hellopaul

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions! I was planning to do exactly that anyway. The original spec called for (from top to bottom): 70mm screed (with UFH pipes in) vapour control layer 100mm Celotex (or equiv.) 125mm reinforced concrete slab - this is the level we're at right now; slab went in a few months ago. 1200 gauge DPM blinding I got a quote from a liquid screed company; they reckoned 50mm over UFH pipes would be fine, so that saves us 20mm from the original (100mm Celotex + 70mm screed) spec...so I could add an additional layer of 20/23mm Kooltherm (from secondsandco) to the 100mm Celotex. (I wish I'd known about https://www.secondsandco.co.uk/ earlier - their prices are crazy-cheap compared to everyone else!). That might do the job.

Would I be right in thinking the discussion in this thread pretty much answers my question, i.e. there isn't really a miracle product that would provide more effective insulation than Celotex? I'm doing a barn conversion, and I'd like to pick the brains of anyone's knowledge of insulation to ask what is the most effective insulation to use with UFH? I currently have a concrete slab (over blinding/DPM) which will then have (probably) 100mm Celotex (100mm = R-value of 4.5...according to Celotex), then a layer of whatever the screed company want, underfloor heating pipes, liquid screed then engineered hardwood flooring. I'm keen to keep the floor as low/thin as possible, to maximise ceiling heights, so wondered if there's anything out there that would do a better job of insulation than the Celotex, so I could either keep the insulation thickness at 100mm but get a better R-value, or have, say, 75mm of a better product that'd have the same R-value as 100mm of Celotex? The floor is about 100sq.m in total. Any thought and suggestions would be very welcome, thanks!

Thought I'd join in with this thread (or maybe I should start a new one): I'm doing a barn conversion, and I'd like to pick the brains of anyone's knowledge of insulation to ask what is the most effective insulation to use with UFH? I currently have a concrete slab (over blinding/DPM) which will then have (probably) 100mm Celotex (100mm = R-value of 4.5...according to Celotex), then a layer of whatever the screed company want, underfloor heating pipes, liquid screed then engineered hardwood flooring. I'm keen to keep the floor as low/thin as possible, to maximise ceiling heights, so wondered if there's anything out there that would do a better job of insulation than the Celotex, so I could either keep the insulation thickness at 100mm but get a better R-value, or have, say, 75mm of a better product that'd have the same R-value as 100mm of Celotex? The floor is about 100sq.m in total. Any thought and suggestions would be very welcome, thanks!

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone on here can recommend anyone in Suffolk (my site is near Bury St. Edmunds) who could take a look at the potential sewage setup for my house. My issue is this: When I bought the site, I was told there is a mains sewer in the road, about 30m from the property (it's a barn conversion). But it turns out this is a rising main, therefore pressurised and impossible to tap into. Anglian Water does not seem to be prepared to send someone out to look at the area/site and give advice. (Uneducated assumptions and a fair amount of amateur guesswork ahead! Forgive my lack of sewagey knowledge...) So the next nearest mains option would entail a ~90m run, into a manhole whose 'depth to invert' is 1.55m. The site is very flat. If I used 150mm pipe, I'm assuming I could get away with a 1:80 fall (1.125m fall over 90m), but it'd mean I'd be discharging very low down in the manhole, which I presume would risk the foul water flowing through the manhole backing up my sewage pipe. Is that correct? If that is correct, I assume my solution would be one of these expensive-sounding options: Install a pump between my property so it can flow happily to the manhole, with all the installation, running and maintenance costs that this would create. Install a septic tank and drainage field: I have read guides on how to calculate how large a drainage field needs to be (depending on the soil's percolation value and how many people will be using the house) but without knowing the percolation value, I can't even make a guess. If we assume the percolation value is fairly average (the soil is not clay, it's quite nice), could anyone here give me an idea on what the drainage field size is likely to be for a 4-bed, 3-toilet house? Install a sewage treatment plant: Presumably the only reason I'd need to do this is if I don't have sufficient space for a drainage field for a septic tank? (I'm also assuming that Building Control can't arbitrarily insist on this instead of a septic tank...). Obviously this would have higher installation, running and maintenance costs than a simple septic tank. So if anyone can give me some advice or knows someone/a company who would be interested in looking at this/doing the work, then please let me know! Thanks in advance for any help. - Paul

Hello, Quick question: I'm assuming "prior to beneficiary use" (as in my planning approval saying "Prior to beneficiary use, I need to do x and y") means "before someone actually moves into the property to live there", when the work is all finished (it's a barn conversion). So in theory, I don't need to do "x and y" at the start of the build, but needs to be done before everything's completed - is that correct? Thanks in advance for any help!

@Ajn This is what the quoted policy covers: Existing Structure Sum Insured: £200,000 Contract Works: £350,000 Contents Sums Insured: Not Insured Own Plant Sum Insured: Not Insured Hired in Plant Sum Insured: Not Insured Public Liability: £2,000,000 Advanced Loss of Rent Not Insured Terrorism Not Insured Non Negligence: Not Insured Excess: £1,000 Advanced Loss of Rent Excess: Not Insured

Hello, I've recently purchased a barn for conversion, and need some insurance. I've been quoted £2300 for 18 months (~£1500 per year) which seems quite steep, so I was wondering approximately how much other people are paying for insurance, and how hard they found it to even get a quote (I'm not finding it an easy process to even get anyone prepared to quote at all!). Thanks, Paul

Hello, I am about to purchase a timber-framed barn (next week!! ?) for conversion. I'm looking to get some site insurance, but insurers keep asking what the rebuild cost is for the barn. Being a completely empty barn, I'd imagine the effective rebuild cost (prior to any work starting) would be zero, what with a barn conversion typically costing more than a new build. I've heard from an insurance company that the "rebuild cost" should be the figure it would actually cost to rebuild the barn in its current state, which would be pointless, because if it, for example, burnt down or collapsed completely, we wouldn't rebuild the barn then convert it to a house, we'd effectively be doing the far easier route of a completely new build. Plus it's not easy to get a quote to build a timber barn. But obviously as the conversion progresses, the rebuild cost of the project will increase. Anyway, can anyone recommend an insurance provider? (Or who to avoid?!). Some sections of wall may require underpinning, which seems to frighten away every insurance provider. Thanks in advance for any help! ~ Paul