Redbeard
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Rubber Plastic? Are you thinking of sandwiching a membrane in there?
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Sourcing tall windows.... 5m x 1.0m without splitting into two?
Redbeard replied to fatgus's topic in Windows & Glazing
I feel there must be too much risk of distortion with 5m 'unrestrained' (except by the glass, and that does not really want to be a stressed member, I feel). I wondered about making it as 2 units, one with a 'transom' at 2.5m and the side members sailing past that transom by say 300mm. The 2nd section has only bottom member and the 2 side members. Cut stopped pegged scarf joints on each (very easy to say...). With very accurate joinery it would look lovely, and the transom can be a 'spindly' as you like, as long as it can accommodate 2 rebates, so perhaps 60 as against the 90 mentioned by @fatgus -
Old Roof & Building Regs - Will it take the strain?
Redbeard replied to RobertG's topic in Roofing, Tiling & Slating
Ah, That's why your archo has misgivings. The flexi WF is about 20kg/m3 heavier than PIR. However, get a SE to appraise the plans. I have similar plans and my SE has just OK'd my roof for the additional load. Structure is not wildly dissimilar to yours but significantly steeper pitch and bigger purlins. (but mine will have a bit more flexi WF and circa 5mm lime plaster, not 50mm Diathonite) But hang on, that lay-up looks unusual. From the pic I had taken the rafters to be 75mm. However the spec says 100 between rafters, so I guess they must be 100! However no ventilation gap, and I cannot quite understand the breather membrane as an 'interstitial' layer. -
Roughly 1 litre of water given off for each litre of gas burned. Even if you don't succumb to the CO poisoning you won't help the moisture situation. +1 to elec.
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What I'd do if it were mine: Can you excavate and (at least temporarily) expose that wall? Do that, bubble-membrane with good detailing and back-fill with large aggregate ensuring lots of voids and you'll have good drainage around that area. Now you can hack off the tanking slurry and plaster in lime (which I like) or gypsum (which I don't, much). Any contaminants in the blocks will probably leach through lime as much as gypsum. Lime is good; I really like it, but it is not a universal panacea for moist walls.
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I have seen examples with a 25mm gap and no problems. I have also seen horrendous condensation and mould on breathable membranes with a 25mm gap (and admittedly some other poor practice too). The Gov't Best Practice Guidance for rooms-in-roof says 50 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61d727d18fa8f50594b59305/retrofit-room-in-roof-insulation-best-practice.pdf) and that seems to me to be a good a**e-covering 'belt and braces' (to mix my metaphors).
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My bathroom was insulated over 35 years ago with 'Styroliner' (XPS and 9mm - 'standard' - pl'board). No special treatment - painted with vinyl silk. Still absolutely fine.
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Boils my blood... Gullible people and cowboys!
Redbeard replied to Andehh's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
£6k! In post 1 you referred to it costing her £6. Had the 'k' gone astray? This sounds horrendous if the 'k' is right. I assume the lady did not go in the loft and that, if one were feeling cynical, the pics could be of anywhere? On the other hand re the respiratory issues and the 'warm feeling' it sounds like something must have been done... -
Good Qs, @Iceverge. @deuce22, you had said: " Merely so my mental picture can be complete, are those boards there? You had referred to this as a warm roof. Strictly it's a hybrid warm roof, as (in my view) it is generally accepted that a Warm Roof has all the insulation above the roof structure. Precautions need to apply where some of the insulation is above the rafters and some between, lest the 'between' insulation should cool the 'interface' (the boards or 'not-boards' referred to above) between itself and the insulation above the rafters. Has an interstitial condensation risk assessment been done on this basis? If a CRA has not been done then a 'rule-of-thumb' from a highly-respected colleague is that two-thirds of the R value should be over the rafters and on-third between. (Reverse that, for example and the interface gets potentially too cool). Taking PIR as 0.022W/mK lambda value the R value of the PIR is 6.81m2K/W. Min wool lambda values vary but if we take a worst-case at 0.044W/mK that gives us an R value of 3.41m2K/W BUT we have rafters 'interrupting, which I am not calculating at this point. With no real justification let's say the 'timber fraction' lowers the R value to 3.0. That about fits the rule of thumb, but there's still the outstanding question-mark - the subject of your thread - vapour control. @Firsttimer I like the dropped ceiling idea. Still needs excellent attention to detail on the VCL above, though - a job for an obsessive! Even the fixings of the dropped ceiling become potentially-leaky penetrations.
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Adding MVHR late in the day
Redbeard replied to bmj1's topic in Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR)
How 'very' is 'very'? Have you had a test? You say So is the stuffiness in the bedroom happening even with dMEV running and trickle vent(s?) in that room open? -
Wow! Think I'd be fed up too! I regret my patented (not) 'Spotlight condom' does not exist (though I think it should!). However Partel make this: https://www.partel.co.uk/product/airtight-downlight-cover/ which might work (???) (Actually, now I have looked at it I don't think it would work, as it's obviously made to sit down on a ceiling, whereas your lights will, I think, be pushed up into holes in the ceiling). I feel you are going to have to fabricate a version of the 'spotlight Condom' which can be fitted with a/t tape from below and then pushed up with the spotlight.
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Not easily, no, if I follow your description correctly. I assume the ceiling is not up yet, although the 'lots of spots.. etc' seems to imply otherwise, since you need a ceiling to fit the spotlights in. If the ceiling is not in you could *hope* to achieve vapour-tightness IF you can get vapour-tight shrouds for every 'intrusion'. This will effectively be a 'spotlight condom' with a grommet to fir tightly over the cable. And remember that if you pull an EPDM grommet over more than one cable it will not be air- or vapour-tight. 2 wires, 2 grommets. I hope you can make it work.
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Insulating a (presumably hollow) metal door from within
Redbeard replied to Garald's topic in Heat Insulation
I got confused re this, but assume that in this sentence 'cork' should actually be 'core'?? -
This is UW (while unit U value - good, as it includes everything) not Ug (centre-pane U value - less good, for obvious reasons), is it? I have some scepticism re alu windows and doors but they are undoubtedly a lot better than the old 1970's and 1980's non-thermally-broken ones. I was pretty surprised to see how 'vestigial' the 'thermal break' was on one set of alu windows but (after a bit of a shock when the new-build was still pretty 'moist' and the windows were pouring with condensation) they seemed to 'settle down'.