Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 For thse who have holiday homes and leave their properties empty during the winter.What do most people do? Heat the house or not heat the house?We don't. and it can get very cold at times causing mould and damp.We only have convector heaters in part of the house which we do not use. there is also a wood burning stove which we use at the begining and end of year. Are there any easy and relatively cheap ways of protecting the contents or heating the place?What would be the cost of installing a oil tank which we would be able to locate in the barn at the rear of the property. The central heating system would be installed by me.Lots of ideas and advice would be most welcome.Gerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I can't remember this being discussed for ages.It's been a long time since I had a holiday home but I'll try and recall. There was no way we could have afforded to leave the heating on back then, as it was all electric. Now I understand that it costs hundreds of Euros to leave oil fired heating on as low as 'ticking over' for two or three months. A friend did this and it cost him 800E. This time he's left it cold.We used to leave one window upstairs very slightly open (with the shutters shut). Bowls with salt in them on the floor in each room. Everything that needed to be was washed and thoroughly dried, and stored away in vacuum packs (cushions, pillows, bedding etc etc) and nothing damp was left behind in the house e.g cleaning cloths, damp bath mats etc etc. You probably do all this already.I used to hate those so called holidays.[6][:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hi Tresco... this maybe a stupid question but why do you keep salt in each room? Is it for condensation? [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 We do most of them things. I leave both windows open in the large bedroom upstairs, leave doors open to all rooms bar one which seems to look after itself. Leave downstairs toilet window open, drain the water , turn off the electric, put salt in the toilet to stop it from freezing. This year we left some oil filled rads on, on timers but when we went back at Christmas they did liitle or nothing to help. So i suppose it's more vacuum bags and dehumidifier trays.[:(]Or move out there [:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Your final solution is good. or sell. It can be very damp in the Deux Sevres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 [quote user="Rose"]Hi Tresco... this maybe a stupid question but why do you keep salt in each room? Is it for condensation? [:)][/quote]It sucks up moisture...or something.[:$] [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 We have oil central heating but there is no way we would leave it on. We have a few vents in the house that we leave open, we have found this really helps keep the house from becoming damp.We have had anti-freeze put in our heating pipes to keep them from freezing and drain the rest of the plumbing as well as turn the water and electrics off. The house does get very cold, but it gives us peace of mind that we have limited any chance of accidents happening, not to mention that it would be very expensive to leave the heating on. Personally, I think Tresco's friend had a bargain at 800 E with the price of oil nowadays. [:)]Edit: Gosh you guys are quick! [:D] Now I am going to worry because we didn't think of the toilets. Only wish I had heard about putting salt in them before. [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 [quote user="woolybanana"]Your final solution is good. or sell. It can be very damp in the Deux Sevres[/quote]Your not Kidding. Out there Christmas and it was damp and foggy all week. Well..... one day was nice and sunny.[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 Why is it so expensive to leave the heating on? is it the price of oil? badly insulated homes? or inefficient central heating systems? colder than England.? Or are we just too tight to leave it on whilst not living there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 [quote user="Mr Tivoli Blue"]Why is it so expensive to leave the heating on? is it the price of oil? badly insulated homes? or inefficient central heating systems? colder than England.? Or are we just too tight to leave it on whilst not living there?[/quote]For us, all of the above.[:)] Seriously, oil is very expensive now and at the moment our house is not very well insulated and we went through about 2,000 E in just the past few months. I guess if you have a well insulated house or not bothered by the cost, it could be worth it to you. However, putting that aside, we would still worry about leaving the heating and electrics on for months on end. As an example, now because of your comment, I will worry about the toilets freezing. [6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Yes to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 [quote user="WJT"][quote user="Mr Tivoli Blue"]Why is it so expensive to leave the heating on? is it the price of oil? badly insulated homes? or inefficient central heating systems? colder than England.? Or are we just too tight to leave it on whilst not living there?[/quote]For us, all of the above.[:)] Seriously, oil is very expensive now and at the moment our house is not very well insulated and we went through about 2,000 E in just the past few months. I guess if you have a well insulated house or not bothered by the cost, it could be worth it to you. However, putting that aside, we would still worry about leaving the heating and electrics on for months on end. As an example, now because of your comment, I will worry about the toilets freezing. [6][/quote]Salt in the toilet? Old French man advised me on that one. I only put it down there from the last trip usually November till we return around April or Easter this year. Our house is not very well insulated in the roof space in fact not insulated . The walls are stone and about 2 foot thick. so the effects of heating and cooling are delayed due to the thick walls absorbing the heat. I keep a small electronic thermometer in the lounge with a remote sensor in the upstairs bedroom. It''s quite shocking to see the minimum reaching 1' in the bedroom and 5' in the lounge. Hopefully somtime soon i will be able to start work on the loft conversion and get some good insulation up there that should slow the effects a bit. but in the meantime i'ts forget about heating. I thought someone would have sussed it by now. Yes i know move out there [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarksinfrance Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 TivoliBlue, its very simple and has been discussed here before, if you have roller shutters on your house, find a way of fixing them in a raised position about 1" from the cills (so they can't be opened from the outside), or if you have wooden ones incorporate some kind of ventiation holes in them. Then fix your windows so they are just open. The resulting ventilation will eliminate most if not all damp/mould, plus in these old houses, its invariably warmer outside than in, so it helps to raise the ambiant temperature inside too. Why do you think the French leave windows open during the day. We have done this for a dozen of so customers now, and everyone is delighted with the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Electric dehumidifiers are not expensive to run if you have them on a timer and can drain directly into a sink through a plastic pipe if you place them near a sink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tivoli Blue Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 I usually keep the doors and windows open to get some through draught but i do not leave any downstairs windows open apart from the small toilet one. I do have an electric dehumidifier and a small pump to clear the water. I have not used this during the winter as i turn off the electricity. However i do have a device which i can remotly turn on and of the electricicty. (not yet fitted) there are four channels so i can use it to operate other devices one of which will be the water heater so i can put the electricicty on the day before we go down so the water will be hot when we arrive. I can use this to operate limited circuits and the dehumidifyer. Perhaps i will leave some downstairs windows open next winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 toilet cisterns can crack due to ice but its very rare, the toilet bowl due to its shape allows the freezing water to rise and expand usually without grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bing Creuse Bear Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 As a beginner in the maison secondaire world, I appreciate all the posters above who have shared their tips and experience. It is invaluable. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyF Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 We don't leave heating on (we only have a wood-burner and electric heaters) or windows open, but there's a bit of ventilation with the old ones round the ill-fitting frames [:)] We also leave the door of the wood-burner slightly ajar. Touch wood, we've never had any problem with damp or condensation (this is in Lower Normandy which can be very damp [:D]) and this is our fifth winter of ownership. The whole of the ground floor has been dry-lined and I think this makes all the difference. We winterise by turning the water off at the meter, emptying all the water pipes and flushing the loos to leave the cisterns empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Toadstool Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I would advise you NOT to leave windows open/ajar (even behind shutters) if your house is somewhere that often gets foggy. Our house is high up in the Collines de Normandie where it is often foggy and we have found leaving a window even slightly ajar gives the fog an easy entrance - the walls were absolutely running when we did this just the once!The main vents in our house are the chimneys so we leave the wood burner doors open to allow free flow of air. Sadly a barn owl got into the house by this route once, couldn't get out and was only discovered when she had died of hunger/thirst (very, very sad).I agree about the toilet pans - surely if the water froze then it would just expand up and outwards. You only really need to be concerned about more enclosed water like pipes and cisterns, as far as I am aware and I am not sure how healthy salt would be for la fosse septique bacterial flora either.Pix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 A good electric dehumidifier (as long as you can arrange an outlet for the water) is by far the best solution for damp. If you don't want to spend the money - and a lot don't because good ones don't come cheap - then those plastic boxes containing a bag full of salts, or even bowls of salt on the floor, are almost as good. The other key is good ventilation. Subject to what Pix says, if you have secure shutters, with ventilation slots, then you can leave a few windows slightly open. Chimneys are another good source of ventilation, but they do admit birds, as somebody has noted. Dry lining does indeed help as far as condensation is concerned; but beware, we have had burst pipes where they run between the stone wall and the plasterboard, and that's in a house that is permanently occupied. Do be aware that leaving electricity on or windows open (even behind shutters) may have insurance implications. Break-ins at holiday homes are all too common, even in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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