Post and beam

I was ready to hit the 'buy now' button this morning on a unit from a company called Intovent in the Netherlands. I thought i would check first. They cannot deliver to the U.K. Which is a great pity because the price is amazing. 2267 Euro. Less than £2k

I hope i can balance the flow rates once i get to that stage but i have a different number of inlet & exhaust ports. I guess the flow is the important parameter here.

Yes, its 750mm wide by about 500 deep. Might need some mechanical help though at 38Kg. I thought of buying a pulley set. Thanks guys. I dont see why it should be a big deal but wasn't sure if that was just my ignorance making me miss an obvious parameter.

Thats my #A option. Seems like the best resolution since i discovered this little gotcha. I think i will build up a little stepped platform above the loft deck 100mm high, sit the MVHR unit on that on some isolation mounts and then box it in. The 100mm gap under the platform is so that i can deal with the need to accommodate crossing ductwork.

My plan always was, and is, to install the unit in the loft. Too late really to change that now. I read only yesterday that the miminum temperature should be 10 degrees C at the installation location. Clearly this is not possible in a standalone cold roof space. So do i #A build a little box room around it #B not worry about it #C have a word with myself and think of a better solution. What have those of you that are ahead of me on this topic done please?

It begins....

One of our prospective plasterboard contractors said that it does not need plastering as the finish will be great as it is. Presumably after the edges have been feathered in. Hi said a light skim is all thats needed. Another prospect today has said that a full plaster coat is required. Anyone care to provide real world info please?

Planning on Brink 400, probably from Ventilation land. Have recently bought the 90mm ducting, will be progressing the ceiling holes prior to installing some ducting this weekend.

No but even if it doubled the cost of the planks themselves it would not come to £10k.

No idea really. But, you can, and i have previously, costed the planks themselves. You dont get anywhere near this figure in materials alone. The Cedral website has a cost estimator that uses your square meterage as a basis for the estimate. That came out at £7500-9500. When i spoke to them to ask why it was rubbish they had no explanation or interest in providing one. Stupidly i had based my budget on it and put in £10k

I have Nick, which is why i thought to myself 'how hard can it be?' I thought £22k was a little excessive for our 4 bed detached house. Have asked for a couple more quotes today as we are getting very close to needing this done, well being ready to be done. It can wait if the timing does not suit the prospective installers.

I am not a DIY expert but i am also not a complete idiot( some may disagree) . My question is therefore, has anyone installed their own cladding and is it within the scope of the previously mentioned competence levels?

I totally agree. No argument there. Which... is why i am trying to visualise a regime that gives me exactly that. My 1st floor ceiling ( airtight boundary) is as follows and from higher to lower 400mm rockwool 22mm caberboard decking 100mm rafters Intello airtight membrane Ceiling plasterboard Regardless of whether i go with my plan of boxed in light/ MVHR fittings within the 100mm rafter space being fed from above, below or horizontally i need to preserve the membrane as well as i can. i will provide a drawing tomorrow to better show the idea.

That sounds like it makes keeping the integrity of the airtight membrane even more complicated.

My understanding is that the roof membrane actually forms the watertight barrier from Rainfall. And that the tiles are there to protect the membrane. Am i wrong please? I have a little potential issue with the membrane and battening on the roof that the roofers are half way through. They have now broken up until the new year but i have a couple of small areas where rain has got in. Dormer valley for one of them and near to the gable ladder area for the other. I would rather my mind was put at rest and this be addressed before they crack on in the new year. Thanks in advance keith

Thanks for the responses yesterday guys, i feel more comfortable about this now. I intend to use the Pro Clima Intello Intelligent Airtightness Membrane at the ceiling ( warm side) Yes it is a pitched roof. I think there is a lot of work in making this Airtight boundary as good as it needs to be and still have access for the lights etc from the loft space cabling down through the membrane. Whilst also trying to make sure the plasterboard installers dont abuse my efforts.

Yep that was my question from the other day. I have a lack of understanding of the role of the ceiling membrane in my cold roof .

Our build is a 'cold roof' according to the TF provider. The airtight boundary is at the first floor ceiling level between the plasterboard and the rafters ( not yet installed). With 400mm rockwool due to be placed on the loft decking. So the loft will be unheated, and presumably cold in the winter because the insulation should make this so. My confusion is therefore..... If the airtight membrane allows vapour to pass upwards into the loft will it not condense out any moisture contained within ? Have i totally misunderstood the role of the various membranes? Highly likely i think.

Where in North Herts are you? We will be installing an Arotherm 7kw Once we get to that stage. Currently empty shell with roof tiles 50% done. Edit: Location added. We are in Aston, which is next to Stevenage.

Having just watched this video, apologies , i tried to just insert a link. At minute 2:15 i now believe i was correct and i do in fact have a warm roof design. This is getting confusing .

My effort to diagram what i have. I have seen descriptions of 'warm roof' that look closer to this than a cold roof design. Notice there is no insulation between the rafters here. Its all above, laid on the deck.

The beams will be on show yes. Yes of course the airtight layer needs to continue above the beams. There will be a plasterboard ceiling . The question is.... It appears that the TF design calls for a boundary at the point between the plasteboard ceiling and the horizontals of the roof trusses. (Rather than the upper limits of the roof) so is the usual practice to box around the light fittings?

Not sure if this is very clear, #1 shows the membrane above one of the beams. This is first floor ceiling. And #2 , the dark shadowy bit, Is the membrane above the studwork that makes up the first floor ceiling. So the perimeter of the first floor ceiling is a continuation of the airtight boundary from below. As stated previously, i could tape to, and continue this membrane across the whole first floor ceiling. No idea if this is the usual practice. But every light pendant would breach it and render useless. My TF frame company are very off hand now and just say ' this is for others'. Perhaps the usual thing is to box out the light pendant locations within the ceiling timbers, carry the membrane to these apertures leaving a smaller area to deal with after the lights are fitted. Any and all practical solutions or experience gratefully taken on board. keith

At a loss to understand how i can create the upper airtightness boundary.

I thought so.