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Gooman

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  1. Gooman
    At long last, we're in our new home!
     
    Thoughts of a rapid start to the garage conversion have been put to one side as we've got to grips with some of the more mundane tasks that need sorting first:
    Draught proofing - precious little had ever been done, and I've already made a big difference in one week! Tuning the vents on the warm air heating system - downstairs is now warmer than upstairs Fixing the hot water - scaled-up ballcock valve meant the cold water storage tank emptied after two baths and introduced air locks - now all fixed Quotes for fencing around the garden as we want to improve privacy and security Leak-proofing needs to be done on all uPVC windows as the external frame sealant is cracked and in some places mortar fillets had been used rather than foam + frame sealant Broadband still not yet up and running Roof space is well insulated but need ventilation (lap vents will be simplest and easiest) Eaves cupboards are insulated only with fibreboard, all of which needs to come out and be replaced with PIR board  
    Surprisingly, we seem to quite like the warm air heating. Depending on running costs, we might keep it and save the £6.5k-8k it will cost to put in a wet system. If we do that, we'll probably heat the new dining space (from the garage conversion) using electric heaters. Underfloor (of any type) is out as we can't afford to dig out the garage floor to put in the 300mm+ insulation we'd need.
     
    On my task list for the garage conversion are:
    Talk to our builder about sequencing of trades - what happens in what order? Before the wall comes down, electricity supply, meter and consumer unit need to be moved as they all terminate on the wall that's going Soil pipe also needs to be moved (underground and above ground) Roof needs to be raised Steel needs to be installed Wall needs to come down But kitchen sink is currently on the other side of that wall, and we still need a sink while works are ongoing Plumbing and waste need to be moved to wherever sink is going Draft plans for Lawful Development Certificate application Issue Party Wall Notice to neighbours (as the garages are attached and we'll be extending the height of the garage party wall to raise our garage roof) - might be a two month delay Apply for LDC Get steel beam calculations done Create detailed plans for Building Regs Submit Building Regs applicatoin  
  2. Gooman

    The grand plan

    By Gooman,

    Apart from a lick of paint and a recent bathroom, the house is pretty much unchanged since built:
    Gas warm-air heating (ducts, and lots of 'em) with electric immersion heater for hot water Parquet floors to lounge, hallway and dining room which needs resanding, filling and sealing (plus filling the gaps left when we remove the warm-air heating outlets) 1970s kitchen, including sliding-door cabinets!  
    Our aspirations are:
    Immediate - Convert current tiny utility and the end of the double-length garage into a new dining area flowing off the kitchen, plus new utility and (probably) downstairs shower room Immediate - Roof lantern and bi-fold doors onto garden in new dining area Immediate - Replace warm-air heating, ideally with something more environmentally friendly Medium term - New kitchen (self-fitted) Long term - Replace tiling on gable ends with cladding (possibly cement board e.g. Marley Eternit)  
    Challenges are:
    Three-gabled (T-shaped) chalet roof limits possibilities upstairs unless we put in dormers (which we don't have budget for and which would be tricky anyway due to multiple gables) No space to add a shower to upstairs bathroom unless we make the small bedroom smaller still. Possibly considering downstairs shower Existing ground-floor spaces are concrete floor with no inbuilt insulation Garage floor is about 100mm lower and so when we raise floor we'll have to raise the roof too Extending heating to the converted area of the garage - warm-air ducts can't be extended (and we don't think we're fans of it anyway). Garage floor isn't low enough for UFH and necessary insulation, and we don't have budget for lowering it, so it's going to have to be a combi-boiler and rads Asbestos throughout (we've had a specialist survey) including soffits, boiler flue, roof tile underboard, boiler cupboard door, utility ceiling, Marley vinyl floor tiles in kitchen (only the last three of these areas are likely to be touched though). No asbestos in warm-air ducting - confirmed by survey. Budget for immediate stuff is £30k. Conversion could be £20k, leaving only £10k for heating changes.
  3. Gooman

    Trade-offs

    By Gooman,

    Because of our budget, there's some hard decisions and trade-offs to be made. Grateful for any constructive comments!
     
    Remaining garage size
    It's a double-length garage - 9m. We could just convert half of it, leaving the front part as a regular-sized garage, but that will leave us tight on space. Instead we're leaning towards taking around 5.5m, making the front part just a workshop and store (and hopefully, micro-brewery ?. Floor will be raised by 100mm using PIR with 18mm chipboard on top, and external walls with timber frame and PIR. Roof to be raised by our tame builder.  
    Shower location
    Due to the 3-gabled chalet roof, there's not many places where a shower can be put upstairs. There's no scope for an en-suite that we can see (unless we shelled out for a dormer, which is likely to be beyond our budget). The only option for an upstairs shower seems to be to move the bathroom wall into the 3rd bedroom, making it smaller still. The other option is to have a downstairs shower room in the garage, but that's then eating into kitchen/dining room space.  
    Kitchen/dining room configuration
    The existing kitchen is long and narrow, but we aim to widen the room by taking out the built-in cupboards and moving the door back slighting into the hallway We'll then knock through the current utility room The new space is actually larger than the existing kitchen. Do we move the kitchen into the new space and have the dining room where the kitchen is? Could seem a little odd to walk through the dining room to the kitchen, plus we'd have to install a new kitchen pronto as we'd be wrecking the orginal (and that's not in our short-term budget) Would like big (possibly 4m, 5 door) bi-folds onto garden, and a big (3m x 1.5m) roof lantern in new converted space on flat garage roof. Lowest u-values we can afford. Leaning towards keeping the kitchen location where it is, sink relocated to window, and with a small utility room in old garage space  
    Insulation
    Uninsulated concrete ground floor - which might be tricky to raise and too expensive to lower for insulation. VIPs too expensive to do throughout (but considering 10mm for kitchen) Cavity walls are already insulated Roof insulation needs topping up, and lap vents installing in roof fabric  
    Heating and hot water
    Existing system is warm air, with electric immersion and cylinder for hot water. Boiler replaced within last 12 months, but the system can't easily be extended into the new conversion space. So we'd need a combi-boiler just for the conversion. Floor drop in garage isn't enough for the insulation that would be recommended for UFH House isn't well-enough insulated for ASHP As a result we're leaning strongly towards simply a new modern combi-boiler and wet rads throughout
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