ASHP & triple glazing

[Joeboy]

No slots and pack down to 38% for 10am.

Nipped out and spent 1hr clearing accessible panels. Went from 9W incoming to over 800W incoming. Chuck that into the HP and it's 2.5kW of heat.

EV is back in the mix running the washing machine. By the end of the morning I'll know how many miles per wash cycle.








Heard from the 3g guys last night. They'll be over next week to take final sizes and template the triangular windows. They even spoke about ordering the windows soon!

Mostly for my own reference or i'll forget. An average days consumption with no ev charging.


Today before I started topping up the battery in the afternoon.

[Joeboy]

It turns out it's 10 miles per wash cycle.

Had a look with endoscopic camera and the expanded foam did its job.




Got the phonecall from Travis Perkins and hotfooted it round there for the swag.





Job is progressing well, only blip is a well fitted midrail so had to cut in at top and below midrail



Vermiculite flowed in nicely and we got two vertical columns (4 compartments) filled and topped out with loft insulation.



Here's the instant difference maker the insulation makes. Comparison is between a filled and an empty compartment. Minutes after filling.





More fun tomorrow, 14 compartments to go and the excess vermiculite will go into the loft.

[AGT]

I do like vermiculite as it has no detremental effect on pvc cabling used it once, to fill a void above the living room cupboard and the ceiling, was just rewiring at the time so had floor boards up and was able to pour in from the top.

Always thought it would be ideal behind lath and plaster

[Andy]

I wonder if pouring in vemiculite will stop the rats travelling between the granite and the plasterboard? Rats all gone. Yay.

On a more serious note I wonder if it would work behind granite walls or should I let the wind continue blowing to remove moisture. So far any wall I've opened has had dry timber and I'd hate to disturb the equilibrium.

[nowty]

Wow, I have had a similar idea in my head for many years, we have one hollow plasterboard and batten partition wall dividing off a utility room from a normally unheated guest room.

I thought about cutting a hole in each section just like in your photo and filling the hollow with polystyrene beads but thought it would be too much faff. But that vermiculite looks like far easier to work with.

[NoraBatty]

I would think about filling with 10mm LECA beads instead Nowty, same for Andy.
Vermiculite is great, but doesnt retain heat, however absords alot of water.
LECA is aerated clay balls. It does retain heat so can add to thermal mass of the building, and just like vermiculite will allow air passage through, but crucially for Andy, does not hold moisture like vermiculite.

Joeboy seems to have a substantial Harl to his house, which will reduce driving rain etc.

Andy, we both have similar walls by the sound of things. I would be wary of filling the cavity behind plasterboard (lath and plaster in our case) with something that could hold and wick moisture across the gap.
I know what you mean about the timber always seeming to be dry, but the houses were designed to make sure there was adequate airflow to stop damp penetration.
ive seen for myself how wet a 50cm thick granite wall can get inside in persistent driving rain. Counter intuitive, but it does happen.
Its fine for the stuff to get wet, but ideally you do want a vapour barrier between it and the plasterboard if you go that route.

As for rats.
We have had success in our survey warehouse with goodnature A24 humane traps.
Gas fired piston to the head and the rat or mouse falls out of the way, trap resets for the next to shove their nose up to the bait in the kill zone.

Amazon do some knock offs that are cheaper but the goodnature bait pouches have no alternative that we have found that work as good.
Each gas canister is good for about 24 kills.

[Joeboy]

I use it (vermiculite) on internal walls, or walls that were once external but due to extensions are now not. Been in use in the house for about 5 years maybe 8 with absolutely no issues, only benefits. I ensured that there is an airpath upward to the vented loft so not to create a stagnant space. It has worked very well for us but as they say 'your mileage may vary'. I don't know about moisture in comparison to other products and that would be worth looking at. R value is 2.5 per inch depth. We have 2" depth in behind the plasterboard and have seen an average of 2.4 deg improvement on the walls once works were carried out. Its still only partial complete so i can compare easily. Great to see the IR thermometer shoot up on a finished surface.

Our house (timber frame, blockwork and harled walls) was built in 83 and was wildly over vented. That's the kindest way I can put it. Massive scope for improvement which we have and continue to carry out but always with an eye to moisture being able to exit the fabric via the loft and be mechanically removed in Winter in the living spaces when we can't vent with windows.

It was very nice last couple of days working away with swmbo at a sedate pace, tidying as we went and room remaining in full use (almost). Its not overly serious (like ripping the whole wall down) and we can retain the heat in property and seal off as we go. Sure, we won't achieve uber max insulation values but as said before, the house was designed and built a good few build regs revisions ago so there is a limitation in fabric design. The bit I like most is that it has shifted the heat loss calc to the better. It may be a tiny amount but its there and will stay there. Walking into that room I can feel the difference and the wall is only 20% filled. Getting rid of the substandard cold communicating gas related gear made a huge impact.

[Joeboy]

Wow, I have had a similar idea in my head for many years, we have one hollow plasterboard and batten partition wall dividing off a utility room from a normally unheated guest room.

I thought about cutting a hole in each section just like in your photo and filling the hollow with polystyrene beads but thought it would be too much faff. But that vermiculite looks like far easier to work with.

You know the score about poly beads and electrical cables? That's why i went vermiculite route, no wall fires! I use a 2 ltr jug to fill the top compartment and a newspaper sheet (2021) as a shaped funnel on the bottom compartment. The bottom one is great fun to do. TP quoted me £26 plus vat per 100ltr bag, I'll use the best part of 7 bags. Its not a huge cost and as per the job its manageable with no real ructions.