saveasteading

See page 43 among others. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2020/02/guide-for-practitioners-6-conversion-of-traditional-buildings/documents/guide-for-practitioners-6-conversion-of-traditional-buildings---part-one/guide-for-practitioners-6-conversion-of-traditional-buildings---part-1/guide-for-practitioners-6-conversion-of-traditional-buildings---part-1/govscot%3Adocument/Conversion%2Bof%2Btraditional%2Bbuildings%2BPart%2B1%2B.pdf

I can see that. Thanks for the pictures. The stonework is probably difficult to make attractive, being small rocks. Therefore I can see the attraction of keeping it, and the rain off. My suggestions. As a priority, lower the ground so that there is no rising damp, and any rain splashes are below the floor level. (Rising damp does exist, according to me and apparently to all professors of rising damp. One website that doesn't agree seems to dominate google, so look beyond that. Also deal with any other issues like chimneys and leaking gutters. Then over-clad but with a rain-screen that will keep the rain off but allow the wall to breathe. (Over-cladding creates a thickness, standing out from the all. this can be a problem at the eaves, as the gutters need to be moved out, involving roof extension.. Therefore I expect this has to be quite thin.) OR patch up the cement screed again and see how the wall behaves in a loved building.

You can easily do this yourself. This will show if it is feasible at no cost. Then you may have to get your professional to watch you do it again and confirm. It is not normally in SE or Architect skillset if it is a full assessment. But simple proof may be enough. As I said, contamination isn't the issue.... It is reasonable however for the BCO to ask how you are disposing of the rainwater. To a soakaway, any exceptional rain held back by a swale. None to burn if you can. All my comments have to be related back to the reality of the site of course. This will be on the surface. The test is dug beneath the soil, in the ground which has to allow the percolation. perhaps the same clay, but 18m is a long way down and maybe a different stratum there. Which brings us back to a pond. The fish and frogs will drink the water.

No, no no. The wall is still there because of the construction, including lime mortar and lime render allowing it to move and breathe. Any other render will likely cause problems. Don't trust the suppliers or contactors unless they are masons or can show you the successful use on masonry from more than 5 years ago. What stone do you have? any pictures?

Coppicing does not require the tree to be killed and if grown in the appropriate sequence is getting close to sustainable. Apart from buying a saw, and running it. and transport, and particulates. But nothing is perfect, and it is better than oil, or coal, or gas, or charcoal from the Amazon.

It clearly was, but should no have been. That is a lot of rods and resistance . Next time it might be worth hiring a flexi rod as it will be easier to push. They are available with a transmitter and receiver, but at quite a cost.

For an overview of the tiles: Are many missing or broken? Are they all the same colour (Concrete tiles fade, so repairs may be visble) Are they in straight lines along the roof, especially as they overlap the gutter? Are there any sags in the roof (best seen looking at an angle). It isn't so much the tiles that tend to fail, as the battens beneath, or the fixings.

The advice above is good. In a trench of round gravel, a third is air and the rest is stone. Anything less than round and the volume of air (hence water) decreases. Therefore your trench of 25m3 will only hold about 8m3 of water at best. Perhaps that is enough. The calculation depends on location, rainfall intensity and duration, and is rather hard work, hence computer programmes are used as standard. You haven't said much about the site: permeability, slopes, area. This can be increased by using expensive crates instead of gravel, or by adding empty pipes to the trench, although that can be as expensive. As Gus says, the trench will perform as a soakaway, depending on your ground permeability. This can be increased by changing the shape to provide more edge area, if space allows. Also you may be able to use the drain pipes as temporary storage, and soakaway area, if they are shallow slopes. It is good practice, even if not enforced, to avoid any water at all running straight to the burn. I don't think pollutants are an issue in your case, but it is good to do your bit to avoid increasing flooding downstream. What happens to the water after your storage trench? Is it to soak away, or is there a controlled outlet to the watercourse? Bottom line. Designers sometimes forget that rain has been falling on your site before your project. Your responsibility is to not make it worse for the environment. Soakaways, ponds and swales can be worked with to achieve this. The latter have the benefit of surface evaporation as well as soakage.

It's OK. leave it. If people can't tell if it is concrete or stone then it can't be too bad. I agree with jet wash , repair, and distract, Your beautiful plants will get all the attention. I would also drill some drain holes through the mortar to let water out and reduce pressure that may lean the wall over. as is probably the cause in the last picture. Try through the mortar at the top of the perpend, perhaps every 2nd or 3rd block, and that should be quick and easy. Drill bit as big as the mortar will allow.

Is that wise? Something not being normal is often for a good reason. I am thinking that the foam and silicon are flexible so the door movement might cause the timber to 'swing' ever so slightly relative to the steel. I think at least screw through timber packers (cut exactly or folding) so that the screw is pulled tight.

So can a piece of tape on the rod, and lay the rod on the surface over the drain run...but yours is more fun.

I think it was ProDave who pointed out that the summer PV is not a waste as it is needed for hot water.

I have used this a lot and it works. The plastic will chip at the top over time but it will continue its job of retaining the stone. Yu must consider if you will have heavy loads on it ever, and put more stone underneath accordingly. Yes you will be able to dive up that slope, but the decision on attractiveness/ comfort must be yours. Yes that works too but you then need pedestrian ramp or steps, and there is a potential 1m fall off the drive.

That is very pretty but the price!. 40% less energy consumption to bring a room to 21°C from 10°C How so? Energy in = Energy out. 40% quicker I could believe. Less energy, no. The electric fan is heating the space too, of course.

That is true once you have credibility and people are contacting you. The knowledge and experience do the selling. But sitting by the phone or looking for non-existing emails will not get business. I started business with a partner who was 10% Engineer ad 90% sales, and he would phone /visit possible clients and connections all day. I just couldn't do that, due to some sort of shyness/modesty/ lack of skill. Once there was a job the clients wanted me not him, so it worked. Later, when he had departed, the phone rang anyway, and my sales were through networking. I recall a client telling me at the opening ceremony that he recalled our first discussion. He phoned me asking if we were interested in x. I apparently was comfortable to talk about it, but not excited ' I will have a look and see if it suits us'. whereas all the other contacts were selling like md, and could do absolutely anything, and meet him tomorrow. If only I had known that, then the negotiating period would have been less stressful. But if work becomes less plentiful, then the sales oriented businesses tend to do better. It is part of an Architect's training to sell themselves. We Engineers are more inclined to deal with what is in front of us. I once did a presentation to a school board, after which the Head thanked me for my clarity and honesty......so what had the competition been saying? Is that selling?

Using electricity to drive the fans? I do favour fans in big spaces, especially on the ceiling to force the hot air down again.

According to recent discussions on here, only mains gas would be cheaper, prior to the current price increases and concerns. There is lots of good info on bh on this, including quite recently about ashp with PV., and that is what we will be doing. Just thought though, further to saying that ducted heated air works... it worked fine in a 10 hour office scenario, but maybe not so well in domestic, with varying room conditions.

Yes in theory. But with this type of building the foundations are probably very shallow. We had area already exposed, ie the stone walls were 100mm above the visible ground, thus sitting on 100mm of exposed vertical ground. It would be very easy to destabilise the walls..indeed there are tales of them falling down during such works. And yet existing lintels may dictate the finished floor level. Cassettes of insulated timber positioned 25mm inside the masonry. That was fine on paper (or screen) but the reality is of non planar walls and so the void varies and more floor is lost. Yes that works. I designed that, with ashp, into our own office building 15 years ago. The effect is indeed quick, and can be reversed for cooling. But the ducts are large and obtrusive.

From a very quick look, the tested value for a 600mm stone wall in good condition is an r value of 1.0. So that is like 40mm of mineral wool or 20mm of PIR. Or a U value of 1.3, which is much better than the published figures for a solid brick wall (2.0) but nowhere near a relaxed conversion target of 0.3, or a modern house target of 0.18. Thus the walls are a very good start to the insulation of a building, but not remotely enough for modern expectations.

We are currently converting such a building, with 600mm of granite, plus some ashlar sandstone. There are tested figures for these walls, and they are better than the heat loss programs allow proportional to thickness. However they are not remotely close to building standards. Scottish warrant requires insulation to certain numbers 'as far as reasonably practicable'. That does not allow bare stone and no insulation, unless it is a listed building with very special walls. Heat loss is not related to the source of the energy, so ashp makes sense...we are doing this. Obv the floor is warmed more than with space heating, so floor insulation must be paramount.* As mentioned, dampness in the wall will increase heat loss. Read up on pointing. As above, if you were to have no insulation on the walls then you will need a lot of heat to warm the walls before the space becomes comfortable. And it will be expensive. * an insulated floor requires 100mm minimum insulation under a screed. Beware the effect of this on your works esp excavation ,(and wall stability) and existing door heights.

Those of us who can handle a tape measure, don't always appreciate that transferring a position from inside to outside ca be tricky, involving logic and sums. and then a cautious pilot hole. That is my guess of the issue that was then abandoned.

Not something that is easy to answer. Cheapest/ most durable/ most attractive/ boxings for columns and beams allowed? Then we could make suggestions but you cant find a builder who would do it that way, or at the budget. In principle, for small buildings use cavity wall and timber roof, with a steel beam if necessary, then any builder can do it. Do work to some approved standards please, whether they are required or not.

We should never make holes in webs or flanges without a check. In reality there is usually some spare load capacity, and spread out fixings will be ok....but a phone call to the SE is likely to result in a straight forward 'no problem'. Also consider out of balance loading..If the timber is all on one side, then the load will twist the beam....which is bad thing. I prefer to fix using purpose made 'timber to steel' screws. This allows for careful tightening , and some adjustment. Concealing the head without risking pull-out may require consideration.

Insulate. The pipes will tarnish anyway. In fact insulate a lot. Pipe insulation of the higher quality then box around.

That looks like my rendering skills. Except I know it is wobbly and make it rustic. My guess is that this is wobbly render rather than loose, but do what PD suggests....a light tapping with a hammer to listen for hollow sounds.