Hey all,
first post so be gentle
Bought a listed property in january and we are in the process of renovating. Need some advice on insulation, heating, damp and walls. Property has been empty for 6 years now. The property is brick with a crook frame. Having dug out the existing solid floor there are no footings it is just a brick shell straight onto clay. The upstairs floor is lime ash ontop of reads. The last owner, the COOP, did some renovation in 1990 and from what i can see this has caused some problems what they did was:
- replastered all internal wallss with ordinary pink plaster
- drilled the walls and inserted a chemical DPC
- installed a bitumen covering to one of the downstairs rooms floors
- replaced original windows with new single glazed units
the problem we have is the plaster in some of the walls is showing damp patches, these seem to only be on the interior walls and not just in the room with the solid floor. The suspended wood floor in the other room has rotted away and is unuseable, there was only one air brick in that room it wasnt blocked but there is no way to put in cross ventilation. The kitchen to the rear of the house is a lean to construction and the bricks are not in good condition. We would like to modernise the house to an extent and do the following and would like some advice on how best to go about this:
- remove the rotted floor and replace with a solid floor
- install underfloor heating to the ground floor
- install solid wall insulation to the exterior walls (i read about interstitual condensation is there any way to construct this to minimise the risk of this happening?)
- replaster the interior walls using lime plaster or renovation plaster
- install insulation in the loft
- install new wodden double glazed units
- install vents in loft area to allow breathability
- knock down lean to kitchen on back of house and replace with new kitchen and a small single bedroom
my ideas so far are as follows:
- internal walls pink plaster chopped off to one meter and replace with renovation plaster or lime plaster (need some advice on what the difference would be in these)
- install underfloor heating in the normal way with a foot wide limecrete channel around the edge of the room (will this channel provide enough breathability so as not to force water into the walls from under the concrete slab?)
- the exterior wall insulation would be cellotex between wooden battons with plaster board over (will this cause a problem with damp as the existing external walls and pink plaster have no signs of it)
- install a french drain on the outside wall
- insulate loft with normal roll insulation (when we re roof the property we will put in a breathable membrane under the slate will this be sufficient or do we need to use a breathable insulation as well?)
i know certain of these ideas are not perfect for a period property obviously i am thinking of cost and viability if ayone could help advise me as to construction and materials i would be most appreciative.
thanx in advance
richard
first post so be gentle
Bought a listed property in january and we are in the process of renovating. Need some advice on insulation, heating, damp and walls. Property has been empty for 6 years now. The property is brick with a crook frame. Having dug out the existing solid floor there are no footings it is just a brick shell straight onto clay. The upstairs floor is lime ash ontop of reads. The last owner, the COOP, did some renovation in 1990 and from what i can see this has caused some problems what they did was:
- replastered all internal wallss with ordinary pink plaster
- drilled the walls and inserted a chemical DPC
- installed a bitumen covering to one of the downstairs rooms floors
- replaced original windows with new single glazed units
the problem we have is the plaster in some of the walls is showing damp patches, these seem to only be on the interior walls and not just in the room with the solid floor. The suspended wood floor in the other room has rotted away and is unuseable, there was only one air brick in that room it wasnt blocked but there is no way to put in cross ventilation. The kitchen to the rear of the house is a lean to construction and the bricks are not in good condition. We would like to modernise the house to an extent and do the following and would like some advice on how best to go about this:
- remove the rotted floor and replace with a solid floor
- install underfloor heating to the ground floor
- install solid wall insulation to the exterior walls (i read about interstitual condensation is there any way to construct this to minimise the risk of this happening?)
- replaster the interior walls using lime plaster or renovation plaster
- install insulation in the loft
- install new wodden double glazed units
- install vents in loft area to allow breathability
- knock down lean to kitchen on back of house and replace with new kitchen and a small single bedroom
my ideas so far are as follows:
- internal walls pink plaster chopped off to one meter and replace with renovation plaster or lime plaster (need some advice on what the difference would be in these)
- install underfloor heating in the normal way with a foot wide limecrete channel around the edge of the room (will this channel provide enough breathability so as not to force water into the walls from under the concrete slab?)
- the exterior wall insulation would be cellotex between wooden battons with plaster board over (will this cause a problem with damp as the existing external walls and pink plaster have no signs of it)
- install a french drain on the outside wall
- insulate loft with normal roll insulation (when we re roof the property we will put in a breathable membrane under the slate will this be sufficient or do we need to use a breathable insulation as well?)
i know certain of these ideas are not perfect for a period property obviously i am thinking of cost and viability if ayone could help advise me as to construction and materials i would be most appreciative.
thanx in advance
richard