Hello everyone,
we recently purchased an older building (built around 1920) that has already been partially renovated. The previous owner had an energy consultant prepare an energy assessment report with a renovation roadmap. One important and, in our opinion, cost-effective measure is replacing the windows. Over the years, some of the windows have been updated, so they are all at different levels of condition, but they are still quite old (between 15 and 30 years). We have started researching the topic and have already had a glazier come to provide a quote. The more we learn about it, the more questions come up. Maybe someone here in the forum has experience and can help answer some of the most important ones.
Thank you in advance for your answers. If further information and/or pictures are needed, I can provide them gladly.
Best regards
we recently purchased an older building (built around 1920) that has already been partially renovated. The previous owner had an energy consultant prepare an energy assessment report with a renovation roadmap. One important and, in our opinion, cost-effective measure is replacing the windows. Over the years, some of the windows have been updated, so they are all at different levels of condition, but they are still quite old (between 15 and 30 years). We have started researching the topic and have already had a glazier come to provide a quote. The more we learn about it, the more questions come up. Maybe someone here in the forum has experience and can help answer some of the most important ones.
- According to the renovation roadmap, the exterior walls have a U-value of 0.265 and the roof 0.128. From our research, triple-glazed windows seem possible (and advisable?). What are the experiences regarding mold? Does it develop much faster now, or can it be managed without issues with sufficient ventilation?
- The house used to be divided into three small apartments and a stairwell that is not heated. The stairwell still has some very old windows (wooden frames, uninsulated). From an energy and cost perspective, does it make sense to replace these as well? The previous owner replaced almost all the windows, except for these. Could there be a technical building reason for this? As far as we can tell, not all areas in the stairwell are insulated (e.g., the exterior wall under the stairs).
- Is there anything else we should pay attention to?
Thank you in advance for your answers. If further information and/or pictures are needed, I can provide them gladly.
Best regards
danny80 schrieb:
We recently bought an old building (constructed around 1920) that has been partially renovated. The previous owner had an energy consultant prepare an energy assessment, including a renovation roadmap. One important and, in our opinion, economically sensible measure is to replace the windows. Over the years, some of the windows have been replaced at different times, so they are all at different stages, but they are still quite old (between 15 and 30 years).Please share photos of the entire house, the floor plans with a section view, and the renovation roadmap.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I was actually referring to floor plans and a cross-section from the building file or a survey. The floor plan sketches—albeit somewhat above average quality for a real estate listing—are not sufficient for a renovation plan, which, to put it mildly, would look different in my case. A brick wall thickness of 20 cm (8 inches) seems unusual to me, especially for Baden-Württemberg, which makes me suspect brick formats from the Benelux countries or France. But you also mentioned that the renovation plan was created by the previous owner—how have the goals changed since then, and what is your approach going forward?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Unfortunately, no additional documents are available because they were destroyed during the war. I also cannot really verify the source of the data from the renovation roadmap, but the general insulation is correct (the wall was opened). However, I have doubts about the thickness of the bricks.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the previous owner’s goals, but from what I can assess, a very energy-efficient house was aimed for, regardless of the economic feasibility of the measures. One example is an insulation layer applied above the roof rafters costing nearly 50,000 € (about 53,000 USD). We already knew that the windows needed to be replaced before moving in, which is completely independent of the renovation roadmap (at that time, we didn’t even know it existed). Our approach is to implement economically sensible measures, with window replacement as the first step. The fact that this is also included in the renovation roadmap is coincidental. Other measures in the roadmap are sometimes so costly that implementing them is simply not economically viable for us, or only makes sense when other renovations are needed anyway.
If it is easier for you to answer my questions without referring to the renovation roadmap, please ignore it. Here, I only have the U-values, and let’s assume those are roughly correct.
11ant schrieb:
But you also say that the renovation roadmap was created by the previous owner – how have the goals changed since then, and what is your current approach?
Unfortunately, I don’t know the previous owner’s goals, but from what I can assess, a very energy-efficient house was aimed for, regardless of the economic feasibility of the measures. One example is an insulation layer applied above the roof rafters costing nearly 50,000 € (about 53,000 USD). We already knew that the windows needed to be replaced before moving in, which is completely independent of the renovation roadmap (at that time, we didn’t even know it existed). Our approach is to implement economically sensible measures, with window replacement as the first step. The fact that this is also included in the renovation roadmap is coincidental. Other measures in the roadmap are sometimes so costly that implementing them is simply not economically viable for us, or only makes sense when other renovations are needed anyway.
If it is easier for you to answer my questions without referring to the renovation roadmap, please ignore it. Here, I only have the U-values, and let’s assume those are roughly correct.
I couldn’t care less about your renovation plan; what matters is that it’s important to you. I have formatted your response accordingly:
That’s already a clear difference you can work with: Extract all the measures from the old renovation plan, prioritize, and price them. Priority “Z” = “not required and not important to us,” Priority “A” = “mandatory within a deadline,” Priority “B” = “not mandatory but important,” and so on for the stages “as soon as possible but savings/loan necessary,” “only if there is sufficient time and money,” or similar. Usually, you would proceed by trade, but other groupings (such as by rooms) are also conceivable. You mentioned different variants and conditions of the windows: For each window, I would determine individually what should be done. Where is it enough to replace seals, adjust, or similar, where is a glass unit replacement appropriate, and where does a full sash or even the entire element (sash and frame) need to be replaced?
This is difficult to do purely through remote coaching, and I won’t be at my southern base anytime soon. So you would first have to implement this advice yourself or work with an architect experienced in older buildings locally.
If I understand you correctly, the wall insulation is already done, which is the important part. Whether the wall contains 20 cm (8 inches) bricks—or more likely 25 cm (10 inches) if they are from Germany—doesn’t concern us here. If the exterior walls are now “finished” in this way, we no longer need to consider them (for example, regarding the roof overhang and external insulation systems).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
| Old goals (previous owner) | New goals |
| aimed for a very energy-efficient house, completely independent of the economics of the measures; One example is a rafter insulation for almost 50,000 € (approximately 54,000 USD). | to implement economically sensible measures; the first step is window replacement. |
That’s already a clear difference you can work with: Extract all the measures from the old renovation plan, prioritize, and price them. Priority “Z” = “not required and not important to us,” Priority “A” = “mandatory within a deadline,” Priority “B” = “not mandatory but important,” and so on for the stages “as soon as possible but savings/loan necessary,” “only if there is sufficient time and money,” or similar. Usually, you would proceed by trade, but other groupings (such as by rooms) are also conceivable. You mentioned different variants and conditions of the windows: For each window, I would determine individually what should be done. Where is it enough to replace seals, adjust, or similar, where is a glass unit replacement appropriate, and where does a full sash or even the entire element (sash and frame) need to be replaced?
This is difficult to do purely through remote coaching, and I won’t be at my southern base anytime soon. So you would first have to implement this advice yourself or work with an architect experienced in older buildings locally.
danny80 schrieb:
The general insulation is correct though (the wall was opened), but I have doubts about the brick thickness.
If I understand you correctly, the wall insulation is already done, which is the important part. Whether the wall contains 20 cm (8 inches) bricks—or more likely 25 cm (10 inches) if they are from Germany—doesn’t concern us here. If the exterior walls are now “finished” in this way, we no longer need to consider them (for example, regarding the roof overhang and external insulation systems).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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