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Semi Rural Living Advice. Please 🙏

Stags6969

Stags6969

Registered
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
801
Location
Mansfield
Alias
Bilbo Stag
Hi everyone
I'm in the process of purchasing an old semi detached Shepherd's Cottage.
Built in 1914 of brick construction.
It has retained most of its original design and features.
It has had cavity insulation installed, but still suffers from no gas to the area and is supplied on oil, but has a multi fuel fire that supplements this, with an automatic switching device once the fire is above certain temperature, to isolate the oil and use the multi fuel fire for the heating and water.
The property has an old school conventional water system. Cold water storage and hot water header tank in the loft.
The electricity is still on economy 7!!
Does anyone have any advice on the way to go in the future, as this would be the time to make the changes, if any are required.
Thanks for listening/helping.

Really looking forward to the new adventure, but also very apprehensive in the current climate.
 
Sounds exciting mate, is this a move or a second property?

Is it a listed building?
 
Sounds exciting! More importantly, have you got room for your pinball machines 😂

You could look into a heat source pump mate, might be a smart choice long term.
 
My village is rural, no gas futher north than you near scottish borders and at 900 ft altitude so likely colder than you. Mostly Stone buildings with no cavities. For heating most are on oil a few on calor gas with a big tank in their garden but quite a few still have a similar traditional set up to yours, particularly for smaller houses. 5 or 10 years ago a few installed electric boilers that feed a wet central heating system which sounds expensive to run but I'm told are surprisingly efficient. Electric boiler is cheaper to install than oil. More recently several have had air source heat pumps installed particularly in smaller social housing and have reported great results. These houses are 1950s with cavities and presumably have been well insulated.

Oil is now £1 a litre so its not a cheap option and there are no price caps so completely open to market forces.

And i am surprised you have cavity walls as they were not common until 1920/30s. And cavity wall insulation can cause damp problems particularly in areas where there is driving rain.

You need to assess all options but stay as is or air source heat pump may be most likely for small house.

More important question is whether there is room for the pins.
 
Asiapinball said:
My village is rural, no gas futher north than you near scottish borders and at 900 ft altitude so likely colder than you. Mostly Stone buildings with no cavities. For heating most are on oil a few on calor gas with a big tank in their garden but quite a few still have a similar traditional set up to yours, particularly for smaller houses. 5 or 10 years ago a few installed electric boilers that feed a wet central heating system which sounds expensive to run but I'm told are surprisingly efficient. Electric boiler is cheaper to install than oil. More recently several have had air source heat pumps installed particularly in smaller social housing and have reported great results. These houses are 1950s with cavities and presumably have been well insulated.

Oil is now £1 a litre so its not a cheap option and there are no price caps so completely open to market forces.

And i am surprised you have cavity walls as they were not common until 1920/30s. And cavity wall insulation can cause damp problems particularly in areas where there is driving rain.

You need to assess all options but stay as is or air source heat pump may be most likely for small house.

More important question is whether there is room for the pins.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice.
Pins may eventually go in the garage, or build a purpose pinched outside. Garage is 12m x 6m, so room for them, but want to set a raspberry pi up over the winter to measure the temperature and humidity to see if its a feasible option. Until then they may have to replace the dining room table 🤫
 
Depending on the tariff for economy 7, you could have a battery fitted and charge that, then run off that during the day.
Solar panels could also give you some energy during good days.
Air or Ground Sourced Heat Pump might be a good option if you can get the house insulated and have underfloor heating.
 
Stags6969 said:
Thanks for the advice.
Pins may eventually go in the garage, or build a purpose pinched outside. Garage is 12m x 6m, so room for them, but want to set a raspberry pi up over the winter to measure the temperature and humidity to see if its a feasible option. Until then they may have to replace the dining room table 🤫
Click to expand...
Wow that’s a big garage! Fit quite a few pins in that space.
 
just check what broadband is there... so when you've gone mad from the birds tweeting you can get on zoopla and buy a house in the centre of the ghettos
 
Recently ended up spending a lot of time in Plymouth. Lovely to be near the sea etc but the speed of life there is driving me insane.
Service in restaurants/pubs etc is at a snails pace.
It takes an eternity to get a reply from the council or solicitor’s etc. there is no sense of urgency at all
It really is like stepping back 30 years in terms of amenities. Public transport is like a mythical beast.
Made the mistake of going into an open cafe to get a takeaway croissant. Everything was set up and the place was open but they couldn’t cope with the idea of actually serving 15 mins before their official opening time. Net result the money was spent elsewhere.
Ferries are really hit or miss. Nothing turns up and there is no communication as to when or if there will ever be one.
I think I’m a city boy at heart.

(There are lots of positives about country living but it’s a real culture shock and I suspect most would still consider Plymouth to be urban 😱)
PS the sight of warships sailing past the window is pretty cool though, beats the 343 bus.
 
Neil McRae said:
just check what broadband is there... so when you've gone mad from the birds tweeting you can get on zoopla and buy a house in the centre of the ghettos
Click to expand...
Broadband via a landline is none existent, but 4g decent speeds, so will use a mifi for our Internet access.
 
Stags6969 said:
Thanks for the advice.
Pins may eventually go in the garage, or build a purpose pinched outside. Garage is 12m x 6m, so room for them, but want to set a raspberry pi up over the winter to measure the temperature and humidity to see if its a feasible option. Until then they may have to replace the dining room table 🤫
Click to expand...
I’ve got a big garage (15m x 7m x 5m high) plus a room on top of that, too big to seal up and control the environment. I built a room in the garage that is insulated which has worked out really well and cheap to run. The humidity can be in the 90’s here as we are high up and it rains often and that’s what it can be in the garage, no mould etc as plenty of air flow but cardboard and paper can feel damp. Didn’t lose any floor space as the top of the room is boarded out and strong enough to hold loads of weight. Still room to park 2 large vans in there.
 
Keeping options open makes sense nowadays with lockdowns, oil shortages, possible power outages ahead .....

Your electric board might up your incoming fuse to 100a from 63a if it is an old supply. It was free when I did this.

The ability to heat your water with both solid fuel and oil is a great asset. As a third leg, an electric immersion heater in there would give you three ways. I have my immersion heater on a timer switch so you press once for 15 mins, twice for 30 mins, thrice for an hour. Means you can't forget and leave it running for months at a time.

If you change your water tank consider a pressurised (direct) one as these will give you a decent shower.

Aircon units are air source heat pumps as well. We live in a 19th C solid wall place and use these to heat our main living area and bedroom. Best money I have ever spent on heating and insulation type stuff.

Consider an old school electric shower as an emergency backup in a downstairs toilet room or similar. They are a bit crap BUT if your hot water tank goes down you will at least have hot water to wash in.

Boiler tap in the kitchen saves you messing with a kettle and gives you backup if the hot water tank goes down.

Get your central heating boiler and pump fired by a 13a plug, not a fused spur. This way you can plug into a petrol generator in a power outage scenario.

We have internally insulated. Installed sensitive sash double glazing (off white, narrow pane gap, textured finish, proper Georgian bars). But this stuff costs a fortune.

You are very welcome to come over and I can show you the stuff I installed
 
Stags6969 said:
Broadband via a landline is none existent, but 4g decent speeds, so will use a mifi for our Internet access.
Click to expand...
If you find yourselves needing faster internet than your 4g, it may be worth having a look at Starlink satellite.
 
DRD said:
We have internally insulated. Installed sensitive sash double glazing (off white, narrow pane gap, textured finish, proper Georgian bars). But this stuff costs a fortune.
Click to expand...
Same here, mine is an 1875 built Victorian school. I had hardwood box sash windows made a few years back to replace the plastic crap that had been fitted in 1989.
Let’s just say I was earning well then😂
 
DRD said:
Keeping options open makes sense nowadays with lockdowns, oil shortages, possible power outages ahead .....

Your electric board might up your incoming fuse to 100a from 63a if it is an old supply. It was free when I did this.

The ability to heat your water with both solid fuel and oil is a great asset. As a third leg, an electric immersion heater in there would give you three ways. I have my immersion heater on a timer switch so you press once for 15 mins, twice for 30 mins, thrice for an hour. Means you can't forget and leave it running for months at a time.

If you change your water tank consider a pressurised (direct) one as these will give you a decent shower.

Aircon units are air source heat pumps as well. We live in a 19th C solid wall place and use these to heat our main living area and bedroom. Best money I have ever spent on heating and insulation type stuff.

Consider an old school electric shower as an emergency backup in a downstairs toilet room or similar. They are a bit crap BUT if your hot water tank goes down you will at least have hot water to wash in.

Boiler tap in the kitchen saves you messing with a kettle and gives you backup if the hot water tank goes down.

Get your central heating boiler and pump fired by a 13a plug, not a fused spur. This way you can plug into a petrol generator in a power outage scenario.

We have internally insulated. Installed sensitive sash double glazing (off white, narrow pane gap, textured finish, proper Georgian bars). But this stuff costs a fortune.

You are very welcome to come over and I can show you the stuff I installed
Click to expand...
Cheers David.
I might pop over closer to completion. They are quoting approx 5 months to complete!
They do have an immersion heater fitted as well, and the current owner was telling me that they run that on the economy 7 overnight.
I'm not sure if I can put a pressurised system in or not, but would prefer that as that's our current system and great for the shower. The current system has the hot water tank sat on a unit that the oil/multi fuel appears to heat and possibly conduction heating the hot water tank. Would need another viewing to confirm this.
 
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So now we’ve had time to reflect on our impulse buy, it looks like the pins will be going in the garage. But what I didn’t mention is the garage is a timber framed garage.
The current owner assures me he has never had any issues with items rusting due to damp conditions, but I’m very wary of putting some expensive toys in there without due dilihence.

Would anyone know what temperatures and levels of humidity would become harmful to the pins?
Current pins are modern Sterns.

Is it possible to insulate the timber framed garage easily? If the conditions without doing this are prohibitive.
Would be looking at using the space to the rear of the garage.
Photos below of the garage.
 

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Stags6969 said:
So now we’ve had time to reflect on our impulse buy, it looks like the pins will be going in the garage. But what I didn’t mention is the garage is a timber framed garage.
The current owner assures me he has never had any issues with items rusting due to damp conditions, but I’m very wary of putting some expensive toys in there without due dilihence.

Would anyone know what temperatures and levels of humidity would become harmful to the pins?
Current pins are modern Sterns.

Is it possible to insulate the timber framed garage easily? If the conditions without doing this are prohibitive.
Would be looking at using the space to the rear of the garage.
Photos below of the garage.
Click to expand...

Looks like a great space!

I am sure everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I don’t let my room drop below 14 degrees and about 50% humidity. Given the wood that Stern use, humidity is the thing I would watch more.

If it was me, I would insulate it as much as you can.
 
Neil McRae said:
So inst

thats going to start to get pricey
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Dont most places do unlimited 4G data for £20 a month now, so dont see why that option would get expensive. I think even 3 do a data only one for home use.

I did do this myself instead of having broadband a few years ago, was cheaper to get an unlimited £20 a month mobile SIM than paying mobile and broadband and then just using phone as a hotspot at home when I needed it, and it worked quite well until the Covid lockdowns started and then the 4G speeds dropped off drastically (3G speed was usable).

It was better than the non "fiber" broadband Ive had in the past over the copper line as I only got a few meg on that comared to 50+ with Virgin I use now.
 
So to insulate, I'm guessing it's Kingspan or some other insulation material between the wooden uprights, then some vapour layer material and then plasterboard over??
And drop a false ceiling in
 
Fantazia2 said:
Dont most places do unlimited 4G data for £20 a month now, so dont see why that option would get expensive. I think even 3 do a data only one for home use.

I did do this myself instead of having broadband a few years ago, was cheaper to get an unlimited £20 a month mobile SIM than paying mobile and broadband and then just using phone as a hotspot at home when I needed it, and it worked quite well until the Covid lockdowns started and then the 4G speeds dropped off drastically (3G speed was usable).
Click to expand...
Vodafone (best in the area), are £30 for unlimited. So cheaper than my current BT broadband by a chunk!
Obviously not as fast, but not restricted when you have the Max plan at £30

I believe EE/BT is £50 for unlimited
 
That looks more substantial that timber framed. Its hard to tell without close up pics, but it looks like there are 4 or 5 steel frames and cross members and the timber is just a cladding between the frames. I wouldn't mess around with working out humidity etc as it will never be good enough without insulation. Best to build a "room within a room" and if the building is steel framed there will be plenty of support for a ceiling from the steel cross frames and room for loft roll insulation above (which is cheapest) and kingspan or rockwool slab within the walls (which is more expensive than loft roll. You will need some specialist advice on how best to insulate the walls without causing issues with the existing timber wall sections (i.e. required ventilation so you don't get rot) but plenty of others on here will have insulated timber framed buildings and should be able to advise.

Defiinitely have garage envy - looks like you have a pit too!
 
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Yep, a room in a room is the best way. Total climate control then and cheap to heat or cool.
 

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You could do a room, but with the high ceilings you have a chance to do something amazing in there!
 
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M4carp said:
I battened the walls, insulated, plasterboarded then plastered them. Over 3 years ago now, made the top so I can store anything up there.
Used full length plasterboard inside so 2.4m high, like a room in the house inside.
Edit: Had a couple forum lads over Monday, hope they don’t mind!

View attachment 174393
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Wow!! Super impressive.
How are you controlling the temperature in there?
 
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