Redbeard
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Everything posted by Redbeard
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Strongly consider natural materials, such as wood-fibre or a proper insulating plaster like Diathonite - goes on very thick, usually sprayed! Remember that your stone building was probably built with materials - stone, lime mortar and lime plaster, which can absorb and 'breathe out' water vapour without damage. As far as possible you want to make the next layers in the 'sandwich' behave in the same way. Look into air-tightness with regard to 'solid' wall insulation and don't be fobbed off by 'it's OK - it's got a vapour control layer (VCL)'. Acquaint yourself with the Building Regs and in particular how adhering to the U value targets can, in some circs with internal insulation, cause 'interstitial condensation' - condensation on the old surface of the original wall behind the insulation. I'd suggest not getting talked into plastic insulation before you have had a very good look at all the pros and cons. Of *course* it can work, but knowing all the advantages, disadvantages and practicalities in advance gives you the best chance of making the right decision. Think v carefully when/if insulating suspended timber floors. It *can* work, but it can go wrong too. If you cannot get the ventilation (etc.) conditions right you might consider a solid floor, either with 'modern' (plastic) materials or with something self-draining like foamed glass aggregate.
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Even if the drainage is functioning OK is there anything about the 'lie of the land' which is directing water towards those walls? (In one case the damp only seems to come in just inside the wall). Can it be 'encouraged away' by 'softening', re-directing, French drain? You might also consider this as bed-time reading (go to bed very early, though!): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f05d211d3bf7f2be6e0217a/suspended-timber-floors-underfloor-insulation-best-practice.pdf If you can tick all the 'boxes' in that guide you are probably a long way towards being OK.
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What you describe is a hybrid Warm Roof - some insulation between the rafters - not really a Warm Roof - and some over - the 'Warm' bit, tucking up the rafters in warm stuff. However, when you do a hybrid you need to ensure that there is not a risk of interstitial condensation at the interface between the 'between rafters' insulation and the 'above rafter' insulation. The 'rule of thumb' sometimes used is to have two-thirds of the R value above the rafters and one-third between, so it is not 'cold' enough to allow condensation at the interface. (A proper condensation risk analysis is better than a rule of thumb). Even if you could 'engineer' your 50mm uplift vis a vis your neighbour's roof that would mean only 25mm between (the one-third to the two-thirds represented by your 50mm). 75mm, even of PIR, may give you a U bvalue of around 0.3W/m2K, about half as good as the Building Regs U value target of 0.16W/m2K.
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If it's to a SE's spec, usually on pre-cast concrete 'padstones' too, not just the brick.
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Difficult to answer without knowing the SIPs designer's rationale/strategy, but yes, the bottom one could be the combined a/t and vapour-check plane. Although of course a/t layers can be external...
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Solar Heated Hot Water Cylinder Heat Loss Overnight
Redbeard replied to BobRK's topic in Boilers & Hot Water Tanks
I have not come across @JohnMo's solution before, but there would normally in any case be a non-return valve performing this function. They can fail though or, as you describe (to my surprise), be left out! -
Floor and Wall Repairs to Resolve Damp Issues
Redbeard replied to Ferdy Feldwit's topic in Damp & DPCs
There is no mention of insulation. Is that simply because you have not 'got there yet', or because you do not intend to include any? If you are planning to insulate the walls then your strategy for the 'damp' (have you established that it is definitely rising or penetrating damp, or could it be condensation?) needs to take that into account. If, for example, you used your 'liquid applied dpm' to 'dry' the wall, and then insulated internally, you would effectively have a vapour control layer (VCL) in the wrong place in the 'sandwich'. If you were not planning to insulate the walls please let us persuade you to do so! -
Is the OSB your air-tightness layer, or is that dealt with by a separate membrane? If the former, yes, tape. If the latter, maybe not. (Unless you are a serious pessimist and decide to do both!)
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Attaching breather membrane?
Redbeard replied to junglejim's topic in Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
I regret not, but there are compressed air staplers starting at under £50 in places like 'ToolFixstation'. Of course you'd need to buy or hire a compressor but they exist to buy at £100+, and presumably might be useful to you in the next stages of the job. -
Attaching breather membrane?
Redbeard replied to junglejim's topic in Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
There are 2 schools of thought: 1. A hole with a fixing in it (a staple in this case) is not a hole at all and 2. (The more pessimistic one: A hole with a staple in might leave a residual hole). Both are valid! If you are at all concerned get a roll of suitable external-grade air-tightness tape (I know this is not an a/t issue, but some tapes are waterproof too) and stick a small piece over each staple. Tedious, but you can tick that off and proceed to the next issue. The butyl tape would work too - double-sided for pref. A mall piece wherever a nail is going through and Robert is your parent's sibling. -
A whole other universe if that WC is to be taken seriously... Wow!
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Thinnest thin render option. (How to hide some blocks…)
Redbeard replied to Del-inquent's topic in Plastering & Rendering
To clarify I am talking about the render as used with EWI, not about the EWI itself - no space for that. I think if it were me I'd do 2 thin toothed-trowel coats with glass-fibre/acrylic mesh between, to reduce the risk of cracking. Although, come to think of it, are you suggesting blocks with no insulation? -
Thinnest thin render option. (How to hide some blocks…)
Redbeard replied to Del-inquent's topic in Plastering & Rendering
If you use one of the EWI base-coats I suspect you'd get away with 5mm. Of course you'd want to paint it, or it'll look grey - like concrete blocks. -
A piece of plastic pipe glued to a small ball and a clearance hole in the lid. You can even paint 'Full, half-full and empty' marks on it. Of course the clearance around the pipe means that ingress of 'foreign bodies' is not prevented.
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Ah, that's it! Thank you!
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Ah, now that's interesting! It was Baunativ that I used, and in Mar 2020 I received the following e-mail: "unfortunately, since Brexit, it is no longer possible to send goods to the UK. Our shipments are canceled by the parcel service. You can also have the goods collected from us if you can find a parcel service that offers collection in Germany and delivery to the UK. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Baunativ GmbH" I wonder what the 'mechanics' of it are now. I have seen mention of another merchant on here, but I did not note the name.
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If you are really, really tight for space (and your budget does not run to aerogel), you can get 12mm PIR (online - the carriage will probably cost you almost twice the £14+ price, but a bird in the hand...). 9mm plasterboard over that, joint-filled with no skimming will lose you under 25mm and halve the U value ( rough calc says about 0.88W/m2K, copared with around 1.7 for the 'base-case' wall). Insulating sloping ceilings by 'poking things down' is usually a lost cause, as there's usually a joist in the way, nailed to one of each pair of rafters, and keeping an even vent gap *and* getting air-tightness is really hard.
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I use Pro Clima. I gather Siga are good too, though I have not used them. Before we left the EU I used to buy direct from Germany. The merchant I used decided they did not want all the import/export faff, but I believe some on here have found merchants in Germany who will supply and sort out the customs stuff.
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Ours was 112mm brick, with stone details, but dry. We did lime parge coat then 40mm rigid wood-fibre, plastered and primed/air-tightness-taped, then rough-coat plastered, then replaced panelling, amended as necessary.
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Don't plasterboard it! Lime plaster. +1 for external wall insulation, though you will have to build a 'gable ladder' to extend the roof line.
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Remove it, insulate behind and re-fit with amended joinery details as required. It's what we did. (Mainly 40mm wood-fibre, and 100mm wood-fibre on the flanks each side of the bay)
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External finishes, insulation and vapour/condensation
Redbeard replied to Anonymoose's topic in Heat Insulation
- Why are you proposing XPS, which is completely impermeable, rather than EPS which has a degree of permeability? - Definitely fill the cavity (suggest EPS bonded beads, NOT Rockwool). Yes, insulation should not be used as a draught-blocker, but if the alternative is a potential through-draught and complete thermal by-pass (EWI left 'out in the cold') then, unless you can absolutely guarantee no air movement, insulkate the cavity (and of coiurse you get the R value of 75mm EPS anyway. 50mm EWI is not that exciting. Is that limited by roof oversail? -
Welcome! I (and many others on here, I imagine) would like to steer you towards breathable (water vapour-permeable) insulants such as cork or wood-fibre (WF), but whatever you use, ensure that it is bedded in a full coat (or at very least (second-best) a full-perimeter bead with cross-hatchings) of adhesive to reduce the risk of thermal by-pass (cold air moving between the wall and the insulation). Before you do anything have a read of the government's Best Practice Guidance (Retrofit Internal Wall Insulation: guide to best practice (publishing.service.gov.uk) Insulated plasterboard may incorporate a vapour control layer but it is missing at every joint. I prefer (if I am using plasterboard, rather than plastering onto cork or WF) to use separate insulation (say PIR) taped at all joints and perimeters with air- and vapour-tight tape, then add the plasterboard. More than anything, though, if the wall has been soaked give it a long while to dry out. 225mm of brick takes a long time if it has been really wet.
