zoothorn

Can someone help out here. There's a massive miscommunication, or I cannot understand PeteW's syntax.. or something very odd happening. One question for now. I have a ground floor room with 1x door/ 1x window, a concrete floor slab > 50mm insulation + 22mm chipboard floor, timber-frame walls filled with 140mm of insulation > plasterboarded.. & a ceiling of joists filled with typical orange loft insulation > plasterboarded. The BCO has determined, in u-value terms, the insulation to be as said. Is this room determined to be A) unheated, or B) heated ? Thanks.

@PeterW The problem I have is that you keep repeating that I have an unheated space (lower room). Its unnoquivocally established that I just do not. Just before, in the post with the two words in bold you contradict yourself (Ive never read such a contradiction, in my 48 yrs).. You state (assuming that I didn't know, but very simple to understand/ known for a month) why Ive been told to go up to 140mm C'tex in walls because Im going less in the floor (not 100mm.. but 50mm). So the statement is made that I am putting in insulation, in your own words. But.. The very next paragraph (with the two words in bold).. you state the total opposite: that I have an unheated room below a heated room! I do not have an unheated room (according to you). So why on earth would you say immediately after that I do?? [unless you're referring to the situation -after- the BCO has signed it off > & I undo it?? in which case no rules apply anyway.. bewildering!!].

Eh? But/ so.. you're saying if it has -got- floor insulation, then its not classed as an unheated space (which means the last two whole sentences ^ are n/a.. I just don't understand why you'd write them). It was always going to have 100mm poly insulation. Ive mentioned this (& the 50mm Im allowed to go) in almost every post. How can you possibly conclude, that I'll have an "unheated space", if I state as clear as day.. that I'm putting in 50mm floor insulation???

I'm confused by almost every word of this.. Sorry but exactly what are you referring to as irrelevant? I understand the floor has to be insulated (Ive clearly outlined doing exactly this in my posts/ then removing afterwards & re-using, again should be clear as to my idea). "ceiling as it is a ceiling above an unheated space ... you have no choice and it should be a very good insulation layer". Sorry but this is not possible to understand. 'ceiling as it is a ceiling..' eh? And 'unheated space'-? every room built is an unheated space, until you choose to put a heater in or choose not to- no?

Yes I'm looking into this (3rd job, after electrics tho): I'm thinking get rockwool-sound-slab stuff between the joists (easy), & actually within them too? here's the tricky bit: they have a frame design, each joist has a btm/top of timber & alu zzz shaped sides.. prolly only just get a typical dickension child slave's hand in.

Hi joe90- was gonna do that, mainly for sound containing/ thought I had to put the orange stuff betwwen joinsts tbh for building regs re. insulation anyway.

Ok understood/ that's a plan to consider.. assuming the BCO cannot tell &/ or wouldn't care if not glued together though. I also have to consider if removing the floor insulation.. whether the cold released will affect the (priority) dwelling-room above: this will be the master bedroom ive decided now/ makes no sense to freeze in adjacent bedroom, & as its a bit bigger than I expected. thanks Declan.

starts to spread?

Now that's a good idea, hadn't thought of laying the caber+ on the concrete/ probably a ruberry mat between or something. It was originally always going to be a low 2m ceiling with no window (with 100mm & screed included), so the idea of adding the window might have served me well after all if I'm more constrained in H by 50mm than I was originally going to be. Ok if I do your idea or mine, the same Q applies though: would you think its possible to friction-fit the Caber+, using no glue, & get it signed off? I can't see any safety issues. I wonder if the BCO would care or tell if it wasn't glued together? cheers.

Perfectly good Q. More important? I don't know, yet. This is the point of my idea: if I were to find it tollerable for H I could leave it. If its not I can undo it. Warmth is not something I have luxury of deciding on.. it just follows as a bonus if I can tollerate the low room H. If I had the 2m I specified on my plan with the floor (ideally as originally 100mm + screed both to keep me warm AND to save me £200 on additional wall insulation).. I'd not have to be even considering 50mm +22mm chipboard, let alone doing without it entirely. But afaict the builder can just change my plan to suit him, then demand I pay up by worded threats (of 10% surcharges if not done so within 14 days). A disgrace I think. 5'11".

Not quite no. When builder & I were on "compromise street" we agreed him to supply instead of 100mm poly + screed as per estimate (no idea how he was ever to 'supply' screed come to think of it).. 50mm poly + 22mm chipboard. Once BCO ok'd the idea. My plan was to lay it & undo in a way & not be damaged, use the 50mm poly up (cabin floor garden uses 2 up) & around my freezing house (eg above kitchen/ mini attic).. & use the Caber+ made into workshop tops. I dunno. The main reason is to keep room H to 2.05m which is what I measure right now factoring in ceiling pB. Actually I work 100% time standing: woodwork, cabinet covering/ everything within this room.

1.9m. I've also paid for the groundwork (because I panicked -yet again- when I saw his smallprint "if not paid in 14 days.. 10% surcharge" pressuring me to pay). Awful this has been from day 1.

But what if I don't care if it moves, or put something temporary to fix it, so I can take it up?

Another consequence of what my builder has done: ok this room was always to be low @ 2m. Its turned out to be less. Ok the reason: During build to dissuade me from asking Q's (on the wretched 1ft-set-too-low issue) he promised me "all ok as this 1ft will be added to lower room H". Ok a compromise but at least I had a higher room I thought (& all more critical stuff therefore still be as per plan). But once built I jump in & measure all panicked not only had he lied to me/ the extra H didn't happen.. but also with the original 100mm insulation + screed floor factored in (always discussed was to be the floor), later once I established it had NOT already been built in (all I could see was a concrete 'floor', all I knew was the floor him to be doing, such as the estimate 'floor & insulation below supplied' suggested to me at the time it would be his job/ & done?)............ I get a figure of 1.9m. So I had to scrape every cm to get at least 2m as per my plan. So I plead with BCO & he agrees 50mm foam + 22mm board.. but tells me I have to go 140mm wall insulation then as a result (+£200 cost). Alot of stress My builder finds both my stress & the added cost amusing. Sorry its complicated answer. Its but ONE consequence of this awful all-1ft-too-low ongoing issue I still have nothing but lies & hot air as to reasons its happened. Its actually the -least- critical consequence: if I list the others I get depressed.. lest to say I'm very angy & dissapointed..

Good point: I should have said, no plumbing at all. No electrics below either (floor to go directly onto ground floor slab). So a fairly simple proposition/ job, I hope. Any idea if I can friction-only fit the Caber+ boards together? I may have to undo/ pull up the whole floor after I get it signed off.. not possible if C4 glued together.

Hi Peter- I'll leave the electrics just for now: my head will explode if I try & consider these as well (my plan on this: get my nice spark him & me do 1st fit stuff.. then his more pro "Part-P" certified buddy he recommend, jump in to check all & 2nd fit: I'll do a thread after floor job). Just floor, 1st job then. Ok my builder didn't mention a dpm, either in the material list (just supplied poly board/ caber board) or the brief time he gave me outlining on how to do the job: I do of course have the main black dpm under slab > goes up at the edge @ block course > up over it to plinth top level. Is the dpm box ticked then?

Hi. I have an extention mostly built: builder main stuff complete. All inside xyz to do (1x floor, electrics, insulation, pB etc). I'd appreciate some help in fitting a 22mm Caber+ floor (plus 50mm C'tex below) onto a ground floor slab. I saw the same floor fitted above (on joists of this lower room's ceiling) but done so quickly before I could take pics & take any notes. Boards all stacked ready. So to start: should floor be laid before the electrics/ insulation/ plasterboard? Thanks, zoot.

Happy New Year to all on here. The builder stuff completed- bar the last "1/3rd" bill rudely promised I'd get asap [19th..] so alot depends on it as to whether I sue for damages.. but I'll leave that for now. So in the meantime, at least I don't have him turning up to work woohoo!! & can now start to consider all the 'downhill' internal stuff for me (mostly I hope) to do, in my own time: Upper room: electrics, insulation, pB. Lower room: electrics, insulation, pB, lay floor (50mm + 22mm "Caber+" chipboard). So I'll split into sections for clarity, new threads: I'd be grateful for any help & advice. Thanks, zoot.

Ok another thing I need to clarify/ opinions please. Here is the exposed foundation 'coin' on the corner of existing white wall (just to the RHS of new door here): a big block of grey slate, below which the earth/ clay is visible (one reason I didn't want to go down this low!). Is there any structural issues with this situation? should the builder have left this corner like this? I can see erosion of the soil below this block which is highly alarming, to me.

Maybe this is the stuff I was thinking of- the pic on the page tho looks like a slab type which could be prized apart (& stuffed within the alu zzz shaped joists maybe) it just looks like a much denser rockwool. I can't think its rigid like kingspan rigid..

Ok will consider.. but surely before this outer layer I can help things with regard to the load of insulation I have to put in here- this is really the only thing I'm asking about, especially relevant if I hear of "sound acoustic rockwool" which is very basically presumably the orange stuff just alot denser.

Understood.. which is why there are no windows or doors n'bors side/ a blank rendered wall.

Damn.. one thing I don't have is room H (bc builder lied & said 2.5m gonna happen in lower room.. & I end up with 2.05m) so cannot do more than std 12.5mm pB.

Love to. By god they deserve it SO much too. But it'll only excacerbate & mean even more council visits, possibly tools taken away & my work room curtailed. I want to make it as useless-as-possible-an-excercise for them to complain.. so when council visit next time (100% definite soon) they hopefully dismiss the complaint, fingers crossed once & for all.

Hi Peter- no the BCO said just normal orange stuff to go in this dividing floor. What I want to do is instead, if I can (if X stuff is feasable to use here) is maybe use the rockwool acoustic slab stuff instead. The reason why I want max sound insulation here, is this dividing floor > & up out the roof (std 2 rolls of std orange stuff laid perpendicuilar & pB ceiling DONE in upper room by builder) is the weak point of sound leaking out.. because I'll have 140mm of insulation in timber frame walls & pb'd over + block outer course + thick render: so some sound retention here, but little in this 'lid' on lower room. Yes as Onoff said I have 2 couples of awful bullying neighbours who complain (to bully me not bc likely to get results) about everything they can think of sending police visits, xy & z council dept visits relentlessly over 3 years now. The sound I'll make via a router & dust extractor (albeit only 1.5hrs/ day) will mean fuel for both couples to complain again & harder, especially if its work-related. So I need to do as much as I can to subdue the sound. Walls 140mm rigid insulation (before jan £ hike) delivered today. thanks- zoot