hallega

Up to roof level and about to install the timbers. We are having hand made clays and I want as much insulation as possible as we have used Durisol blocks as main construction due to their U value. Husband is being told to use multi layer insulation and I want as deep as possible warm roof. We have put this material under our barn roof and it does make a difference, but I don't live in it! Has anyone else used a thick warmroof under tiles, is this possible at all due to possible fixing problems? Any info at all would be helpful please.

Does anyone know where to buy triangle pieces of plastic that you pin to a wall before you plaster? In Spain these are attached to the wall and then plaster is sprayed on thick and then a large long trowel is dragged across and these plastic pieces give you the correct depth. Would love to know if they are used here in the Uk. Got an awful lot of walls to plaster with hardwall and then finish. Cheers Lynn

We are converting a derelict cow shed and are up to the roof. We also have a steel portal system, our Durisol blocks have been cut around the steels for cold bridging, super quilt clad and foamed. Closed cell foamed between roof junction and steel where the 8 m sliding window will be. Photo shows insulation blocks in the beam, these will then be covered in superquilt and then ply. We also converted 3 metal silos into a house (you tube) if you want to have a look, these being metal were also sprayed with closed cell foam, there was no other way to deal with the metal and condensation forming. The silo's are a year old now, they are wonderfully warm and no problems that we can see as yet. Hope this helps.

We're up to ground level on the Durisol build and nothing went wrong with the pour due to belt and braces by the other half. The rain has been never ending and the small digger ended up stuck in the mud. We have very sandy ground and it just sucks you in, managed to Lift it out from above with the digger. We are now putting in the step foundations as we are on a hill, the previous house had massive great lumps of concrete installed, obviously to stop the house slipping down the incline! Because of the awkwardness of these and the ground being in such a state, he's filling up jumbo bags with concrete mix and dropping it down into the deep foundations. Yes we could have pumped it in but there's no hurry and it's kept him busy whilst we are in the dreadful lockdown. My daughters main builder got ill and then the daughter and her husband got it, on the mend now but both my husband and l have no idea why we didn't get it to! Hubby is in the process of making a wooden template for the half round bay which he thinks will help with the foundations and the laying of the durisol blocks to get the shape correct, it's 4.6 across and looks very large but rather good. HVMR has enormous pipes...so glad we have a basement as all the equipement for the ground source and ventilation will be in here, I didn't realise how much pipework is needed. The daughter has had to use large pipes almost everywhere as the structural engineer wasn't happy with 28 pipes being put through a structural wall! Her standing seam roof is going on and it's about 1/4 done, it will take 6 weeks to install, a lot of work. Part of it will be gold, can't wait to see this bit, sounds awful but knowing her it won't be. New year will see her roof window installed, this also comes down the side of the building as well, it's been a nightmare finding a company to supply this, fingers crossed it goes well. Happy New year to everyone, if your just about to start your build then best wishes for an uneventful outcome, but expect your pocket to be quite empty by the time your finished!

WOW, that's really nice, thanks for the info, I may just look up the company when the time comes. Cheers, Lynn

AliG, No we don't have mains gas, had to rely on oil for the past 33 years...! I had a pool in my other house, outside and it was run on gas then, we had a pool cover but not as good as they are nowadays. My son runs his pool on his ground source in the summer only but he really doesn't know how much his electricity bill is as he leaves it all to the wife...must ask her then! I do however have 32 solar panels on my stable roof so really I should be using that energy eh. I did hear about the costs of de-humidifying an indoor pool and got put off, much as it seems nice to be able to swim all year round, I've heard horror story's of peeling plaster etc., I shall think again about the ASHP, thanks for the advice. Thanks to ferdinand for the thread.

Bitpipe, we have the area for the ground source and I believe that ASHP is not as effective in lower temperatures, we are 500 feet above sea level here and when it snows we have it for a week and 4 miles down the road it's all gone! Internal and external delta membrane waterproofing, french drains We intend to put in a swimming pool and ASHP will heat that as it's more efficient and economical to heat the pool in the summer months, complicated life eh! I found out yesterday that a LOT of concrete is going to have to go in to hold this house , great news...Loads of money ! My fault that this house doesn't quite fit any criteria as I designed it on "home by me" online, sent it to a CAD op man, then learnt auto cad (not very well by the looks of it) and altered the plans......ooops! THEN decided to add a basement...can you see the problem...hahahaha...I saved 30 grand on an architect and am now putting it back in the ground...O'h well! It should look like this when it's built.....fingers crossed.... our new house.pdf

Too late now for a full basement, I had enough trouble getting the council to agree to this one! I had to go through all the permitted basements in the area to get them to bend on it! Block and beam and the insulation on top seems to be the way to go then. My basement is half in the ground, not fully, I live on a hill. It will have the ground source and MVHR stuff in there and hubby wants underfloor heating too, if it's needed then at least it's there. Constantly trying not to get any cold bridging Conor, looks like we may have to have a sleeper wall inside of the durisol blocks so this doesn't happen, not sure yet, we are moving slowly rather than rushing into everything, it's all a new learning curve for the hubby (74) as he's very old school. Put in a door in case we need to get out if there's a fire, thought that was sensible, but that brings other problems, like retaining walls and now a tiered garden...blooming heck...who thought this was going to be easy, you should see the reinforcement around the sumps x 2 ! Thanks everyone, taken on board all suggestions, glad your here to help. Photo's attached....even I am shocked now by the amount of re-bar!

Can anyone advise on the best way to have an insulated floor above our new basement? Part of the house will be on ground level and the other with a basement beneath, I'm wondering how I can merge the two floors and make it as insulated as possible? The original design didn't have a basement, this was an afterthought. Durisol blocks used throughout. Daughter has used warm floor beams, but she's only got a void underneath, not a basement.

We are keeping them, just in case we have any problems in the future. Many thanks for the advice.

SUPER...... I shall use them as door stops then! Cheers.

Morning, the slab concrete has been laid over the rebar and we took 5 samples of the concrete as it was delivered. Do I really need to send these off for testing? Cheers Everyone.

Many thanks, he's a lot happier now knowing this. Still putting together miles and miles of re bar...ordered a machine to do the job!

Hi Conor, it's a basement...so l suppose 28 days then.....he's going to be spitting feathers!!! Thanks for the reply.

Hi everyone, Do we have to wait for 28 days before we can start placing out our Durisol blocks, hubby is chomping at the bit, anyone advise anthing else?