On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:47:28 +0000, Tim W wrote:

I can sympathise with the all-electric. I have no CH so am watching my
meter spin like the little girl's head in The Exorcist!

I'm watching the oil level plummet... Fortunately during this cold
spell (-9C on Sunday night, a very brief max of 0.1C in the last 3
days) it has not been windy, otherwise there would be a gurgling
noise coming from the tank...

You'd be surprised. A major fraction of the worth is in the land alone.
If the building shell is solid, then the worst price knock down would be
to refit internal things, eg add CH, electrics, plumbing or whatever you
think might need doing. Most honest estate agents say don't bother.
You'll be lucky to make a profit on such works - better to sell to
someone who can do it their way to their tastes.

Agreed, major refurbing to sell is a waste of time, money and effort.
The chnaces are the people moving in will strip it all out anyway...
A fresh coat of paint here and there and through clean is worth while
but not replacing kitchens/bathrooms etc

You could look at oil or propane gas (big white cylinder in the garden,
filled by truck in much the same way as oil).

Lot of capital cost to install, that would buy a lot of insulation.

Don;t know what the relative economics are at the moment vs Economy 7 -
liquid fuels go all over the place pricing wise.

Last lot of oil I bought (Oct 2009) was 40p/l or roughly 4p/unit. Our
off peak is currently 4.83p/unit but that is not the cheapest tariff
out there. Apr 2008 I paid 50p/l...

I think I'd go for upgrading the all electic heating and making sure
the insulation levels in the walls and roof are has high as they can
be. Maybe strip out any rockwool/glass fibre insulation and replace
with celotex/kingspan as the space is used for storeage.

Mind you there isn't any point in upgrading if it's not going to be
switched on!

--
Cheers
Dave.