17 Thornhill Crescent Islington N1 1BL

• The occupants are leaseholders with a share of the freehold. Fellow freeholders are in accord with the plans. • The Flat is a true basement, not a lower ground, with an external staircase into the area and a small patio to the rear. • The Grade II listing describes this half of the Crescent, built in the late 1840s and early 1850s, mentioning the surrounds to windows higher up the building and the main side entrance to the house. No features of the basements are mentioned. • The nearest neighbours’ windows are about three metres from the back wall (neighbour behind’s living room) and about a metre upwards (neighbour above’s kitchen). • The Flat is dark and damp, with significant black mould in several places, and heating and hot water are currently provided by an old gas combi-boiler. Ventilation is poor and the extractor from the entirely-interior bathroom does not extract. One of the occupants has sleep apnoea exacerbated by the damp and mould. • There are two sash windows to the front which are single-glazed and in poor condition. They do not seem to be original and the glass does not seem to be historic. The Flat has been burgled by an intruder simply smashing one of the panes and climbing in. One of the occupants suffers from anxiety. • Ongoing structural movement, as well as the damp, causes the front door to jam frequently and in changing places around the frame. The Yale lock often does not meet its return and the Mortice lock’s return has had to be removed. The front door is perpendicular to the road and behind the steps. • To the rear there is a relatively-modern door and side-windows unit, mainly glass and single-glazed. Proposal (exterior) • Replace front door (not visible from the road) with steel-framed alternative, double-glazed in its small window for insulation, to provide resistance to structural movement (and thus maintain the ability to enter the property and leave in the event of fire), avoid the effects of damp and allow security. Door to be selected to maintain wooden appearance in keeping. • Replace front windows (not easily visible from the road) with double-glazed upvc heritage-appearance sash windows to provide insulation, sound-proofing and security to bedrooms. Despite doubts about upvc, research has discovered wood-grained and appropriately-jointed upvc windows with sash horns and classic proportions, which look identical to and feel the same as wooden ones. The only possibly-noticeable difference could be the depth of the double glazing, which would be kept to the minimum required for it to be effective. Given the thick walls of the house and its subterranean nature, the windows are the main source of heat loss. The dampness by which the Flat is afflicted is both caused by and damaging to the current poor windows; the proposed change would alleviate both of these issues and also remove the necessity for regular painting, with its high cost and potential for environmental damage. • Install quiet mechanical ventilation (PIV/MVHR) to reduce damp whilst avoiding heat loss. This would involve a unit to the rear of the property and possibly a small grille to the front, perhaps over the front door. Any grille would be as small as possible, white to match the building’s paint and would replace the current ineffective system, with that space made good. • Install efficient and quiet extraction from bathroom and kitchen above hob. This will aid considerably in the reduction of damp and mould and will have an appropriate outlet to the rear. • Install air to air heat pump at rear to provide heating and hot water as well as assist with ventilation. Heat pump to be selected to be mindful of neighbours and as quiet as possible. Remove gas boiler and gas connection. • Replace rear door / windows unit with similar double-glazed upvc to look like wood. Insulating and sound-proofing benefits. Proposal (interior) • Interior aspects of items listed above, including ducting, preferably in the ceiling space. • Remove non-load-bearing wall between kitchen and corridor to expand kitchen / dining / living area. • Replace ceiling with insulating and sound-proofing panels. • Replace internal doors with sliding to maximise space and improve sound-proofing and insulation. • Rewire Flat entirely, removing dangerous earlier wiring and ensuring new is on the surface so as to avoid current issues with damp in the walls. • Replumb Flat entirely, removing central heating pipes and alleviating current issues with ineffective drainage, as well as leaks which cause damp. • Employ specialist damp contractor to prevent recurrence of rising damp in relevant areas of Flat, particularly necessary where structural walls are beginning to crumble. • Replace kitchen and bathroom, using energy and water-saving appliances where possible. • Redecorating, using natural and long-lasting materials as far as possible.

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