Bemak

In the middle of refurbishing an old farmhouse at the moment and am currently working out service routes before the new slab goes in. I'm proposing to locate an external boiler about 20m from the house - the pipework will be 26mm pex pipe (10mm insulation) which will be run inside a 110mm Wavin pipe - all of which will be buried about 600mm below ground level. I appreciate that some element of heat loss will occur along the way - but as we're proposing UFH in the house, the reduced temperature shouldn't affect things too much. Before I lock this in, just wondering if anyone else has done something similar and if so, how has it worked out? Thanks! *update - apologies, I just realized that I posted about this already. Please ignore!*

thanks for the link!

As posted elsewhere, I've embarked on the refurb of an old 2-storey farmhouse. As part of the refurb I'm going to install a MVHR system to ensure that moisture and condensation is adequately dealt with. I'm also installing a new insulated floor slab with a radon barrier and sump. I was going to run the vent from the sump out under the slab and bring it up in a nearby flowerbed to conceal it. The idea is that I would just put a cowl on it and let it vent naturally. However, in a lot of instances locally, the radon vent is brought up to the perimeter footpath and just capped - then, if necessary, the cap can be removed and a duct with a fan can be installed to vent the sump. My issue with that approach is that I don't want the potential to have a vent running up the side of the house when we've been so careful to conceal all the services to date. However, as we are going to be installing a MVHR unit anyway, I assume it's highly likely that we'll never need to vent the radon sump in the future considering the house will be so well ventilated? The reason I ask is I may just revert back to the standard solution of capping it on the footpath as opposed to bringing it up in a flowerbed as currently planned.

thanks for all the replies on this. I've been distracted with demo starting on site. finally! what are peoples thoughts on UFH for upstairs as well?

thanks for this!

I recently came across 'over floor' heating systems which are essentially an underfloor heating system in a 30mm screed - the idea being that the system is much closer to the surface of the floor allowing for quicker response times while generally running at lower temperatures. I spoke to a supplier about it and they said the following which I thought was interesting "the system achieves a typical operating energy reduction of 50% daily compared to heating the same space using Under Floor Heating". "Conservation of energy on a daily basis sets the ground work for affordable heating and sustaining the building, the most significant feature of Over Floor Heating systems is the remarkable increase in comfort created by operating the system using water at body temperature". All sounds great. I'd be curious to hear of peoples experiences using such a system as I wouldn't be opposed to trying it on a refurb I've started.

just a quick query on a detail I want to ensure is correct. i'm planning to construct a cavity wall extension to the side of an existing two-storey farmhouse. the new extension will replace an old stone extension and we've yet to determine if the stone extension was keyed into the stone of the main house. In any case - I was wondering how best to detail the junction between the new blockwork and existing stonework to prevent any water in the stone wall from getting into the inner leaf (as per the crude diagram below). Is a vertical DPC the best bet or is there a better way of doing it?

that's a great point regarding the soak away in the middle of the run. Thanks Nick!

yes I was looking at something similar. An extra bit of lining in the trench like you say will help a lot.

its a personal preference to not see it.

Hi all, In the initial throws of a refurb at the moment and one thing I'm trying to bottom out is the location of the external boiler. The existing house doesn't really have a rear elevation - it's seen on all sides which is making it a bit difficult to locate the best place for the boiler (inside is not an option). I have a shed nearby that would be perfect, but it's 18m from the house. I appreciate that this is quite a distance, but just wondering if I did a deep trench for the pipework and double up on the insulation around the pipes themselves, would it be a viable solution? Just wondering if anyone else has located their boiler a similar distance from their house and what they did to minimise heat loss.

this is my project - sorry have been offline for a while. Just as an update, over Christmas I had a builder friend call and run through the plan of attack. In short, new floor slab with UFH - for the walls we're going to dry line internally with a metal stud set off the wall by 10mm or so. The insulation between the stud will be either a hemp combi jute, or gutex thermoflex. wall will be slabbed with a gutex thermoroom board on a finsa vapourstop. skimmed with a breathable lime render. when we reviewed the floor joists, they weren't too bad. any bad sections were tight to the external wall. so the metal stud approach will also act as a support for the existing floor joists.

Hi All, Hoping to kick off a project I posted about here previously at the end of the year. It's been delayed for multiple reasons but hopefully it will get a bit of momentum in the next few months. House is an old 2-storey farmhouse, 140 years old with 600mm thick rubble stone walls. The house is in good shape considering it's rarely used and structurally very sound. I had been mulling over whether to dig out the slab at all as the existing floors are relatively sound. In the end, I've decided to dig out the existing floor as it will allow me to install UFH, a radon sump and membrane, and insulation. I was talking to a very experienced contractor about it recently as I was concerned about the potential knock-on of digging out the existing floor. He suggested that I keep the excavation to the minimum and suggested a build-up of, 100mm compacted hardcore, blinding, Radon barrier, 150mm insulation, 50mm liquid screen with UFH. 300mm overall. his argument is that the existing subfloor would already be well compacted and that the suggested buildup would minimise the potential of disrupting existing walls. I agree but I just wanted to put it out there to see if anyone has done something similar?

ensure as well that there is adequate fire stopping between the bedroom and garage. I think it needs to be 1 hour from memory.

The alternative is two or three dMVHR units in the vents, like the lunos e60 etc, which would work in tandem to extract/supply air into the house. These look great for completely airtight houses but I'd be curious to know how they work with standard levels of airtightness.

Thanks Peter. Ideally yes but I looked into the ducting for MVHR but we can't make it work for the downstairs rooms. I appreciate that we would be losing the same amount of heat, but wouldn't that be distributed across the vents as opposed to one blast from a PIV system?

Ok so bear with me on this. Existing 70s house, semi-detached, two-storey. Typical condensation issues associated with a house of this nature. I need to core a few extra wall vents to improve ventilation but I was tempted to add a PIV system to help move air also. However my main concern with this kind of system is the potential for cold air/draughts etc. I'm also not keen on the heater element either as it drives the energy consumption way up. As an alternative would it be completely mad to have a extract unit in the attic do the same thing in reverse? i.e. extract air from the house from a central location (first floor landing) which would have the effect of pulling air into the house from "all the nooks and crannys" and wall vents (as opposed to driving it out). That way the draughty element is reduced as it's warm air that's being moved out as opposed to cold air being drawn in? Just putting it out there. Advice greatly appreciated!

ya definitely not a nice job. It means removing more of the existing fabric than I initially had intended too might be worth it. In my case it would allow me to install a radon barrier and sump also which is a consideration too. Good luck with your cellar dig - you're very good

Good to hear. No doubt there would be an improvement. I haven't the final price back yet so it'll probably become apparent quite quickly if it's a runner.

In the process of pricing a renovation project (posted about previously on here) and as part of the conversation with the contractor we briefly discussed the value in digging out the existing slab and putting in a new one. He said that it would probably cost about €5-6k to do it, but that wouldn't include the knock-ons of demolishing and rebuilding existing partitions and a new stairs (new floor level would be slightly higher). So you're probably talking €10-12k to do it really. Would I be better of spending that money elsewhere or is it a good investment? The existing floors are quite good albeit a bit cold with the lack of insulation (1800's house). The floors in the kitchen, bathroom and downstairs bedroom are about 50mm higher than the hall and sitting room (for some reason) so it would give an opportunity to unify everything. That being said, I could raise the hall and sitting room independently to match the rest. Just curious to know if anyone else decided to hold off doing something similar and if they regret not doing it at the time?

Hi all. I'm looking to install a solid fuel range as part of a refurb project I'm hoping to commence shortly. Just a quick query on flue height requirements. The range is located in the kitchen which is in an existing single-storey extension with a lean-to roof. The flue will penetrate the roof at it's highest point and will need to pass up beyond the eaves of the existing house. However, if I am to stick with the building regs as I understand them, the flue will need to be over 3m in height from the point from which it penetrates the roof so that it achieves a distance of 2.3m from the main roof. See attached section for clarity. While this would appear to satisfy building regulations, it looks excessive to me and I would also question how stable a flue that length would be in wind (which we get a lot of). My preference would be to terminate the flue a lot lower, maybe around 1.5m in height from the point of exit from the lean-to roof. I've shown this in the attached section also. I assume the reason for the 2.3m distance is because of the potential for stray sparks from the flue etc - is there anything that can be added onto the flue to prevent this risk and thus allow me to install the flue at a lower height? Flue Section.pdf

As others have said, it's a nice layout - flows well and I would agree with the comments on the various window sizes and the choice of stone. One gripe I would have at this point is the wasted space under the stairs? What do you see happening here? Just keep it open and "light"? I'd like to see a section through the final flight as well to see if the door into the lounge is well clear - I don't like when it feels like its 'under the stairs' if that makes sense. If you wanted to reduce the number of doors in the master bedroom you could look at accessing the ensuite via the WIW which I think can be nice and works well. Depends on how you foresee yourself using it though - everyone is different. For such a big room, the bed feels a bit tight to the south-west wall - keep an eye on that especially if you are forced to reduce the height to 1.5 / 1.75 storey. If the view north-west was decent you could make that window full height and lose those two small windows facing south-west which would allow you to put the bed on that wall. Without knowing the context it's hard to tell. You could do the opposite too and lose that window to the north-east and have the bed on that wall, with a large window facing south-west. Maybe the MB, Bedroom 2 and the Stairs all have the same window type. The stone definitely isn't doing anything for you. I would keep it all the same. Black timber would look very nice here. This has always been a favourite of mine. Alternative you could look at applying the timber cladding in a different way, like standing it on edge which would help to define areas like this. It might be nice to have a stove in the lounge - you'd just need to consider the flue now. I would move the door to bedroom 2 a bit more to the east, closer to the wardrobes. Your bathroom looks a touch on the tight side too, maybe that door needs to move closer to the bath also. I'd consider a slot window on the landing looking north for a visual connection out front (for security). It looks great though and is a very good start

I've posted a good bit lately about a refurb I'm hoping to embark on later this year / early next year. Part of the works will involve the installation of a french drain along some external walls to help with surface water drainage and to prevent the walls from soaking it up. One area where a french drain is being installed is along the southern elevation where the ground level is well above the internal floor level (approx 600mm). See attached pic. The area was concreted about 15 years ago to help prevent dampness internally and it has worked surprisingly well. The walls are quite dry internally. I'm tempted to leave all well alone but I'm sure it can be improved. I'm proposing to externally insulate the house so was wondering when it comes to this area I assume that I should tank the walls below ground first, then apply an insulation with high compressive strength before finishing off with the french drain etc? Something like the diagram below? Should I reinstate the concrete path outside the window and include a surface drain, or would I be as well to gravel it all - although if I do gravel it, I assume I'd be allowing more water to reach the drain?

There was definitely a problem in the kitchen at one point due to the higher ground. The solution was a new concrete path outside at the highest point, probably about 15-20 years ago. This appears to have worked a treat as the walls are genuinely dry on that facade. Maybe I should leave all well alone and just concentrate on the eastern wall instead?

My plan is to install a french drain along the eastern and southern perimeter of the house. I'm going to dig out a patio in the south-west corner (top right) and install a new slider so that the kitchen/dining can avail of the evening sun. I will pave the patio and remaining perimeter with a permeable paving including an aco drain along the perimeter of the house. I'm thinking the remaining area at high level to the south could all be gravel with planting - like a widened french drain. I'll add a few steps for access from the patio to a small gate (not shown)