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Thanks for your responses and links, very useful. I've seen the farrat pads and was planning to discuss with my engineer. I'm very concerned about condensation around the steels so I'm thinking of drowning them in insulating foam regardless of whether or not we'll put thermal break pads in the...

Hi forumites, I have some internal walls knocked through and the engineer specified a steel picture frame for one of the walls in order to distribute the load better. This is where the steel beam is supported by two columns which then in turn sit on a spreader plate. The spreader plate would be...

Hi doggit and thanks for your comments although I feel the thread has been derailed a bit ;) My original question of whether sealing the joist junctions with the cavity wall would cause any issues got conflicting answers so ideally someone with relevant expertise would help here...

Heat recovery is one aspect; controlled ventilation is the other and that's going to suffer a bit. I'm looking at Zehnder 550 currently. Both the manufacturer and the distributors are advising me that decent airtightness is a must. I'd imagine they could just sell me a unit without a hassle if...

Because the system requires a certain level of airtightness in order to operate efficiently. If the house is leaking so much from that first floor void I may as well leave a window open -which would make the MVHR system pointless since you no longer have controlled ventilation.

Thanks to all about the replies. There are some conflicting opinions though so I don't feel any wiser :( I'm leaning towards sealing the gaps to make them airtight and then leaving access or potentially installing wood moisture sensors to track the joists' health. Next year I'll insulate...

Ground floor is block and beam. That was my thinking as well, to insulate the whole property externally, not just the first floor walls. This would create a nice thermal envelope with opportunities to eliminate most thermal bridges. But I'm not an expert and issues around damp, condensation...

DPC comes out at two brick rows above the airbricks, if that's any useful. Periscope airbricks sounds like quite a bit of disruption to me. What if I kept a 150mm "corridor" / perimeter around the house where I want to put the patio, for ventilation and drainage etc? With a grill cover or...

Frank thanks for the response. It was built like that, i.e. as a double storey with these walls, 30 years ago. I plan to insulate the walls externally next year as they're not rendered -just the original brick although the first floor has tile cladding on top of the brick. What you say adds...

Thanks to all, that's what I thought but the damp "expert" guy confused me. So now I have to find a way to keep them unblocked whilst I redesign the garden as I was looking to put bifolds that open up to a patio at the same level as the internal ground floor. Any ideas?

Hi all, My ground floor is of beam and block construction with a 150mm or so void underneath. I initially thought it had no airbricks whatsoever although I found out they had simply been covered / blocked by garden soil, patio slabs, etc. I've read that the void needs to be ventilated and my...

Hello all, I'm renovating my property completely and want to make it as airtight as possible so I can install a MVHR. The house is two storey detached and has cavity wall in the ground floor but single solid wall on the first floor. My questions are around the first floor joists, which they...

Hi all, I'm renovating my property and all the walls are currently solid walls with an 8mm or so concrete skim (?) which has been painted over. I wanted to expose the concrete in certain walls so my question is: how do I get rid of the paint over the concrete? I've tried scrapping it and while...

Naaah, I checked with a moisture meter and it's fine. This is the same at the edges of all the joists where they rest on the external wall and is probably some preservative or similar treatment.

Thank you John, you're absolutely right. I've now removed it. There's nothing on that side that could have leaked so I'm now checking where they may have come from as there are no airbricks in the property. I'll be filling in those gaps between the joists and the wall with expanding foam...

So, I was lifting my floorboards on the first floor when I find this alien looking thing under the boards in a corner on the external wall. Anyone knows what this is and what I'm supposed to do with it? Thanks!

Thanks to both for the replies. I've been convinced and will not try to expose the joists after all. Any advice on the other questions though: what is that darkened section at the ends of the joists? And do first floor timber joists need ventilation and how is this achieved? Do I have to...

Hello forumites, I am renovating my home and have started lifting some of the chipboard floorboards in the first floor. My plan is to insulate with 25mm boards between the joists, and then install underfloor heating on top of the insulation which will require another 25mm. I am also considering...

Thanks for the links r1flyguy.

r1flyguy thanks for the response. There are no airbricks whatsoever. I'm thinking of wet UFH yes. Are you suggesting to leave the screed in place? Is there any reason why I shouldn't remove it apart from cost? Thanks