Hi, we hope to start excavating and building soon. Our engineer has asked us to let him know if we want to go for the above. There seem to be pros and cons to each and I am really not clear on what they are. I am going to set out hereunder my questions and if anyone can shed light on any aspect I'd be really grateful. Many thanks.
Underfloor heating.
Pros
A lovely warm ambient heating.
No unsightly radiators
I am not too sure of the cons!
People talk about expense of them but is that in the installation or the running costs. If you run it off a condenser oil burner is it any different than the cost of running radiators.
I understand the 'con' in terms of the length of time for it to reach the desired temperature or reduce.
Is there a danger of pipes leaking under floor as time wears on?
Pumped cavity insulation.
Our engineer has suggested that we go for this but from asking friends they have raised the following issues:
1. with time the cavity beads can sink to the bottom of the cavity wall leaving gaps above.
2. where does the moisture or condensation go and could it result in mould or the disintegration of the bonding glue.
3. it is too new as technology to be sure that it will stand the test of time and it woudl be better to go for the rigid option.
4. is it less expensive than the rigid insulation? (obvioulsy that woudl be a positive)
Concrete slabs on first floor.
I understand that it is a better fire retardant and gives proper sound proofness... but how much more expensive is it on average than the wooden floor joists option? Our engineer has said that when you toss it all up it would be only about 2.5K but a friend who completed a self build recently said he thought that by the time you have put in reinforced foundations and laid the blocks flat on the internal walls and the extra labour that would entails that you are looking more at 10K. I know that this is all relative to the size of the house but what is the general feeling out there? also concrete slabs reduces flexibility at a later stage if you want to make any changes.
Many thanks for any insights or experiences you might be able to give.
Underfloor heating.
Pros
A lovely warm ambient heating.
No unsightly radiators
I am not too sure of the cons!
People talk about expense of them but is that in the installation or the running costs. If you run it off a condenser oil burner is it any different than the cost of running radiators.
I understand the 'con' in terms of the length of time for it to reach the desired temperature or reduce.
Is there a danger of pipes leaking under floor as time wears on?
Pumped cavity insulation.
Our engineer has suggested that we go for this but from asking friends they have raised the following issues:
1. with time the cavity beads can sink to the bottom of the cavity wall leaving gaps above.
2. where does the moisture or condensation go and could it result in mould or the disintegration of the bonding glue.
3. it is too new as technology to be sure that it will stand the test of time and it woudl be better to go for the rigid option.
4. is it less expensive than the rigid insulation? (obvioulsy that woudl be a positive)
Concrete slabs on first floor.
I understand that it is a better fire retardant and gives proper sound proofness... but how much more expensive is it on average than the wooden floor joists option? Our engineer has said that when you toss it all up it would be only about 2.5K but a friend who completed a self build recently said he thought that by the time you have put in reinforced foundations and laid the blocks flat on the internal walls and the extra labour that would entails that you are looking more at 10K. I know that this is all relative to the size of the house but what is the general feeling out there? also concrete slabs reduces flexibility at a later stage if you want to make any changes.
Many thanks for any insights or experiences you might be able to give.