Cpd

I agree with you but for me I was to far along to to double back and use lime so made a big effort to make sure that the walls would have plenty of ventilation, it’s worked really well and the internal walls are bone dry. The original poster @MMeNDtal may be looking at what choices he has and if stripping the outside walls of cement render and then picking out the cement pointing and then redoing it all in lime and lime wash is not something he can afford or is unwilling to do then I wanted to provide an example of how I did it to show that it can be done, yes it’s not best practice by any means but in my specific situation it’s worked very well.

Yup....... I have now got 3 external doors on stock and at least 8 internal doors...... i was very glad to be able to actually use one a few months ago. been offered a nice double UPVC door and frame and could not think what to use it for.... I am now thinking that when I build my polly tunnel I could use it at the non business end of the tunnel..... but I won’t be building the tunnel for another two years..... do I get the door and stash it or save the space and let it go ...... what a dilemma !!!!!

I have renovated something very similar, and built a timber frame within the stone walls and insulated both between the studs and over the top, it’s an ongoing project....... My outside walls are cement pointed and painted multiple times and will continue to get painted, they are approximately 700mm thick with rubble in the centre. The way I got ventilation was to create some holes very low down on the outside into the rubble centre and are covered by a stone details (a mini roof) to prevent water ingress, the inside walls of the house have also been pointed but again there are various holes for ventilation. The final part was leaving the top of the walls with some ventilation to the roof. I have a 50mm gap under the sarking boards and above the start of the roof insulation for ventilation and then a vented ridge. This whole elaborate set up means that all my walls and roof are ventilated, air can get in low down from the outside and make its way all the way to the ridge. I live on the west coast of Scotland right by the sea and it’s very windy so this pretty much guarantees good air circulation. I am confident that this will deal with any damp ingress from the outside and now I can concentrate on the stud work, insulation and detailed vcl. I am doing the work myself so am able to take my time and really get the detailing correct. You do loose a lot of internal space this way but for me I wanted to keep the rugged exterior stone work as a feature and therefore did not consider external wall insulation but in your situation with nice flat walls its something that you should consider before committing to internal insulation.

You’ve got various choices but will depend on slope and water volume. You can buy ready made drainage channel with a removable grate on top but there are more suitable for low gradient slopes as they have a tendency to erode at the back on steeper slopes. I built a series of gentle angled burms / rollover humps that shed the water of my road but I am in agricultural land so it looks fine, but would not look good in a suburban setting ! You can diy various things out of wood or concrete but again it’s all site dependent. Can you post some pictures and I will advise you what I think. The main thing to remember is to get the water OF the road BEFORE it starts to move the aggregate, so many people put the drains in where the damage is occurring rather that slightly higher up the slope..... to low and they just fill with gravel rather than water ! Anyway it’s what I used to deal with for 20 years but pics would be helpful.

You could extend it at the bottom to make it even safer !

I made this one 7 years ago (all of 5 minutes) with the intention of making another one out of oak from whiskey barrel lids but never got round to it. its very safe and you can make them as big as you like !

No I am out in the wilds on the west coast, Oban being the nearest Mainland town. Thanks for the offer of help but I am already so far down my own path that even a professional like yourself would be weak at the knees hearing my woeful tale ! Started the Renovation of 3 old stone crofting / farming cottages in a small cluster about 7 years ago..... and should I have known then what I know now I would have flattened the lot and started from scratch! However for me I get to live the life I want on a daily basis while revitalising my 5 acres of land with a mix of re wilding and formalisation while slowly but surely making headway with the building works as well......

Of all my various makes I have lying around this stuff seemed the most “stable” in regards to shrinking and warping, I think it’s made in Ireland? Maybe I got that wrong but someone on here has used it for a house build. https://www.xtratherm.com/products/xt-tf/ but as Peter says maybe it all comes from the same place with different labels on it !!!!!!!! ..... surely not if I was buying it I would not bother with calotex again as this seems the worst for warping and shrinking in my experience. Others have not had problems with calotex but I guess they don’t have it sitting around in there sheds for 5+ years.........

Welcome, always great to have another professional on the team, makes up for all us amateurs!

I used Scottish larch on my cabin as I always intended to paint it, it’s been up over 4 years and no rot whatsoever. I am in a VERY exposed location and Consistent 60-70 mph winds are expected most winters..... combine that with hailstones and your exposed timber gets a shot blasting every few years ! I repaint every year on the front face and every 2 everywhere else, it’s not a drama as it’s a small cabin. I got my larch from a Scottish not for profit organisation and was very impressed by the quality. I re treat with Cuprinol ducks back as I can buy it cheep on line when it’s on sale.

Yes I have two single phase supplies and they have separate meters..... it’s a bit painful paying the standing charge twice...... and in reality I need another supply !

Wiggle and pull if really tight

I just jab a couple of long sharp knives into it about 2-300mm apart and about 100mm deep at an angle towards each other and pull

My house is deeply cold and my kids are aged 3 and 4 and both of them have known for a very long time how to make a fire in the wood stove, no novelty about it just another job that needs doing daily in winter. As a side note I have NEVER had a fire guard and neither of the kids have ever burnt themselves.

Making it look easy mate. ✅

Looking great ! Are your walls waterproof or do they get damp ? Apart from the wool between the studs what is going over them ? Great space, what’s the floor plan ? 2 years in..... I am hoping to kick start my project again this year but have got seriously distracted rebuilding my shed.......

If nobody comes up with anything then it may be worth giving this company a call https://fosroc.com/ used various products from them over the years and was always very impressed at the quality and price.

There is a lot to consider before assuming you can have a turbine, planning first as you will need a Fairly big turbine to make it worth while and then if your not in a perfect location for a turbine Due to local site conditions then there efficiently can be greatly reduced to the point that it would never pay you back......

So many ways ...... just of the top of my head as I’m on lunch brake ! assuming this is inside ? and your not wanting to spend money on it..,.. Orange - infill with some cross bars to a depth that will bring them level with the face of the door (ignoring the bow) the purple are attached to the orange but are longer so that they can be attached to the door face go outside and ram in a bunch of screws to pull the bowed door panels up tight to the orange , purple braces. if you want to make it a bit less draughty staple a bit of roofing paper over the inside before braces. right back to building.

Thanks !

Ok so please humour me as I am interested...... how do you “tuck” the standing seam bit under the window flashing ? Thanks.

I wonder how they seal the bottom as it looks like the roof sheet buts up to the bace of the window but there is no skirt / flashing ?

What a crazy bit of kit....... just the sort of thing I would buy !

@PeterStarck that’s a really good point ^ and one I have not taken into consideration, I live within a few hundred meters of the sea facing the oncoming winds, in one of the windiest spots around as I have hills on either side of the property that funnel the smallest of winds straight at my various buildings. In my shed roof build up I put 70mm of PIR under the rafters and 150mm of rockwool bats between, there is then a vented void. my thinking was that the rockwool though not a great insulator in these thicknesses would act as a buffer to stop wind wash over the PIR. recently i put my hand between the wool and the PIR and found it nice and warm ! (Probably lots of heat loss as only 70mm PUR !) So it is definitely doing something to help keep the heat in and slow wind wash. Not sure if any of this is relevant but could be a consideration in some circumstances.

Seems to be batch specific. I have a lot of PIR of ages from 2-7+ years old and some is still bob on while other newer stuff has shrunk at the edges. So yes it’s a manufacturing problem but often can’t be spotted until it’s to late. If you got a batch that looked good and was hot of the press and then installed it..... and then it shrank it could definitely lead to gaps.... if you were relying only on silver tape as a vcl this could put the whole job at risk. Some of the boards I have on stock have shrunk at the edges and more importantly in there overall size !!!! This Is fairly unnerving if you were using the board as a whole sheet rather than cutting it down to fit between rafters.