Ferdinand

@bassanclan Thanks for the comment. 1 - I do not think that the 100mm rockwool (already in stock) I have put under the suspended floor between the joists will be enough (for me) on its own. That with just floor above will only be about 0.25 as a u-value. 2 - Services (electric, ch pipes) are running in a void in the floating floor. @Nickfromwales @Simplysimon Thanks for the comments. I have never been entirely convinced by this. There seems to be a recommendation that heavily trafficked areas are battened - eg doorways plus corridors. In a rental I have no control over eg someone bringing in a Welsh Dresser or huge bookcases (as I have done). And it seems easier to batten from the start. One last question, though: If I went for the fully floating option, how do I put a (say) 300mm wide service void round the edge of a room? Can I just make the guys run their services 50mm from the insulation in the rest of the floor and rely on it never moving, or do I need to batten the edge of the void for protection, and use a cork strip to absorb any expansion of the insulation sheets? Plus clearly a batten round the edge to support the floating floor. Cheers Ferdinand

I think if I were looking for this I may be (subject to modern regs) talking to trad-looking butchers' shops to see if any still had their backyard slaughterhouse fittings that I could purchase. I like the continuity. I looked at a property last year that was two butchers shops and the old slauighterhouse at the back - decent sized site. I ran away because of the amount of immediate cash needed and the potential ground contamination. That still had the rails and meat hooks extant after being unused for decades and being in a collapsed state.

This page my help. If you want more sign up for the free account at Planning Resource. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1121218/cil-watch-whos-charging-what&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

@Daniel, welcome. I am not sure what you mean by 'build this summer', but that will need planning permission and it could take 12 months at least to design, get planning and build - more likely longer. And depending on your garden you could get questions from neighbours -overlooking etc due to the 2 story construction if your basement is not entirely submerged. One way to get it more quickly would be design and build from a single company that know the ropes. If you plan to use it this summer or autumn then you may be best going for something under 30 Sqm which does not require planning. It may still be a struggle. Ferdinand

@Crofter Have you a perception issue for your high end holiday let in Skye? They will be wrong, but they may act on "wrong". I know. The agony is exquisite, isn't it? I am still swinging in the wind on my thread about my floor buildhup. F

I do not usually glue floating floors, as I like click fit that can be relifted. I do sometimes put down either commercial quality underlay or double at right angles depending, and an isolation / slip layer to let it move. It can help make it more resilient and quieter. Really it is all judgement calls. F

What sort of duty level do you need? There are domestic ones, but I have a mate who runs an ironing business ... do you want a semi-pro recommendation?

Glad if it helped you save some cash. I am looking at 6 of the Cottage Oak doors, and I might see if they will do a trade account.

@TheMitchells While you are on, came across these Oak Veneer trad pattern 4 panel doors with nice mouldings which might interest you if you are replacing. Reduced from £225 to £50 each. https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/4-panel-oak-door Ferdinand

If you are going for tiles then the advice I have received has been 18mm ply both ways with a lot of screws to make it rigid. Alternatively I have seen them just filled with ashphalt. We got rid of a step down into a room that way. But out if you have a concrete base below tiles I am not sure what all that wood is about. Why not just put a DP membrane down, then insulation down - your 75mm celotex, then fill it up with self-levelling concrete, then tile on that. Is 35-40mm concrete cover enough in these circs, @PeterW ? Or use a screed instead. You could put wooden floor onto concrete directly.

Expunged. Like Carthage.

Decision not quite yet made on this. I am going for 25mm celotex plus 18mm OSB, using 25x50mm roofing laths flat as battens. That will give me a build up of 43-45mm plus floor covering. I'll post my further reflections later on. Thanks for for all the comments. PS Forgot to mention that the above OSB would be moisture resistant OSB3. F

In these bungalows the door you can see in the background in the top photo is the kitchen door, so the placement is about as good as it can get.

I think Tesla will make this work, but it could be Tesla Mark II or someone with money who bought it out. The question may be how many lots of investors money it may swallow first. Mr Musk also has other money pits, such as space rockets, that may need filling. Notably successful, but still a money pit. Ferdinand

Thanks for the comments all. Now need to think over the weekend. @Simplysimon @Stones The point about height is well-taken - though I am only 5'11". However they have concrete lintels, whcih is not a ballgame I wish to enter. Following option 4 I can reduce my loss of doorway height to 55mm plus floor covering. If I switch from 36x63 cls to 25x50 pse I can knock another 13mm off, which reduces the doorway height loss to 43-44 mm plus floor covering, leaving me 1.925m to 1.93m as the opening height rather than my suggested 1.890m above. @ProDave thanks for the flooring comments. There's a suitable compromise here somewhere, just need to find it. Part of the answer may be a door design which makes it feel taller eg a vertical design emphases. Time to go and spend half an hour standing in doorways on blocks of wood, and examining doorframes in detail, I think. Ferdinand

I'll post more detail on the Crofter thread. I spotted a Neff Induction hob on Amazon here for £349. It comes with a set of Neff pans alleged to be worth £119. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neff-T36FB41X0G-60cm-Induction-Hob/dp/B01N4WP20L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494615325&sr=8-1&keywords=Neff+induction+hob Ferdinand

What is the insulatory effectiveness of shredded or broken up EPS sheet in concrete slabs? I can't see BCO allowing such in any regulated slabs, but for conservatories outside the thermal envelope, garages or workshops I could see an application. Or greenhouses. Ferdinand

WHile I am on doors, Todd Doors have some 4 panel oak veneer doors with the complex mouldings reduced from £224 to £50 in their sale. https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/4-panel-oak-door Not suitable for my property unfortunately, but perhaps an option for some people. That is my normal way of doing insulated floating floors to make sure it will last no matter what. Ferdinand

I may have been a little enthusiastic with my floating floor insulation for the Little Brown Bungalow, and I now need some shorter than normal doors. A classic oversight. The arithmetic is that I have specified 50mm Celotex between 36.63mm battens on their side, them 18mm OSB, then underlay and a floor covering (laminate, engineered wood, vinyl or carpet depending). That equals a need to cut off approx 63+18+10 = 90-95mm, plus any air circulation gap I decide I need. There are 6 doors. The plan had been to go with Geneva or perhaps Shaker style oak veneer doors from someone like Todd Doors, where they can be bought for £60-80 inc. VAT. Existing doors are standard imperial 1981mm height. So without butchering the doorframes, and I do not plan to go there, that means I need doors which can be trimmed by almost 4 inches, or find a supplier of shorter or custom doors, or reduce the floor depth. Options seem to be: 1 - Bespoke eg pine doors. These seem to start at £150-£200, so are probably a non-starter. 2 - Find some doors at OK prices which can be trimmed to about 1890mm, or by 90mm. The best I have seen so far are the Todd Doors' doors which can typically be trimmed by 50mm base and 12mm top = 62mm total. 3 - Use slab plywood doors trimmed as needed and recapped. The bungalow had slab doors before, but I was planning on a more upmarket feel. 4 - Reduce floor thickness - could be done by using 36x63mm battens on their face not their edge and 25mm Celotex not 50mm. That would give me an additional floor depth of 36 + 18 + (8 to 10) which can just squeak under the 62mm cutting limit of the Todd Doors. I would need to store or sell the pallet of 50mm Celotex sheets I have already purchased, and buy 25mm. I will have a use for the other within a few months. Any comments - particularly for trimmable doors - would be welcome. I need to decide this over the weekend at the latest. Ferdinand

That tariff is presumably on just the physical product, though.

I am not sure what the requirements are re: fire etc. Is it required to be encapsulated?

Is the warranty perhaps insurance based? (Hopefully ... Solarworld are huge if it is part of the German one).

OK. Need a long, thin bean bag for about £2 that will go through a loft hatch.

Can we find a way to use lots of this? Can it be put into some sort of cover (mattress cover? sack? packaging for a tall thin item that is common?) and put it in the loft for insulation? Does anyone still use paliasses? Surely there are cheap covers or bags we all use that would do it? Potential for a service? Suspect it is too low value itself. Ferdinand

Bumping this rather than start a new thread. Can anyone point me to a guide for expansion, and low-expansion foam to use vs suitable applications? My thumbnail guide is expanding foam for bigger gaps with room to expand, low-modulus less-expanding foam for smaller gaps or where something being pushed out of line would noticeable. I am also after a recommendation of where to source it - currently I would use NoNonsense from Screwfix. In my case this is for internal (of the property) use. Cheers Ferdinand