scottishjohn

is this for a gas fire or a log burner --if log burner i would go ceramic --could be a lot hotter than you think especially when it catchs fire from all the resin inside it in years to come and ceramic life will be same as the house

hardie plank would be my choice -no maintainece and no rot

sounds like they should have been made same as main wall founds at perimeter now is not the time to skimp on foundations from your description i think i would be digging out and filling them with concrete if your brickie is worried --then you should be

is there a reason to only use 30cm studs to at wall --cos that low will reduce usable space upstairs If you have no planning restrictions i would suggest you think of making that taller -anything less than 1.3m at wall is really unusable -make it 1.6 m and you could build in storage behind the wall at same time ? just means roof will be flatter

its a pity you cannot extend the original joists out to your roof beams attach your 30cm vertical lifters to them as well -that would be mega strong --then you would have a proper triangle with all load going directly downwards and very simple to do - maybe time for new longer joists and use old ones somewhere on the job- and a nice overhang which could be closed in.

I like closed cell foam -but maybe simpler to use pir backed plaster board and stick it up other wise you going to need to attach some sort of hangers to attach your PB to maybe . areo gel is very expensive spray foam will also make it water proof and airtight so simplest is pir boards if no moisture problems check out insulation value of a 75mm foam backed plaster board

yep no point in changing it unless you do -the 10mm size is what will determine flow rate If indeed it is a flow issue due to pipe size. but its probably not -I had micro bore in a house to upstairs rads and they still worked -but the flow regulator on down stairs rads -you have a valve each end of rad -one is usually a thermostatic one -which turns off rad when room is correct temp the one on the other end is to balance flow through whole system water will go easiest way -so if you got those not set right you will get a mis match in flow rates in the whole system most houses the downstairs rad and more closed than upstairs to make the water go up to bedrooms you can try closing bottom rad flow valves and opening up bedroom ones as far as they will go and see when trying to balance system thermo vlaves should be turned as high as they can go -so they don,t start closing while you are fiddling ideally you need 2 thermo couples(thermometer on inlet and outlet pipe) on the rad and you want as big a temp drop across inlet to outlet as possible 20c would be perfect --but doubt you will get that -but if temp drop across bottom rads is same as bedroom ones and inlet temps are the same -then you got it as good as it can

no way lpg is at least 3 times as expensive -my lpg bill was £1600 a year and i saved £1000 overall -eg my electric bill went up by £600 and no lpg --you do the maths If you got so much wood why you not using that and nothing else?

might it be easier to just paint it before fitting ,as its not in direct contact with the weather? or maybe use MGO board (cement board) myabe if you heat the shed then you could get condensation between the osb and dpc ?

my guess is they just over specced things by a big margin would be interesting to run a sim on forth bridge and see just how much they over speced the things --good one for a uni student to do for a project

I tried that when I modified my workshop and fitted another bolton brady eurofold door same as the other two already fitted,which came with uprights and 6 x 3 I beam for top -complete kit which i then attached to the steel frame of the building just to be sure would not accept bolton bradys drawings building control insisted i get a structural engineers report --another £300 wasted just typical of planning + building control same as i was going to fit a sprinkler system ---all parts available -but to get it passed by BC ,even though I or a fire engineer fitted it I needed to spend £5k for a bit of paper from a fire engineer designer parts for system were half that price so it didn,t happen

when i finally get there --that was my idea as well -and then just brace any dodgy part blocks and corners/ door /window opening with bits of osb/ply screwed to the blocks

fancy not covering them up -good job it wasn,t winter cos if they froze -you could have had real problems as the water expands when ice that was one of the tests i did on these blocks i have -to see how much water they can hold and yes they hold a lot --but totally dry out in a day or so

so if you doing any sort of building in scotland ,then you need a building control warrant . they will want to see the plans which will give the steel sizes , and also the structural engineers calculations I am guessing from what you say you do not have one

I,ve got a couple here and they are lighter than std concrete blocks i,m an OAP and can lift them one handed heavy is not something i would call them ,neither are Isotex . the big advantage to my mind is you need minimal bracing compared to poly block system

as long as it dry it will just stick like shit to a blanket as soon as it leaves the gun it starts expanding no real liquid

I have seen closed cell used in stables etc to stop the mositure from heat of horses and corrosive piss fumes on under side of roof and to also glue the old roof together including sticking the slates in place on an "english" style roof -no sarking boards -just batons to nail slates to -first saw it 20 years ago --the old roof is still up and looking as good as it did then but never seen any holes in it from insects boring into to it

the main difference is closed cell is ,as it sounds a waterproof and air tight barrier they don,t cover the beams totally they leave bottom edge un coated --beams breathe there i don,t see sweating as a problem as you are closing off the damp under floor from the nice dry interior and the heating is on top of that -so sweating will not be a problem It has become a common product to use on the outside of a basement wall to give both insulation and the dpc rather than tanking OVERKILL--don,t agree -better insulation and draft stopping abilities is what we all strive for price up the alternatives and then decide

all I can comment on is switching from lpg to ASHP basically saved £1000 per year with no change to the house just swopping heat source LPG is most expensive heat source there is I am guessing you are using alot of logs for the fire in winter

If you don,t like the spray foam solution then just pack it all with insulation and board the underside to make it air tight

when I built my workshop -30.5 x24m the fabricator wanted to just red oxide and we could paint it --that ,ll be right!!! --spend another 2k in getting it painted -better to coat it before erection we went for hot dip Galv -38 years later the frame still looks like new + didn,t have to spend more money painting it and it match,s in with the galv electrical conduits and the galv air lines I have seen painted red oxide beams in buildings and over time the top coat peels bringing red oxide with it--cos no one will spend the days of prep required etc -- plus red oxide is a porous coat anyway + its probably not REAL red oxide anymore-can,t use red lead now the galv company will dip it in hot acid cleaning tank ,then into the hot dip tank going back in time the steel work cost 30K in 1982 +£1500 for transport there and back and hot dip just no decision to make - obvious as for red oxide that will be done by the boy and just lashed on ,as they expect you to then top coat it ,as its only a transport coat -fine if its support beams for inside the house where its dry For me -there is no argument -if buried .got to be galv finally h why is it buried anyway -surely it will be bolted to poured concrete boxs and be above ground?

got any plans with detail how much space under this floor ? Is floor actually in yet ? If not drop joist hangers down and do it all above . might be simpler and cheaper in long run? If not possible you could achieve both dpc and insulation by getting CLOSED cell foam sprayed under floor there after plumber+ other trades have finished quotes I,ve had for this type of insulation vary around £30-40 per sq m would be done in one day by a contractor

fine provided you can secure frame down enough at top -- rawl bolts or it will topple over- pack up base so you can get fridge under it

I hear you --but i would still get definitive advice from planning before buying --maybe thats why its cheap . and also check with regarding sewage etc

down there ? thats the first mistake --cost alot more for property and staff -- unless you going to fund it