ectoplasmosis

Welcome! We are doing the same to a small semi-detached Victorian house in E10.

Has anyone used Forbo Marmoleum natural lino as the finished surface on an insulated slab with wet UFH? I’m hoping to be able to use it in our new extension: slab, 150mm PIR and 50mm screed with UFH. Marmoleum documentation states that it’s compatible with UFH but should not exceed temperatures of 27degC”…

Thanks; did you DIY the EPS fill, or use a contractor?

I’d like to fill the voids to avoid having to ventilate them, and provide some form of insulation for the stack. Is Leca absorbent? Would be great to do a DIY pour down the chimney and swerve the cost of blown EPS…

I’d like to seal and fill the chimney stacks in my Victorian semi. What would be the best way to block the fireplace flues? And what to use to fill the chimney stack voids? Vermiculite/Perlite/Leca/EPS? Got to seize the chance and do this quick as there’s scaffolding access to the top of the stack!

I'm looking to fit fixed triple-glazed units into the very narrow (300mm opening) side apertures of the bay windows in my Victorian house, but size them in such a way so that the frames are hidden behind the exterior brick masonry, and only the glass is visible from the outside. This would necessitate the glazing to be replaceable from the inside, to save having to wreck the fabric of the opening if the glass is compromised. I would prefer to use Velfac 200 Energy, but their fixed units require the sash to be removed from the outside in order to replace the glass; unsuitable in this case. Is there anything out there that's suitable? Looking for ~0.8Uw, ideally timber or alu-framed.

The rafters are ~100mm deep, with a wind-tightness membrane above, then slates. Would it be possible to full-fill between rafters with Dritherm 32, or would an airgap be necessary?

We're having a dormer loft conversion built right now, and are almost at the point of fitting PIR between joists/studs. I'd like to wrap the lot in airtightness membrane, but not sure which type to get, or best-practices for applying it. Are there guides for doing this, especially for around window/rooflight reveals? Which membrane performs well without breaking the bank?

Thank you, very helpful. Do you use TRVs on the rads, or just a balanced system with no individual controls/zoning?

We're about to start building a single-storey rear extension to a Victorian semi, with a flank cavity wall which butts up to a neighbour's existing wall. Would it be possible to use 75mm-wide medium-density concrete block for the inner skin of the cavity wall, instead of the normal 100mm? This would allow us to increase the cavity size and use full-fill Dritherm 32 insulation instead of PIR, eliminating the risks with using rigid board inside a cavity.

Thank you, this makes sense. We will have 9x radiators, and I am only considering oversizing 2x of them (in the two small ~9m2 kids bedrooms), my thinking being that being able to temporarily boost the temp in these small rooms would be handy.

We’re having a Vaillant 7kW ASHP installed in our Victorian semi as part of a full refurb. Wet UFH in new 35m2 ground floor extension and 1st floor bathroom, rads everywhere else. Had MCS survey and calcs done (properly; the installer has done several friends’ houses and is very good). We have a couple of smaller bedrooms, ~9m2 on first and second floors, in which we can afford the space to double the size of the rads specified by the calcs. Is oversizing rads a good idea? I’ve read conflicting reports. We are looking to use smart/dumb TRVs on all rads. How would an oversize rad, throttled by a TRV, affect the function of the rest of the system?

Looks great! Would you mind sharing the total cost of materials?

Thank you both, very helpful. @Redbeard We will almost definitely have to live with a compromised install, without 'wrapping around' to avoid thermal bridging... due to aesthetics mainly.

That's a fantastic reply, thank you! Some pictures would be great if you have any. We are committed to the Solo One Coat lime plaster product for the final surface finish, as we're using it in many other areas of the house, so would be great to have a uniform appearance. More than up for using Baumit as the underlying adhesive etc.

I'm looking to apply 60mm internal wood-fibre insulation boards to two walls of a 10sqm bedroom in my Victorian semi. The walls are south-facing. The walls are currently covered in plasterboard applied via dot & dab, so this will be coming off exposing the bare brick. What would be the best method to apply the wood-fibre IWI, and which surface finish to use? As the bedroom is already small, I'd like to avoid building a timber cavity. Can I apply the boards directly to the exposed brick? I was thinking to then use Lime Green Solo One Coat lime plaster on top, no paint. Would I need to treat the boards with anything before applying the lime plaster finish? I'm very new to all of this, so apologies in advance if I'm asking the obvious!

I'm looking to insulate the entire side elevation of my Victorian solid-brick semi-detached house... which is covered in pebbledash cement render. My budget is small. Removing the pebbledash (properly) and making good is very expensive. Would it be possible to apply EWI directly to the pebbledashed walls? The house is being refurbished right now, with whole-house MVHR being installed so ventilation and internal moisture control will hopefully be adequate, but no plans to install IWI anywhere on this side elevation. How would insulating over the top of the impermeable cement render affect the house?

We're building a ground floor extension with a warm flat roof, 170mm insulation above the joists. Due to proposed hob location, I'm wondering if it's possible to run extractor ducting through the layer of insulation in the warm deck, as per the attached sectional photo...

Thanks; which model did you use?

We're moving our bathroom from the ground to the first floor, and will be installing an extractor. The new bathroom is 3m x 3m. I'm looking for one with a flow rate which can deal with a steamy shower and bath simultaneously, whilst operating at a low noise level. Which extractor model has the best flow/noise ratio?

These doors are standard Cortizo Cor-Vision 20mm profiles, which can be supplied by many glazing firms. Ring around a few local companies and see if they can manufacture doors with this profile. There are several very active suppliers near me in East London who constantly advertise on Instagram etc.

To answer my own question, I have found and purchased the following profile: 'Tamlyn XT-VERT'. Available from here, among other places: https://guttercentre.co.uk/aluminium-trims/10077-896052-aluminium-vertical-profile-x-3m-length.html#/952-colour-mill_finish_non_painted I'm having it powdercoated to match the Velfac windows, will report back after it's all installed.

Surprised that Velfac 200 Energy hasn't been mentioned yet. ~0.8Uw with slim frames.

Thanks for the recommendations; I was hoping there would be an off-the-shelf product available without needing to go bespoke! Any other suggestions much appreciated.

I'm looking for a way to make a window reveal trim from powdercoated aluminium, as per the example in the attached photo. I can find plenty of extruded aluminium products for dormer roof edge trim, but can't seem to find anything off the shelf for making the window reveal trims as per the photo, even though I can find plenty of examples of this having been done. I must be looking in the wrong places... Any pointers gratefully received!