GaryBmth Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) Hi everyone, looking to transform an off grid, timber frame, 3 bed 1 reception bungalow in SW Wales, ideally into an attractive, characterful, cross gable house. Would be very interested to hear from anyone who has done, is doing or is thinking of doing, something similar. Got bore hole and sewage sorted already, no power yet though. Looking forward to getting to know people and chatting about stuff 😁 Edited March 9 by GaryBmth Spelling & grammar only 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Hi and welcome to the forum. Does that come with much land? Is it remote from other dwellings and do you have electricity? What's with the render behind the water butt? Looks like a project with plenty of potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) 1 hour ago, GaryBmth said: no power yet Welcome, interesting little project, So are you looking to stay off grid ? Edited March 9 by joe90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 (edited) Welcome Which way does the roof face? Can you easily add external wall insulation and add quite a bit to the floor? I currently use about 12 kWh/day of energy (50m2), all electrical resistance heating as well. It should not be hard to halve that, so that only leaves 6 kWh a day to generate and store. Edited March 9 by SteamyTea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Welcome. Demolish and start from scratch 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 2 hours ago, Conor said: Welcome. Demolish and start from scratch 😁 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 2 hours ago, Conor said: Welcome. Demolish and start from scratch 😁 Whilst I would agree in theory (having done it) this depends on his budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryBmth Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 On 09/03/2024 at 18:44, ProDave said: Hi and welcome to the forum. Does that come with much land? Is it remote from other dwellings and do you have electricity? What's with the render behind the water butt? Looks like a project with plenty of potential. The nearest other dwelling is about a quarter of a mile away. The property is set in 30+ acres and I'm keen to stay off grid. The render behind the butt has just lost its paint, probably due to dampness from the butt overflowing. I have thought about demolishing it and starting again, do you guys think that would be more costly than extending upwards and outwards and transforming the look of the building though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryBmth Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 On 09/03/2024 at 19:23, SteamyTea said: Welcome Which way does the roof face? Can you easily add external wall insulation and add quite a bit to the floor? I currently use about 12 kWh/day of energy (50m2), all electrical resistance heating as well. It should not be hard to halve that, so that only leaves 6 kWh a day to generate and store. The roof faces South-West on the far side so does get a fair amount of sun. The floor is concrete with various membranes and layers, I think it's a floating floor, no rafters. Could be changed to include more insulation. The walls are dry lined. I did wonder if geothermal would be a good option for hearing plus log burner, with wind and solar for electricity. I'm keen to get more volume and character though as the building is small and featureless as it is currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Timber frame, as long as the frame is not rotten, is easy to upgrade to add extra insulation. Much more so than many other build types. so there is probably a good argument to keep and update the building you have, and extend it to gain the extra space you want. The problem I would say is the floors. If it is solid concrete floors with no insulation under it, then it really all wants digging up, digging down deeper to add insulation and re lay the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardL Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 External wall insulation on timber frame I can recommend, it transformed part of our house into a space that could actually keep heat inside vs. before the upgrade it just wouldn't go above 15ºC in the winter no matter how much heating was on! I would even go so far to recommend the firm we used in Blackwood, South Wales - for the EWI only though which they do themselves and pretty good job. (Take care if they sub-contract any part of the job) https://eliterenderingsystems.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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