Yep it is. It is also keeps in heat very well and air tight too. You don't want any of that heat to run out the door, so you have one with doors at right angles, so it is difficult for both be open at the same time. Porches are also very handy for other things.
What was the reference to the door stop all about? (a bit or building regs that I have missed no doubt!)
That's going to be really convenient for getting things in and out, including people in an emergency.
Not designed like that they won't be.....
Sometimes I despair.....
No. You have a big porch. Duh!
Much much better than a/c is underground pipes. Run 4" pipes under the garden and fan air in through them in summer. Same result as a/c, but uses a tiny fraction the energy.
Also a whole house fan that cools the house down in evening and night by drawing air in at bottom and out the top. Put the fan in the attic.
Also ceiling fans, one of lifes real bargains.
Summer comfort is important in design, neglect it and people will end up resorting to a/c.
NT
You have to take into account all building types when you give this sort of advice. Thre are very old buildings with no foundations at all which would possibly not survive this treatment.
There is a cone of compression under the wall, dig half of it out and youer going to cause heavy subsidence at least to such buildings, since
a) the replaced soil will not be as compacted b) the wall wasnt supported during underdig. Dont do it if in doubt.
NT
This is a pretty major deal. If you can install a poured concrete cellar the size of the house, with no electrics/ plaster/ anything else to keep cost down, then in futuer you can convert the cellar into habitable and make your house 50% bigger. Thats no small thing.
NT
In our extension we put the utility room below the bathroom, and it is to my eternal regret that we didn't build in some form of simple laundry chute through the floor - would have looked like a very small but bottomless(!) laundry box in the bathroom. Or maybe that would have compromised fire regulations??
David
This is true. The building in question is a barn, which would have the floor excavated, and a new floor poured with insulation under. A massive cold bridge would be to the side. This method solves that. In most houses with a concrete slab floor it would too.
They still blow too quickly, and that is an argument for not using teh sheds. Honestly, who ever would do a building project buying from sheds?
Thats because you shop at teh sheds.
I am geting 50W 12v units at 74p each.
I am not allowed to make it air tight. I am arguing with the inspector about how much trickle ventilation it needs.
I agree, the current regulations do not go as far in terms of insulation as one could go with reasonable retun on investment over a sensible period.
I use it for phones as well. It CAN be used for other things like running audio I believe. And how soon before you have a central digital TV recieviever that looks like a networked web server with all TV channels, and your online store of DVD's on hard disk, accessible at teh click of a button?
Phone and computer. Or two computers maybe (saves a switch/hub?) Or phone/fac machine..or anything really. I just left teh second cable curled up in teh box after wiring p teh phonbes mostly.
My system is (now) broadband into router, and computers to broadband router via cat 5. Prinetsr and fles servres will be networked in due course, but all that sits in here in teh office. However its nice if people turn up with laptops, to be able to let them plug in elsewhere in teh house.
Er. Hmm. Yes and no. I have'nt quite finsighed it, but I have laid some T & E between wall paltes. They will probably have large banaplug binding posts on tehm - drilled blank plates etc.
IF you are a surround sond fanatic, thats the one thing that is worth doing.
I was going to build a sub woofer into teh wall, as well, but She wasn't having it.
>
Bullshit. Requirements for fresh air mean that you need to have air cahnges. Even with (expensive) heat exchangers, and ugly air ducts, it still needs more. If you want to spend a ton of money on superinsulating and overall energy efficient air ecahnage, and use up yet more precious oil in the manufacture thereof, be my guest.
Well, that's true. But I was thinking of cool storage - I have a small pantry but it's off the kitchen and the temperature is little lower than that of the house. A cool cellar would be fabulous. It's the only thing I regretted leaving when we came here from our one up and down house (with cellar).
Mary
But you'd have mixed colours and fabrics, they'd still have to be sorted.
Mary
A room where He can go to get away from Her and Them is a complete marriage saver.
A chimney will do the same, and can have a fire under it in the winter.
Its also the one area that can be very very dodgy.
Fancy having it fill with seage because down the road has blocked the sewers? My sister had this happen three times on a new build house in Germany.
Making cellars habitable implies running water. Beware of what happens if it can't run out.
I'd rather use one for storage and a workshop.
Put people up in the roof instead.
David (who usually does the washing in our house... :-)
What tripe. An air tight superinsulated house will require some sort of ventilatiion. Heat Recovery ventilation is installed. Have the ducting uprated and an in-line heater battery in the ductwork and no UFH is required whatsoever. I know of no superinsulated house that uses underfloor heating. It is just an expensive overkill. Your house is not superinsulated.
Do some research and stop making things up.
I have both and both blow at about the same rate. Buy good quality lamps and no problems.
Heat recovery systems makes that redundant.
House do not require an air tight test. In modern homes most heat loss is via air leakages.
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