Gone West

Comfort is a very personal thing and Wendy would not be at all happy at 19C. The minimum we have our heating at is 23C. Some people are happy to wear outdoor clothes, such as jumpers, inside in the winter but we prefer to wear T shirts in doors. As I said, for most comfort set the thermostat to what you find most comfortable.

86 quid for smoke. He must be expecting a lot of leaks. We paid £200 for half a day which included smoke tests, calculations and airtightness test.

Hi Bernd, welcome to the forum. It looks an interesting project, hope it goes well. It's nice to see you keeping the bungalow and extending it.

Each layer should be in the opposite direction to the previous layer to minimise gaps and hence heat loss.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

@zoothorn If there wasn't a loft hatch fitted by the builder did he drape the insulation over the joists as he was plasterboarding the ceiling. That would explain everything.

From what you have described the reason your room is cold is largely because the loft insulation hasn't been installed correctly. The type of insulation you have in the loft shouldn't be fitted so it can sag or be compressed. There should be a minimum of 300mm. The first layer should fit between the joists snuggly so there are no gaps, is not compressed and is roughly level with the top of the timber, probably 100mm. The next layer should go perpendicular to the joists, and if it was 200mm thick it would finish the job. If less than 200mm fit two layers with the second perpendicular to the first. It's a minimum of 300mm, it doesn't matter if it's 400mm. It's a crap job I've done several times but it does make a lot of difference if it's done properly. The builder obviously couldn't be bothered.

From their Glasroc White Book :- Perimeter and junction sealing Designers must give consideration to the precautions necessary at junctions to ensure that moisture is not allowed to penetrate or collect. Cut edges of boards must be appropriately sealed and waterproofed at abutments. Waterproof sealant should be used around baths or shower trays, between the wall surface and the floor at the base of partition or wall lining, to prevent any possible moisture being absorbed by the board core. Tanking systems In extreme moisture environments, the exposed surfaces of Glasroc H tilebacker should be treated with a suitable tanking system. Continuity of linings All partitions and wall linings should be complete. There should be no omissions to board linings, e.g. behind baths.

Hi Kes, welcome to the forum. There's all sorts on here as well as all the different types of projects. You'll find plenty on renovations, extensions and new builds.

Not ideal, but you need only take the bath side panel off to access the flooring under the bath. Is that normal timber floorboards or possibly chipboard, plywood or OSB.

Does that mean Boris hasn't yet cooked his goose with his oven ready deal.

If you really want the room tanked then the tanking would have to go under the bath as well because otherwise any spills could run under the bath and bypass the tanking. Is this a two storey house or a flat or what. What type of floor is under the vinyl mat.

I would foam the 1-2cm gap leaving enough depth, around 20mm, to point it up.

I would strip off all the old white paint in that area if not already done. Repair the stonework and leave to dry. Lime will take a little while in the winter anyway giving you time to decide if you like it or not. Then you can paint it all if you want.

I've just read a book about a chap who lived without money or technology. Very interesting. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786077272

Interesting programme on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000bks0

I have a layer of compriband around the centre of the frame and another layer near the outside edge of the frame. I also have Soudal low expansion foam around the inside edge of the frame. I didn't use any airtightness tapes or membranes in my house.

We had a Panda oil fired boiler in a cupboard in the kitchen of our old bungalow and it was noisey. Our neighbours ASHP is silent.

Our neighbour has a NIBE single fan ASHP at the side of his bungalow which is less than 2m from our fence and it can't be heard in our garden even when standing next to the fence. The only time I have ever heard it is when it stops and there is a whooshing sound for a couple of seconds.

I was the same in that I didn't believe the promises/predictions of either side. I decided that I couldn't see any advantage in leaving the the EU, so voted remain. After the result of the referendum I would have preferred we didn't have a trade deal but had a year to sort out the Irish border issue and nothing else. What convinced you there was an advantage in leaving the EU.

I would think the number of occupants and length of occupancy would have an effect on that. Also the residual heat from appliances, computers etc may be enough with the occupants to maintain lower temperatures. I've found windwash and therefore microclimate to be a significant factor as well. Houses in large builtup areas would benefit from shielding in winter but lose out in summer.

Do these calculations actually mean much when interior and exterior temperatures aren't known nor is exposure of the building known. Wouldn't the number of occupants affect the energy use. I would have thought the number of variables is too high to make these figures useful. I would use a lot more energy heating my house if I lived up near @ProDave for example. When I ran PHPP, designing my house, I found heating it to 20 degrees would use 12kWh/m2/a and heating it to 23 degrees would use 20kWh/m2/a. There's also no mention of whether all a house is heated to the same temperature all the time, or whether when at work the heating is off. Not really knocking it but take it all with a pinch of salt.

How many showers are likely to be taken at the same time. Combis not the best for continuous large volumes of hot water.

Something I would certainly consider if mains gas was an option. Other factors to take into account though.

Depends what type I suppose. We have a first generation smart meter which isn't activated so just like a normal meter, but it's useful because it stores all the monthly usage data.