Off grid, timber frame bungalow transformation, SW Wales

[GaryBmth]

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, 2024 by GaryBmth
Spelling & grammar only

[ProDave]

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.

[joe90]

  On 09/03/2024 at 17:57, GaryBmth said:

no power yet

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Welcome, interesting little project, So are you looking to stay off grid ?

Edited March 9, 2024 by joe90

[SteamyTea]

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, 2024 by SteamyTea

[Conor]

Welcome.

 

Demolish and start from scratch 😁

[nod]

  On 10/03/2024 at 06:59, Conor said:

Welcome.

 

Demolish and start from scratch 😁

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👍

[joe90]

  On 10/03/2024 at 06:59, Conor said:

Welcome.

 

Demolish and start from scratch 😁

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Whilst I would agree in theory (having done it) this depends on his budget.

[GaryBmth]

  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.

Expand  

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?

 

[GaryBmth]

  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.

Expand  

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.

[ProDave]

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.

[RichardL]

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