allthatpebbledash

Yeah this is the chosen route now. The 5% VAT for the renovation makes it nice. It’s all up for discussion but currently we’re looking at a slab, unsure about thickness of insulation. Or even type to be honest. Once we have a first draft of technical drawings done, I intend to post and gain advice on certain aspects on the forum. At the moment we’re early stages.

Thanks. It didn’t occur to me when I had heard the statement off our architect to go looking at the government websites. So during the same meeting I started searching the forum, and thought can’t see nothing, lemme post a quick question. There’s a wealth of knowledge on here and someone’s bound to know and will reply far quicker than I would be able to find it trawling through legislation. Been a good response too, can’t wait to begin our retrofit and grab more insight into various other aspects of the build from others on here.

Because we have the option to I suppose. The house is currently a shell, masonry and timbers, it needs all the services (everything really) putting back in. Was close to being a demolition and rebuild job but we’ve “saved the environment a little” and working with it now. So, all the floors are being replaced, new insulation into the void below ground with a ground bearing slab at the minute unless engineer changes his mind, and a new roof structure entirely that will be well insulated, and triple glazed windows. The current cavity filled mineral insulation will be assessed and if deemed cost effective we may hoover it out entirely and refill with graphite EPS beads. Currently it’s still in place and looks to be in good condition. We’ve ruled out EWI for various reasons at the moment. Along with this, there will be a MVHR system, PV with battery storage, and UFH across all floors. We’ll be upgrading to 3 phase also. The PV array as of now has a working projection of 15kW if both the south facing roofs are used. If just the one, it’ll be an array of 10-11kW. So we’re definitely investing into the building. But we love to cook with gas. Woks and Karahi require it for the true chefs and authentic recipes. Not to mention to make a good chai. As it stands, there is no gas boiler on site either. So it would be a new more efficient one if we opted for this route and get a water cylinder or two which we can dump the PV generation into or dumped from the battery if stored from the day before. As the property has been vacant 2 plus years, we’ll be paying either 0% or 5% VAT for nearly the entire retrofit so rebuild makes little sense. See above. As for occupancy, 2 adults and 3 kids under 10. We plan on staying a while so it’s not a ROI type of thought process, more a case of how can we make this the best we can now (budget in mind) and make it more comfortable and financially sustainable for the future. Low energy bills at the outset is the idea. Thanks 😂, and thanks to everyone else also for answering the initial question. Definitely sounds like mambo number 5 that, but them authentic Indian pans won’t work on one. So sadly can’t do nowt and cough up moolah.

Had no success in searching for the answer on here so wondering if someone can shed light on this. Currently planning a deep retrofit. We are looking to replace the gas boiler with an ASHP for hot water and heating. And we want to keep the gas line to the property for the kitchen hob. Would the BUS grant still be available to us? I’ve been advised to double check this as been told the gas line has to go completely and we would need to go with an induction hob instead.

The architect has been working on PHPP modelling and data suggests extracting of blown wool CWI and refill with EPS bead would give us the target value needed. But with adding EWI we can get that number lower of course. Given the added benefit of nicer exterior finish, and better cold bridging across the envelope, is why I’m debating the extra cost. Can you share a rough section detail of your floor to wall junction/build up?

Hello. Done lots of reading till now but not quite come across an answer regarding my own specific situation. I am planning a detached house retrofit. Part of works will include taking the whole roof off and placing a brand new one on (we’re restructuring basically). Also, suspended timber ground floor is going and we are filling with insulation and a slab most likely. Crawl space is 400mm leading to 800mm as ground slopes. There will be all new windows and doors and MVHR. But I’m struggling with understanding the walls. Currently external walls are covered in pebbledash. Ideally we want to remove or cover this. Wall build up is brick cavity brick, 70mm cavity and (fully) filled with blown wool many years ago. As the house is stripped out, can confirm it is still in place on 1st storey and not slumped. A part of the house (previous extensions) has 50 PIR in the cavity. I was thinking to avoid IWI to not reduce footprint inside, so my options were CWI only or CWI and EWI. But concerns about condensation and air tightness. Option 1. Extract current CWI wool, refill with EPS bead. Wet plaster internally for air tightness. CorkSol or render over pebbledash externally. Option 2. Leave wool CWI in place, 80-100mm EWI with weather tight render which will become new air tight layer. New roof and ground insulation will meet EWI to create envelope. EWI will go straight over pebbledash too. Cost wise, whilst CWI is cheaper than EWI, the additional labour of extracting the wool CWI, and re rendering over the pebbledash, and wet plaster internally makes option 1 more or less same as option 2. Hence why I’m looking at this route. I am concerned about condensation and convection within the cavity. Or can this be mitigated by other means? EWI runs down below ground closing off air bricks? Or new ground insulation/slab can close it? Or cap cavity at bottom and top? Looking for advice and input from anyone who’s done something similar or can advise on the merits of the above really.

Thanks for the images. The timber finish looks really nice. Suppose it’ll now come down to price once we get to that stage.

How about the lamination of the timbers put together? If you could, can you share some images please.

Hello everyone. In the process of our now third round of planning and we’re looking at aluclud windows. Idea is to have the internal frames clear lacquered to see the timber. I’ve seen GBS windows up close and the timber is jointed in many places. Rationel also appears to be the same as above. Many joints. Internorm doesn’t have joints as such but you can see where the pieces of timbers have been pressed together. Has more of a linear structure. We don’t mind this look. I was hoping if anyone has images of the other suppliers? Nordan Norrsken Allen brothers Idealcombi Velfac (same as Rationel?) There’s probably more but these are companies I know of so far. I’m trying to save trips to go see all of them in person by ruling out ones that are jointed everywhere. Thanks.

That sounds like an opportunity to go snap up some bricks en masse. Who’s this manufacturer please?

Having found out the supply of bricks is a little nuanced, I’m wondering if there’s manufacturers out there who’ll sell directly to self builders. We have a decent sized plot and could possibly off take a load at a time, maybe even a wagon load. I’ve searched the forum and come across York Handmade, but wondering if there’s others? We’re based in West Yorkshire.

Hi everyone. Lots of lurking from me as we’re not quite ready with planning yet for the new build, but doing research early. I’ve come across this comment (link above) which suggests there should a pinned thread or two which helps breakdown cost effectiveness in sourcing building materials, but I can’t seem to find it. Can someone kindly locate it for me? Effectively I’m trying to understand if a cash account is the way to go with merchants or if I should open trade accounts.

Just joined after weeks of browsing. Have a few questions which I couldn’t find answers to specifically so thought I better sign up and start asking. But first let me say hello. Project is to modernise a 1960s detached house. Has undergone a few extensions already under previous owners, albeit not in a thoughtful manner. We are going to gut the whole thing inside, add another storey on existing rear extension, complete new roof with loft conversion, and do a major internal remodel. And of course, remove 4 facades of pebbledash.