To Donald Linn (Senior Geologist, Glasgow City Council and project manager for the Strathbungo Mine Consolidation Works),

just letting you know that I am very concerned and disappointed by the poor quality of the work being done so far to repair the back lanes.  So far in Queen Square, Forkers have merely taken up a section down one side (about 1m width of the lane width) where the worst of the holes were and relaid those stones.  The level of the relaid stones is much lower than the rest of the lane and therefore although this has repaired the holes, it has done nothing to resolve the level differences and camber in the lane which will not resolve the recurring problems of silt/mud and water collecting in these lower areas which caused the break up of the lane in the first place.  With a bit of forethought here it would have been simple to use a little more sand and hardcore to being the level up to the rest of the lane.  By making the lane more level (like the bottom half of Queen Square lane is) it would make it more usable for pedestrians.  Furthermore, the lane is now half a foot lower than our cobbled parking space leaving a large step down which when we try to park our car will cause our cobbles to destabilise and break off.  I spoke to the site foreman and his words were ‘we are doing the minimum to the lanes’ and ‘if you want we will put some hardcore down to bring the level up to your garden’.

This really is not what we expected and is not any significant improvement upon on what existed before.  It certainly does not look like value for the Council’s £200k!  It is particularly disappointing given all the effort the Strathbungo Society, Community Council and Councillors, etc put into seeking a positive outcome from the mine consolidation situation.

Very disappointed.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference on solid wall insulation in Edinburgh, sponsored by Changeworks and Historic Scotland, for the Strathbungo Society. I’m a building engineer (structural/building science) from North America, and I moved to the neighbourhood in 2010.

I’ve started a personal building blog called Sauce and have cross-posted this article. I’ll add more detailed notes and bits of research to Sauce over the next couple of weeks and either link to them or cross-post them to BungoBlog.

Most people who live in Strathbungo are probably aware that our exterior walls are yellow and red sandstone.  These walls are load bearing (the roofs and floors are supported by them) and – unless they’ve been retrofitted – uninsulated except by lathe and plaster.  They’re also quite thick.  Some them may have more than one layer or method of construction – anyone who’s taken one apart could perhaps go into detail in the comments?  Anyway…

Right now, improving the energy efficiency of buildings is a government priority. Less energy use means fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, a more efficient house – one that holds onto heat rather than losing it – also saves us money on gas and electricity. So, there are all kinds of reasons to try to improve the thermal performance of our houses. However, like everything having to do with old buildings, there are significant expenses and even some risks involved. The risks with insulation are always related to moisture: mould, rot and deterioration of the building materials.

I’ll start with a summary of the main points I gathered from the conference, based on an e-mail I already sent to Strathbungo Society members.

• Although exterior wall insulation is technically the best solution for solid walls, it is obviously not appropriate for our buildings.  Even the buildings in the neighborhood that aren’t listed historic properties are old and beautiful, and I doubt anyone would want to cover up the stone with exterior insulation, even if it were possible to get planning permission.
• There are very thin forms of interior wall insulation available, and they can be installed without ruining the interior detail in historic buildings.  However, installing them on walls with moisture issues is not a good idea.  I want to do a bit more research on this to clarify things, but basically, I’m thinking it’s a lot of expense, trouble and risk for minimal benefit.
• Conclusion: As a Strathbungoer, the best way to improve the thermal performance of your house is probably not by adding wall insulation.

Here’s the big news: A recent study explored actual vs. theoretical thermal resistance in stone walls.  In reality, they tend to perform significantly better than the models currently in use by architects, engineers and the government suggest they should.  We’re talking about a 50%+ difference in real vs. theoretical performance.  In other words, our stone walls aren’t as bad as they say. I’m not surprised at all by this.  Bryan’s and my flat is actually the second solid-walled property I’ve owned. Both have had lower than expected energy bills.

While it may not be worth it to try to insulate all along the exterior walls, I believe that it would be worth it to insulate anywhere the exterior wall is thinner than normal, notably at false windows/nooks.  I’ve thought about doing this at our flat and have some plans drawn up for it.  Basically, I’d strip out the shelves, put in board insulation, seal around it, and replace the shelves.  There is a potential issue with moisture getting trapped between the stone wall and the insulation… Still thinking about that one.

I can’t emphasise enough that stopping drafts is absolutely vital to energy efficiency.  Most heat escapes through air leakage, not diffusion through walls – this I know from studying building science in Canada.

BUT, if you do have a few quid on hand and want to improve the energy efficiency of your house, I saw one very impressive product: a window system that allows you to keep your original exterior windows, but adds a new, well sealed window between the exterior windows and the interior shutters.  Now THAT would improve thermal performance.  Does anyone already have these?  What do you think of them?

I’ve embedded a video (from the conference) that shows how it works below.

In conclusion, I think it’s the picky detail work eliminating drafts and insulating thinner parts of the walls that’s going to make a big difference, not a big, expensive wall insulation project. Adding a double-glazed window between the original window and the shutter is also a promising idea.

More to come!

This Thursday is polling day for the local elections. If you are on the electoral register you should have received a polling card which will tell you where to go to vote. Most addresses in Strathbungo vote at Queens Park Parish Church, 170 Queens Drive. The polls are open from 7am-10pm but given the debacle of the general election, it might be wise to try to exercise your democratic right before 9.59pm!

The election is taking place under the Single Tranferable Vote system. The bottom line is that, rather than marking an X next to the candidate of your choice, you list your preferences in numerical order of preference.

Three councillors will be elected for our ward using this system. David Meikle and Khalil Malik are standing for re-election. The candidates for our ward (6 – Pollokshields) are as follows:

FRASER Bill, Scottish Liberal Democrats
KHAN Akhtar, Scottish Anti-Cuts Coalition
MACLEOD Norman, Scottish National Party (SNP)
MALIK Khalil, Scottish National Party (SNP)
MCALEER Patrick, Scottish Green Party
MEIKLE David, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
MORRISON Andrina, Glasgow First
RAJA Hanif, Scottish Labour Party