Know what your park home costs to run, before anyone quotes you for the job.
(The Park Home Running Costs Manual)
What your meter says, what each appliance costs and which job to do first, so your money doesn't go on the wrong fix. One PDF kit, in plain English, with the sums shown.
- Download after checkout
- Reads on phone, tablet or computer
- Secure checkout by Gumroad
You pay
Through Gumroad's secure checkout. You see the total before you pay.
You download
Your PDF is available straight after checkout, and your receipt arrives by email.
You start with your bill
Turn to the Rate Card on page 4, then take your first meter reading.
Nothing is posted and nothing renews.
The bill went up. Nobody can tell you where the money went.
A park home loses heat differently from a brick house, yet most advice is written for brick houses or by companies selling insulation. So you turn the heating up, your feet stay cold, and someone offers you a very large quote.
This kit starts somewhere cheaper. You read your own meter, price what you own and find out where your home is actually losing money.
The floor
Warm at head height and cold at your ankles. That could be a draught or an uninsulated underside, and the fixes cost very different amounts.
The cupboard
A 120-litre tank heated from cold twice a day comes to about £1,200 a year, and an old timer can keep it running unnoticed.
The quote
Cladding is often priced at thousands. On the book's assumptions, the payback runs from about 17 to nearly 60 years.
Measure first. Then decide what is worth paying for.
Here is the difference between starting with a quote and starting with your meter.
The quote-first way
The measure-first way
Some homes will still need paid work. The kit helps you work out which job comes first.
Your numbers will differ. Job ranges come from installers and small prices are estimates, so check current costs yourself. Worked examples use 26.32p a unit, the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026.
One manual and three printable tools, in the order you use them.
Work out your numbers, audit your home, then keep your readings. Everything comes in one 72-page PDF with bookmarks to each part, and the one-page Cost Check is included.
Running Costs Manual
Your costs, your heat and your damp
- Your real unit rate
- What everything costs to run
- The room-by-room audit
- The order of work
- Damp and condensation
- Winter and the year
Audit Checklist
Take it round with a torch
- Every room in turn
- The midnight test
- Under the floor
- Your top five costs
The Park Home Year
What to do in which month
- The four meter readings
- The October list
- Spring and summer checks
- One-off jobs
Running Cost Tracker
Keep your numbers together
- Rates by quarter
- Monthly readings
- Measured appliance costs
- The fix log
The one-page Cost Check comes with the kit. You can also get it free on its own.
The sums to do, for every bill and every quote.
A few of the things inside, with the chapter they're in:
- Your real unit rate, even when your electricity comes through the parkCh. 4
- The midnight test that shows what your home uses while you sleepCh. 2
- The standing charge in plain English, and what you can't save your way out ofCh. 3
- The appliance table: what things cost per hour and per useCh. 6
- Heating by fuel: what one unit of warmth costs, side by sideCh. 7
- A shower, a bath and a tank: the cost of hot water, three waysCh. 8
- The cold at your feet: how to tell which of three problems you haveCh. 18
- The order of work: which job comes first, and whyCh. 19
- The forty-pound weekend: draughtproofing, and what not to sealCh. 20
- Underfloor and skirting: the questions to ask every quoteCh. 21
- The cladding sums, and the honest reasons you might still do itCh. 23
- Condensation or damp? The quick tests that tell them apartCh. 25
- Airing your home: what replacing all the air costsCh. 27
- Drying clothes indoors, without wrecking your wallsCh. 28
- The October checklist that sets up your winterCh. 30
- Frozen and burst pipes: what to do, and in what orderCh. 31
There is plenty more inside.
Turn everything off. Then read your meter.
Last thing at night, switch off everything you can except the fridge and freezer. Read the meter and note the time. Don't use anything overnight, then read it again first thing in the morning.
Divide the units used by the hours that passed. That is what your home uses while nothing seems to be happening. If it comes out meaningfully high, something is running that you didn't know about.
Where to look first
- An immersion heater on a forgotten timer
- A dehumidifier running on its own setting
- A towel rail with no switch
- A frost setting in a room you don't use
Units ÷ hours
From chapter 2. As a rough guide, the manual estimates 0.08 to 0.15 units an hour with a fridge-freezer running.
Real pages from the kit.
This is what opens on your screen. Tap any page to see it larger.
Manual, page 4
Manual, page 17
Manual, page 34
Audit Checklist
The Park Home YearMade for one kind of home.
It's for you if
- You live in a UK park home and want to know where the money goes.
- You've been quoted for expensive work and want to check the sums first.
- You're dealing with cold floors, condensation or a bill you can't explain.
- You'd rather start with simple checks you can do yourself.
It isn't for you if
- You want a printed book in the post. This is a PDF, though you can print any page.
- You want a guaranteed saving. Every home and bill is different.
- You need help with pitch fees, site agreements, tax or another legal or financial question. LEASE (parkhomes.lease-advice.org) offers specialist park home advice.
- You have a serious fault or a health concern. Those need a qualified person.
The Complete Kit
The Park Home Running Costs Manual, and everything that goes with it
- The 55-page manual: your numbers, your home and what to fix first
- The 6-page Room-by-Room Audit Checklist
- The Park Home Year: a 4-page monthly calendar
- The 6-page Running Cost Tracker
- The one-page Cost Check
- One 72-page PDF, with bookmarks to each part
🔒 Secure checkout by Gumroad · 7-day money back
The Park Home Cost Check
One printable page with seven things to check this week. Gumroad asks for your email address so it can send your download.
Please read this before you buy. What you get here is a PDF to read on a phone, tablet or computer. No book is posted to you. You're welcome to print any page for your own home.
You can check the working.
Most of what you read about park home costs comes from a company selling the fix. This manual shows the sums and tells you where its figures came from.
The back of the book separates prices checked at source, figures from companies selling the thing being discussed, and estimates with no published source. Your own meter readings then replace those estimates with facts about your home.
No gadgets to sell. Just the sums.
Before you buy.
Is this a printed book you post to me?
No. It's a PDF you open on your phone, tablet or computer after checkout. You can print any page at home or at the library.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. The pages are A4, so a tablet, computer or printout may be more comfortable.
I'm not good with computers.
You'll need to download one PDF. If it won't open, email ruthmaddox110@gmail.com with the address you used at checkout.
Will this cut my bill by a set amount?
No. Every home and bill is different. The kit shows you how to measure your own costs and judge each fix.
Do I need tools or a tradesperson?
Not to get started: a torch and a notepad will do. Where a job needs someone qualified, the manual says so.
I'm older, or I have a health condition. Should I cut my heating?
Not to save money. UK public health advice is that older people and anyone with a health condition should heat their home to around 18°C where possible. Ask your GP if you're unsure.
Does it cover pitch fees or what a site owner can charge?
No. It doesn't cover legal or financial questions. It does show you how to work out your own unit rate from a park bill.
Is this a subscription?
No. You pay once and nothing renews.
Is the Cost Check really free?
Yes. Gumroad asks for your email address so it can send your download.
What if it doesn't help me?
Email within 7 days of buying the Complete Kit and ask for a refund. No questions.
Ask by email.
Write to ruthmaddox110@gmail.com. The same address helps if your download goes missing: include the email you used at checkout.
Start with your bill. It's where the answer begins.
Get the Complete Kit, or print the free page and take it round your home with a torch.
7-day money back · One payment, no subscription