Roger440

Humour me, are you guys talking air souce heat pumps here?

What materials though. Had the idea of using washed sheeps wool, bagging it and holding it against the roof with wires. Yanks do this with bagged rockwool. Farmer has a lot of sheep. Couldnt give the wool away last year. Like the ide on the secondary roof? Novel!

I dont think a heat pump is viable here. It would cost a fortune in electricity to run. Happy to be proven wrong, but a 2500sqft 6m high building?

Am i missing something? How does that work if its -5 outside?

Up until recently, ive tended to ignore solar, gshp, ashp, so im well beind the curve here. But ive a problem that needs solving. Large workshop, circa 2500sqft, was agricultural building. Concrete block infill, steel insulated cladding above that, but only 25mm, cgi roof, unisulated. Previously used a waste oil fired burner, when i had a free oil supply. Though that would do 20-40 litres a day if it was cold. Obviously, insulate. But thats a LOT of surface area to cover. Probably a seperate post? Much as id like it at 16c, if it was a permanent 10c over winter, id be resonably happy. So ive spent hours looking at solar thermal. The yanks seem to build there own panels, which appeals because, lets face it, id need a LOT of them. Buying commercially available panels isnt an option. But a week of cloudy days in winter is going to yield little useful heat. I did see @onoff on another thread talking about milk tankers as a thermal store? I cant really get to grips on how long 16000 litres of water, heated during the summer would contribute to my winter heat? Then i though about using ground source heat, but rather than use a heat pump, simply circulate the water from say 10ft down through the slab. If its 8-10 degrees at that depth than surely the slab would be too? As i say, iver perused various, mostly american forums, but still not really sure, what, if anything might do some good. All thoughts, whatever they are, welcome

They sell much the same as mike wye, but rather more info on the website: https://www.lime.org.uk/products.html

Ive recently started looking at this. But there are things im yet to understand. How does the above cope with the thermal solar circuit overheating? The oil boiler input is half way up the tank. So in the event that solar is producing next to nothing, will the heating circuit get hot enough? It shows rads which would need to be rather higher temp than underfloor. Or is it underfloor?

You will find that the manufacturers of sewage treat plants say DONT use a saly based softner. Someone cleverer than me will explian why.

No idea! Didnt worry about it as using PIR and concrete was not ever a consideration. But expensive i think is the right answer. I prepped it, they put the glass and membranes down, i fitted the heating pipes, then they came back and laid the limecrete. With hindsight i could easily have done the glass and membranes too.

Like fake wooden planking. Scratched before we came. Dogs i suspect.

Are you really sure you want it? We had it, was already there when we moved in. I really dont see why it costs so much. Ours was faded by the patio doors, badly, and it was heavily scratched. All gone. Tiles fitted!

The good thing with the system is the insulating layer is also the sub base. Total depth is 225,, Piccy of freshly installed floor.

It was clear to me in our house the concrete floor with plastic underneath was at least part of the damp issue. Moisture is effectively forced outwards, until it finds the wall. So we used a system like this in ours to avoid any repeat issues.https://www.lime.org.uk/products/sublimer-insulated-limecrete-floor.html Was it absolutely necessary? Cant be sure. But had we gone the modern route, then had damp again, bit late at that point! This effectively returns it to how it was built. And, in theory, isnt likely to cause any issues, bearing in mind that for several months until 2 weeks ago, it was bare earth. And completely dry. However moisture is still rising. Leave a piece of cardboard for week and it will start to form mould where it touching the soil. Humidity even with no floor is 60%.

I would strongly recommend it. But whats the ground floor made of?

I think we can safely assume any financial assistance/incentive will be channelled via approved cowboys, sorry, builders, who will inevitably do a crap job. The program will fail, fall into disrepute, and the politicians will say lessons will be learnt. You can be sure nothing sensible will be done. Im just getting on with.

Id suggest drilling a hole in a brick close to the floor. If it really comes out as dry dust. Great. But i doubt it. That said, if you have no damp, even with the render, essentially the whole thing is at an equilibrium. If you change things, you may mess that up. You dont say whats on the interior walls now, nor what the floors are that you say you are going to remove. Timber or solid? As per other posts, DO NOT inject a DPC. It wont work, cant work, but again. may upset the balance of things. For wall insulation systems, you do a lot worse than look here. Crap menu but its all there. https://www.lime.org.uk/ My walls were damp, properly damp. Enough to rot out the socket back boxes! Plaster removed, concrete floor removed. 9 months later, totally dry. Drill into a brick, just dust. Staggering the speed its sorted itself out. Just put a limecrete fllor down. Lime plaster to follow. As simon said, no plaster board! Its a moisture proof board. If you fit breathable products, then it has to be every layer, otherwise you are wasting your time. And money. And dont believe the bull on products that claim they are breathable. Ask for the actual data. They wont be compared to the likes of lime.

It might be OK, but the guidance is, i believe 150mm thick minimum on a slab floor. Deeper if its only a pad. In the workshop i rent the floor was only 100mm thick, so i had to make an H frame to bolt the 2 poster too. Otherwise he wouldnt install it. As its also used for business currently, it needs to be insured, so i had little option.

2 x 1m3 concrete pads/blocks will be plenty for a 2 post lift, which from a load perspective is the worst you can buy. At least my local ramp guy tells me. He is a stickler and wont install unless he is happy. When i did mine, i did it on a slab, thickened at the edges, reinforced. And frame bolted to it. But, it was expensive. (5.5 x 11) Needed a concrete pump to as couldnt get the trucks to it. It was also laid on 100mm EPS insulation. Along with the sides and walls being insulated, even without heating its a very stable envoronment. Which is great for keeping cars in. Electric undefloor will prob need a 2nd mortgage to pay for it. I still say, put the pipes in. Pipe costs virtually nothing. Its there if you want to use it later. As for planning............................. You might get 4m if its not going to affect anyone. But who knows. It laregly unknowable until you apply. As PeterW says, this is industrial unit territory. Its a problem that i have so far been unable to find a solution too after 5 years. At the risk of boring everyone, and you, i want/need a circa 2000sqft building. I cant do it where i am, so am looking to move so i can. But as you cannot "know" you can get planning, or even "know" you have full PD rights prior to purchasing, effectively that means my only option is to buy a property where that exists already. These are few and far between and only in the much cheaper parts of the country. Q class planning on barns saw to that. Much as id love to do a new build, a new build with a 2000sqft barn is never going to fly from a planning perspective, so an old farm or similar is the only way. Even thats not clear cut from a planning perspective, as the buildings are usually classed as "agricultural" so filling with cars and associated stuff isnt strictly legit, but, without prying eys, who would know. Depends on location. Plus, im budget limited to circa £500k, for both house and barn so i really am looking at wales, the far north of england or scotland. The search for a solution continues..................................... Meanwhile, as you are already there, id be finding a planning consultant and see if he rates your chances of planning sucess. If high, get him to do it. What have you got to lose.?

Id be looking at insulated cladding on something like that. It will add cost, but it will be sooooo, much nicer! And if you insulate, wack some underfloor heating pipes in when you do the base, even if you dont use/cant afford it now. Thank me later.......... That said, a concrete slab is a big chunk of budget. If its steel, as per simplysimon says, concrete pads will allow the building to go up. Then for a floor, use block paving. Easy to lay, and much cheaper as you can do that yourself easily. Does depend on your lift(s) though. A 2 poster would need concrete, but again, you could do it with 1m3 blocks.

Are you sure you have asked the right questions. This sounds "unlikely" to say the least. I cant for a moment imagine that will comply with buildings regs.

Solid or cavity wall? Any DPC?

That last statement sums it up. By ONLY the architect having the CAD files, means that you HAVE to go back to them for any changes. At which point, they have you over a barrell. The reasons you end up there are many and varied, from legitimate reasons to modify the design to a unbuildable design and refusal to rectify. Regardless of the reason, essentially as a client you leave yourself open to being taken advantage of, with your only other option being to start afresh with someone else. Im sure some architects will protest and say they would never use this situation to their advantage. Few people in business are that morally principled even if they think they are. Lets not forget, architects are people. Like any trade there will be a small number of exceptionally good, half will be OK, the remainder a waste of space. And all will have differing morals.

Opps, replied to wrong poster

Good point, well presented !!!!

Hmmm. Not sure i agree. Getting a house through planning is about satisfying the planners. If you cant do that, doesnt matter how nice the design is. A planning consultant is probably, in my limited experience, the best person to get it through. Go on, humour me, given that no engineering drawings are involved, what is it other than a planning drawing with an interior layout. Thats a genuine question, even if you think im a philistine! To answer you original question, id want the design and the build drawings from the same place. So if/when its not right, there is a clear path to responsibility and rectification. The common split in responsibility just leaves the client holding all the risk. I guess that suits both architect and technician, but it certainly doesnt appear to be in the clients interest. I think we have seen that often enough on here. Do that with a clear transparent pricing structure (which i note you do not respond to) , id be interested.