’s energy prices and pollution.

Is your house due for a renovation? Would you like to make it cosier?
Would you like to sell your house quicker with bigger profit?
Or you have just purchased one, and you would like to redecorate it prior to moving in?

If you are in any of the above three groups, you should definitely keep reading.

Everybody knows that renovating a house will increase its value (if done properly). Depending on its location and the quality of the material used during the refurbishment project, a property’s market value can go up by an average 15-20%. We can safely say that two adjacent, similar-sized houses (one of which has just been refurbished) will sell with a minimum difference of 15% in price. If the renovation included a heating system upgrade as well, your EPC rating may go up by a few points, but the house is likely to remain at the same EPC level. It is because this change has not been done purposefully to improve the EPC rating, it just so happened to improve it. The amount invested in the refurbishment will not bring the desired improvement in EPC rating. For example EPC 68, the score mentioned in our previous article, can be increased by 5-6 points only by having an upgraded heating system. With that, we can achieve Level C rating in EPC, but other main features of the building have not been changed, so the building is still uneconomical. The only difference is, now it is uneconomical with a modern heating system installed.

A modern, economical heating system should be the solution to all these problems, wouldn’t you say? After turning on the heating, the house should get warm quicker, and the fact that the unheated areas of the house (lounge, hall, kitchen, etc.) get cold during the night should not bother us at all. Isn’t that right?

What one probably does not realise while staying inside the house: a significant part of the heating energy escapes through the poorly insulated walls, floors (remember, we are talking about a house with level C or D EPC rating) – this is very uneconomical.
No matter how efficient your heating system is, because of the high humidity and the damp cold walls, mould will appear in the corners. Your home is a little more modern now, but it is still an unhealthy environment.
Most of our customers wanted us to look into the following issues: draught (around the windows even “through” the walls, but most commonly through the floors) they can feel the chilly effects of the cold wind inside their houses. This happens because of the ventilated flooring. This system is still used today, although it is a faulty concept.

A modern heating system on its own is not able to tackle the above mentioned issues. Now you have a nicely refurbished home, with a fairly modern heating system that still does not provide the comfort level you are after.

Unfortunately these factors that ruin the comfort level are present in the new properties as well. It is very hard to face the fact, for new property owners that even though they have just purchased a new home, they will still need to invest more money into it in order to turn it into a cosy home.

Before you purchase a new house or flat make sure to check its EPC diagram. It will tell you everything you need to know about the building (energy efficiency-wise). If the rating is below 75, you can be almost certain that you shall live with mould. And no, painting will not solve the problem. The problem originates from the structure of the house. Even if your EPC score is between 75-85 you are likely to have mould in your house. Poor ventilation, cold surfaces and the ever present humidity, together can result in mould occurrence.

It can be very upsetting when in order to resolve all of these issues, one needs to spend an extra 8-10% of the price of a recently purchased property.

Ask for our expert advice, calculate and you will see, it will be worth investing money in order to save money. When it came to valuable properties, it used to be location, location, location. Now, it is more like EPC, EPC, EPC.

It is still not the end, in our next article we will talk about why it is important to carry out diagnostics prior to purchasing a property and how to solve all these issues related to poor EPC rating.

To be continued…

(Quote the following code in your enquiry and we grant you a 10% discount of the price of your next project! NLTE3)

Services

EcoPropi Ltd. Service 02/12/201514/04/2016Bath, Bricklayer Jobs, Building Extensions, Concrete Blocks, Decorations, Drive, Electrical and Drinage Service, Extensions, Facade Ren, Flat Refurbishment, Flooring, Garage, Heat Pump, Infra Heating, Loft Conversions, Loft insulation, New Roofing and Repairs, Painting, Paving, Pergolas, Plasterboard, Plastering, Plumbing, Stone works, Tilling 2 Comments

How EcoPropi can help you

From designing a house to the last finishing touches, EcoPropi Ltd. will have the solution for all your needs. We offer some of the newest construction technologies, engineering solutions that are yet to become widely known or common.

Let it be a minor modification or a major refurbishment project, we will plan and prepare it, supply the materials, and complete the work with the utmost care, making sure that you will be happy with the result. In order to make the refurbishment work last and make the house economical, we will have to be prepared to deal with unexpected issues as well right from the start of the refurbishment (additional insulation, waterproofing, engineering and electrical works).

3D Design

Family semi-detached house - services 3D design

We will plan the stairs, footways, terraces, pergolas, flower stand, pavement, etc. We also put the garden furniture on the realistic 3D plans and consult with you regarding the colours. We will plan the connection between the exterior and interior, the layout of the new bathroom, tiling, etc.

Extensions and refurbishments – Refurbishment and bathroom design – Internal and external renovation

Internal renovation

We always aim to offer the most comprehensive package that meets your requirements. Not only will we do the necessary demolition, plastering / rendering jobs, but we will accomplish every bespoke design ideas you might have. Let it be bespoke suspended ceilings, custom lighting, glass-brick partition / wall, built-in fire-place, or a one-of-a kind bathroom, we will achieve to please you.

Tiling – Decorations – Painting – Plasterboard – Bathroom Fitting – Kitchen Fitting – Flat Refurbishment – Loft Conversions – Building Extensions – Plastering – Flooring – Plumbing

External renovation

house extension board insulation services

External renovation services are generally start with the renovation of forefront/facada. Once the scaffolding is removed we change the water pipes , build the patio or pergola as per the customer’s requirement. We put down the kerbstones/border stones and the paving. We build the fences and fit the outdoor lights with motion sensors. If you would like to know more about our building refurbishment services click here.

Extensions – Paving – Driveways – Bricklayer Jobs – Stone works – Concrete Blocks – Garage – New Roofing and Repairs – Electrical and Drainage Service – Pergolas – Facade Ren

Special works

prepared screed for floor heating - stage 1.

floor heating system preparation - stage 3.

In order to build high-standard buildings and to keep up with the ever-developing technologies used in our field, we only trade with the best suppliers, use the latest machinery. See them for yourself on our “Technologies” site. For further, more detailed information call us and we will be happy to arrange a meeting with you at your earliest convenience.

(Quote the following code in your enquiry and we grant you a 10% discount of the price of your next project! NSERV)

Infra Heating – Heat Pump – Injection – Ventilation System – Anti Mould Painting – Spray Foam Insulation – Surface Heating System