Jilly Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Just at the stage of taking through options and had a builder out today. My budget is very tight, so can I have your thoughts? The roof has ugly trusses so I am considering having the roof off to have something more attractive. This will give both head height and the illusion of space. (Unless anyone can suggest an attractive option for the trusses?) The floor is solid concrete, so the options are to dig down etc etc insulate or just to go on top. Obviously the latter will be quicker (cheaper) and passable if we improve the ceiling height. What are the pros and cons? I like the idea of loads of insulation and under floor heating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I would take the roof off and have a proper one designed. I assume you are single storey so you can include some rooflights and maybe a mezzanine with all roof insulation at rafter level. If the floor is good you could just add 100mm insulation with underfloor heating incorporated, then 22mm chipboard and engineered oak to finish although I don't know if this would work with the existing door and window arrangements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 If you are changing the roof and the floor --sounds like you need a bulldozer and start again -it could end up being cheaper. nearly always cheaper building new -other wise you are spending lots of money on carefully pulling things to bits, supporting things ,trying to save things ,which is time consuming, then trying to rebuild around problems you already have and compromising all the time. with new floor built on top of original means all door frames etc will be wrong by 150mm (6")minimum,so you are now into altering walls and lintels to fit new door frames ,or have them hobbit size ceiling heights could be too low after --the list is endless ,so you need to think it all out now before starting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I'd be inclined to do as @Mr Punter says just build up from the existing floor if you can, that's what we're doing. Things we encountered are: are you having any internal load bearing walls? If so then check suitability of the floor with SE to carry those walls and you may need to dig strip foundations. We done a couple of test cuts in our floor which revealed that it varied between 5-8 inches. SE spec was 8 inches so we dug the strips out. Even though at the time it seemed pointless to take concrete out only to put it back in I'm glad we did as in some places it was only 4 inches thick! are the external walls on the concrete slab or do they have their own foundations? We had to cut the perimeter of the slab to install trenchfill. be careful with ceiling heights! It's surprising how quickly the vertical space disappears once you start adding floor insulation/screed etc. check plumb and level of the walls and floor. We thought our floor was level - it was only once we took some levels of our floor that we realised it had a fall of 80mm end to end! So we have to compensate for that in our floor build-up. I would try and avoid digging down if you can. Removing the floor can get quite awkward (which equals expensive) sometimes if access is tight and there's obstacles to negotiate inside the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simplysimon Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Jilly said: My budget is very tight, so can I have your thoughts? once the ceiling is up you won't see them, however, as others have said it seems a lot of work with not much left to keep and work from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 We only have planning permission for conversion not demolish and replace, so I need to try to work round it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) then trying to do it cheap will be hard . If you lifting roof then you could always run a couple more rows of blocks round the top of wall to give you hieght? maybe just jack it up where it is with acrow props and secure while first row of blocks are added-then dop it back down--then up again for next row of blocks --or just pack it as you go , thats what I,ve done that before on old scottich barn . using a car trolly hack to lift --then adjusted acrows to suit ---tight against wall so it can not wobble how much height do you need? make up plywood box beams in lengths and slip in like a very thick sole plate , I made one of those to use instead of an RSJ could not get crane in to lift RSJ but made in plywood --was man handleable by 6 men --26ft long -to replace roof truss support that previous owner had cut out when removing supporting wall to make car show room bigger 15"deep with zig zag internal bracings all glued and screwed and one vertical support-you would need no vertical support as it would still on wall head its still there now 25 years later and roof never moved? Edited January 24, 2019 by scottishjohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_r_sole Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) . Edited September 26, 2019 by the_r_sole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Only a few weeks, so I am still researching all the options Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_r_sole Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) . Edited September 26, 2019 by the_r_sole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Really...? Is that the same here in England? No one has mentioned that, as I'm in a Conservation Area, and have to nurse the bats ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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