Jeez- please bear with me on this....Last winter was the first in our new house, supposedly "eco" this and that- it's timber kit, larch clad, super insulated (well, from floor level up).
When the temperature dropped to below -15 we lost the water supply to the downstairs, thankfully still got all the upstairs supply(toilet/bath/sink). This happened on loads of occasions as it hit -25 (we're in the Cairngorms), and we had a few burst pipes(those braided connections popping).
The house is on stilts and sits some 30cm above the ground, the floor sections were made off site and essentially are boxes with 9mm ply attatched from below so the floor insulation sits within the floor cavity. What we found out was that all the services enter/exit the house through a large plastic conduit/pipe and when we lifted the floor adjacent to this the dust that was lying on the insulation blew up into my face- the air was being drawn in at a high rate by the multifuel stove we have so the pipes were getting supercooled. The builder and architect realise it's a combination of sh*t design and poor workmanship not sealing off the interface of the pipe to the house, so they have excavated under the house to let a joiner in to insulate it with kingspan and box it all off, which has been done well enough but doesn't fill me with any confidence because the rest of the underside of the floor has the same poorly fitted ply with gaps on the edges etc. I'm concerned that although they have sealed up the bit immediately below the problem area, that when winter comes again and the fire is roaring, air will be drawn in from further afield through these gaps, then through any holes put in joists to get the central heating pipes in?!
We have a "vent" on the floor next to the fire, but having looked under the house it doesn't connect to the outside directly so that will be getting blocked off. I'd rather leave a small window open slightly than have this vent pulling cold air through the floor space.
I'm even considering buying enough 12mm WBP to cut into lengths and screw to the base of the house all the way round, silicone sealed at the joints and with a couple of air vents in it which can be shut when the temperature really drops. I can scrape back the gravel below then back fill it to the ply once attatched to seal it from the wind.
The second phase of this housing "project" is going ahead and, surprise surprise the things are going on solid founds because it "improves thermal mass" according to the acid head architect- is that double speak for "it's warmer than a hollow friggin wind tunnel floor"!!!??
Can anyone else suggest any ideas to this?
When the temperature dropped to below -15 we lost the water supply to the downstairs, thankfully still got all the upstairs supply(toilet/bath/sink). This happened on loads of occasions as it hit -25 (we're in the Cairngorms), and we had a few burst pipes(those braided connections popping).
The house is on stilts and sits some 30cm above the ground, the floor sections were made off site and essentially are boxes with 9mm ply attatched from below so the floor insulation sits within the floor cavity. What we found out was that all the services enter/exit the house through a large plastic conduit/pipe and when we lifted the floor adjacent to this the dust that was lying on the insulation blew up into my face- the air was being drawn in at a high rate by the multifuel stove we have so the pipes were getting supercooled. The builder and architect realise it's a combination of sh*t design and poor workmanship not sealing off the interface of the pipe to the house, so they have excavated under the house to let a joiner in to insulate it with kingspan and box it all off, which has been done well enough but doesn't fill me with any confidence because the rest of the underside of the floor has the same poorly fitted ply with gaps on the edges etc. I'm concerned that although they have sealed up the bit immediately below the problem area, that when winter comes again and the fire is roaring, air will be drawn in from further afield through these gaps, then through any holes put in joists to get the central heating pipes in?!
We have a "vent" on the floor next to the fire, but having looked under the house it doesn't connect to the outside directly so that will be getting blocked off. I'd rather leave a small window open slightly than have this vent pulling cold air through the floor space.
I'm even considering buying enough 12mm WBP to cut into lengths and screw to the base of the house all the way round, silicone sealed at the joints and with a couple of air vents in it which can be shut when the temperature really drops. I can scrape back the gravel below then back fill it to the ply once attatched to seal it from the wind.
The second phase of this housing "project" is going ahead and, surprise surprise the things are going on solid founds because it "improves thermal mass" according to the acid head architect- is that double speak for "it's warmer than a hollow friggin wind tunnel floor"!!!??
Can anyone else suggest any ideas to this?