sheepswool

[amandag38]

Just in the process of "restoring" our 16c timber framed cottage, and have had the opportunity to get some sheep fleeces for the insulation at approximately £2 a fleece, just wanted to ask has anybody used unprocessed fleece and what i would need to do with them prior to use, I have read about spraying with borax but what about moth/insect treatment, also how would I calculate how many fleeces i require, I would assume they would simply pack in between the timbers but by how much do they pack down approximately. thanks in advance
We have also dug out the floors of half our house, relplaced the sole plates and underpinned, today I have been laying down glass foam to 200mm depth, and tomorrow hope to start a 5 inch limcrete slab, any tip on the easiest way to mix and lay would be gratefully accepted, we have hired a cement mixer, and have two rooms totalling 33 square meter, should we do it in sections or go for a room at time in one one hit. We only have the weekend to complete the two floors :shock:

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

amandag38,

Can't help you with the wool question, though my gut reaction is that the fleeces ought to be treated with something to make them unattractive to moths, insects etc. looking for food.

Good luck with your limecreting. I'm sure you've sized up the job carefully, but I hope you've got some help on hand. 33 sq.m. at 5" deep is a tad over 4 cu.m. or about 10 tonnes of limecrete by my estimate. How big is the mixer? If it's a standard small hire mixer you could be looking at about 50 mixer loads, which could be about 12 hours of mixing. A three weetabix day perhaps.....

 

[jocelyn plummer]

You might find the following quite helpful:

http://www.sustainabilitycentre.co.uk

http://www.sheepwoolinsulation.co.uk

They seem to have useful information including calculating quantities .

 

[shelli]

we have hired a cement mixer, and have two rooms totalling 33 square meter, should we do it in sections or go for a room at time in one one hit. We only have the weekend to complete the two floors :shock:

How did that go? - bet you're kn*ckered

we had a floor about that size (18' x 16' in old money) and had to have a small truck deliver the mix and chute it in through a window

 

[amandag38]

Shelli,
oooh let me tell you im f******d, unfortunately didnt all go quite to plan, friday: laid glass foam in rm 1approx 14x13 ft tried to whacker down as advised, what a joke :evil: near dam impossible, Sat started on rm one limcrete, nice stuff!! 3 tonne of ballast, one cement mixer, one little me trying to lift it into a room, hubby spending hours making it look like glass :evil: 11pm finish, then ran out of ballast I had calculated tonne weight rather than volume, quite glad actually because i dont think i could have mixed anymore. Shelli where can I get ready mixed limcrete from please tell, im in essex.
I tend to have very unrealistic time sheduals, but we would have made it had I calculated materials correctly. In two weeks we have dug out 34sq mtrs by 2 ft over 50 tonne of clay and soil and 10 tonne of concrete, (taken by grab lorries) underpinned, re built walls to sole plate, plus replaced sole plate, laid 1 rm limcrete and 1 more rm glass foam.
I am covered in bruises, scratches, chapped skin, holes in my skin filled with lime, I cant stand up straight, the two rooms that im living in are like a s**t hole, my ceiling joist are precarious to say the least, and ive buried my husband under the limecrete :lol:

Anyway not to worry going to EltonJohn on friday, lay the second floor on Sat, then only another two floors to dig out more underpinning to do, then we can start putting it all back together, before demolishing the old extension and starting on the new one.

One good bit of news I had the estate agent round to value the house now we have all the permissions in place and he reckons we could get an extra £50k from what we paid, but we love the house that much were going to stay and do the work and end up making an overall loss, :? now thats commitment to conservation for any puritans out there.

for those that will please dont correct me for gramitcal errors as I can barley think straight let alone care where a comma belongs 8)

 

[shelli]

thats a massive amount to achieve in 2 weeks ! - well done you, I'm surprised you can even type at all, my fingers were so swollen after repointing that kept hitting 2 keys at a time like clumsy oaf

don't know where you can get ready mixed limecrete in essex - we're in the north and we had the other type of crete

Enjoy Elton 8)

 

[biffvernon]

I have read about spraying with borax but what about moth/insect treatment

Yes, that's the stuff. It's pretty poisonous to moths etc. and pretty harmless to humans.

 

[skier-hughes]

Shelli,
oooh let me tell you im f******d, unfortunately didnt all go quite to plan............
I tend to have very unrealistic time sheduals...........................,

You most certainly do, that's about a years work for most of us :lol:

Reminds me of the Friends epsiode, if you watch it, when Ross did all the weeks work in half the first day........