Our NOT very old beams and wood-lined roof have little holes in them and wood dust seen below on the floor. The wood is rovere and the woodworm seem to be only, so far, in the lighter bits of wood.
We've just joined and wondered if anyone needs a caravan for use while building, or as a useful spare room? It is sitting in the field behind our house in Lunigiana but needs a new home now.
We've just joined and wondered if anyone needs a caravan for use while building, or as a useful spare room? It is sitting in the field behind our house in Lunigiana but needs a new home now.
Why not wait until you get to know some local people and they get to know you? Once you have made some friends in the village they may introduce you to other builders. We didn't know where to start with finding a builder but after staying in the village for nearly a month chatting to everyone we made all the contacts we needed. You can't be sure about the price they quote when they don't know you.
Thanks Serrano, that is the most promising and useful explanation so far. We did see dust on the hard floors and know where the escape holes are (fingers crossed). We were considering varnishing the beams and if that would protect them from further infestation then we're going to have to do a Michelangelo up there, bit by bit until they're done. Rather that than spray with toxic stuff that can't do us humans any good either. And keeping a careful watch forever is quite do-able, along with all the other careful watches we are making for ants, mice, lizards fallen into the rainwater tanks, hornets in the shutters, caprioli nibbling the newly planted trees etc etc.
Hi Melbreak, Which free view box did you get and how big a dish? We are still researching this and haven't really worked out how best to get BBC and ITV, much needed during the dark, winter nights. Also, who supplied it (one of the satelite shops in Aulla?) and how much? Sorry so many questions but it looks like you have found the answer! I've just read your reply to previous (should have done that earlier but was so excited by your info) and realise you can't answer now. The email address of the fitters will be useful. Thanks.
We've only got them in about 5 places, little patches about a few inches long and one 3cm wide that goes about a meter along the beam. We're not there again until end September so I hope they don't spread and I'm desperate to deal with them quickly now, but the fumes stuff sounds scary. I wonder if we just use tall ladders and inject every hole, it might keep it under control, if we keep an eye on it and always do it immediately, each time. I think I'd rather inject each hole rather than spray the house. And our roof manufacturer wrote that the timber had been treated with 'Lignex' anti tarli, but no guarantees of how long it would last, if at all. Thanks all, for your thoughts.
Sorry about the long gap in replying but have been in Italy where we don't have internet yet. Our house is 140m sq, but in 3 separate buildings. The accumulator is about 2m high by 90cm wide including the insulation. I can't remember how many litres. The stufa produces hot water not air and the gas caldaia is after the accumulator so it only kicks in if it has been raining all day or we haven't lit the stufa, but we have actually switched it off for economy! Ok, we can easily switch it on if needed. The reason for sometimes returning to a cold house after a night out is that when the stufa has burned all the wood and we aren't there to load it, if it has been a rainy day, the accumulator loses its heat and the gas isn't taking over as we've switched it off. This winter we will have massive logs that will keep burning while we are out. Logs heat the water at about 65- 80 deg C. In summer, the 4 solar panels make too much heat. We've been watching the temperature from them this week going in from 40 deg C early in the day, up to 85 deg at midday. You can tell from the outdoor temp that there is too much heat going into the accumulator and we turn up a few floors in various rooms before it actually boils over. We always have the shower room and rad on at 24+ deg and that wastes the heat nicely while being cosy on the feet late at night. The system is from: www.sonnenkraft.co.uk We're pretty happy with the system as it supplies all the hot water we need and the underfloor heating keeps the chill off everywhere, but in proper cold, wet weather we do need a couple of extra stufas - one in each building, for real heat. It would transform the underfloor heat if we would use the gas which chucks the heat out quickly, but the aim is for free heat, so we compromise. I wonder how much the cost of installing two more stufas will be compared with just using gas???? But once installed, the stufas will heat us with our free wood. Hope all goes well and I'd be happy to offer any more info if needed.
Hi Thomas, I'm also new to this too. We installed underfloor heating powered by a) solar thermal, b) wood stove and as a last resort c) a gas caldaia. All the heat goes into an accumulator which lives in the cantina. So far we've kept the house warm and have hot water using just sun and wood which we have masses of. We try never to use the gas as you can get through hundreds of euros in days. The whole system takes a bit of getting used to and you have to watch the weather and plan ahead. If we just used as much heat and hot water as we wanted, the gas would kick in to top up but we have turned the gas boiler off and restrict heat to two rooms and shower room+towel rail. That way we run the system for nothing. If it is raining we hardly get any solar so have to light the stufa much earlier in the day. In summer we have to get rid of the solar panel heat into rooms we're not using, and use up the hot water (which seems like a waste but in fact was heated for free). It takes 3-4 hours to heat the floors and days to heat ice cold walls when we've been away but the system works beautifully once you get the hang of it, and it is virtually free to run. There are a couple of little electric pumps that we'd like to power by PV solar one day when we work out how to. You need to put as much insulation in above and below as you can. We put 12cm in the roof and would have done more but roofing company couldn't fit it. UK regs for roofs are 15cm Kingspan. Under the floor you need to keep the heat in as long as poss. We wanted 30cm polystyrene if we could, but the plumber had a system of 3cm polystyrene and 12cm clay beads below that and wouldn't accept the need for more.We will hang curtains up at the windows and doors in winter and use them to keep the heat in. It all helps. We also put these large plastic dome things over the earth floor before laying the base concrete. Hopefully they create some sort of airgap/insulation? It certainly isn't the easy gas central heating system that we're used to but there are no bills and we're willing to think about what we need and manage the system. The only thing we haven't got the hang of is leaving a big enough log in the stufa when we go out at night. It always burns out before we get home and on a cold, rainy day the floors take the heat out of the accumulator pretty quickly without solar help. Apicoltrice
Hi Fabbriche, Sorry, I hadn't noticed your first comment. We're 15 mins from Aulla, I hour north of Pisa. The caravan itself is 4.7m long plus the towbar - about 1.5m. (am guessing that bit). We originally planned to self-build but things changed and while we were widening the access track got recommended a good local builder, so we were then just checking progress and keeping it on course. Apicoltrice
Comments posted
Thanks, Hazy.
Why not wait until you get to know some local people and they get to know you? Once you have made some friends in the village they may introduce you to other builders. We didn't know where to start with finding a builder but after staying in the village for nearly a month chatting to everyone we made all the contacts we needed. You can't be sure about the price they quote when they don't know you.
Thanks Serrano, that is the most promising and useful explanation so far. We did see dust on the hard floors and know where the escape holes are (fingers crossed). We were considering varnishing the beams and if that would protect them from further infestation then we're going to have to do a Michelangelo up there, bit by bit until they're done. Rather that than spray with toxic stuff that can't do us humans any good either. And keeping a careful watch forever is quite do-able, along with all the other careful watches we are making for ants, mice, lizards fallen into the rainwater tanks, hornets in the shutters, caprioli nibbling the newly planted trees etc etc.
Hi Melbreak, Which free view box did you get and how big a dish? We are still researching this and haven't really worked out how best to get BBC and ITV, much needed during the dark, winter nights. Also, who supplied it (one of the satelite shops in Aulla?) and how much? Sorry so many questions but it looks like you have found the answer! I've just read your reply to previous (should have done that earlier but was so excited by your info) and realise you can't answer now. The email address of the fitters will be useful. Thanks.
Thanks, Serrano, do I have to brush/spray every timber in the house in advance of infestation or just the areas they have already gone into?
We've only got them in about 5 places, little patches about a few inches long and one 3cm wide that goes about a meter along the beam. We're not there again until end September so I hope they don't spread and I'm desperate to deal with them quickly now, but the fumes stuff sounds scary. I wonder if we just use tall ladders and inject every hole, it might keep it under control, if we keep an eye on it and always do it immediately, each time. I think I'd rather inject each hole rather than spray the house. And our roof manufacturer wrote that the timber had been treated with 'Lignex' anti tarli, but no guarantees of how long it would last, if at all. Thanks all, for your thoughts.
Thanks Ram. Do you mean paint it over the holes or has it got to go into them?
Sorry about the long gap in replying but have been in Italy where we don't have internet yet. Our house is 140m sq, but in 3 separate buildings. The accumulator is about 2m high by 90cm wide including the insulation. I can't remember how many litres. The stufa produces hot water not air and the gas caldaia is after the accumulator so it only kicks in if it has been raining all day or we haven't lit the stufa, but we have actually switched it off for economy! Ok, we can easily switch it on if needed. The reason for sometimes returning to a cold house after a night out is that when the stufa has burned all the wood and we aren't there to load it, if it has been a rainy day, the accumulator loses its heat and the gas isn't taking over as we've switched it off. This winter we will have massive logs that will keep burning while we are out. Logs heat the water at about 65- 80 deg C. In summer, the 4 solar panels make too much heat. We've been watching the temperature from them this week going in from 40 deg C early in the day, up to 85 deg at midday. You can tell from the outdoor temp that there is too much heat going into the accumulator and we turn up a few floors in various rooms before it actually boils over. We always have the shower room and rad on at 24+ deg and that wastes the heat nicely while being cosy on the feet late at night. The system is from: www.sonnenkraft.co.uk We're pretty happy with the system as it supplies all the hot water we need and the underfloor heating keeps the chill off everywhere, but in proper cold, wet weather we do need a couple of extra stufas - one in each building, for real heat. It would transform the underfloor heat if we would use the gas which chucks the heat out quickly, but the aim is for free heat, so we compromise. I wonder how much the cost of installing two more stufas will be compared with just using gas???? But once installed, the stufas will heat us with our free wood. Hope all goes well and I'd be happy to offer any more info if needed.
Hi Thomas, I'm also new to this too. We installed underfloor heating powered by a) solar thermal, b) wood stove and as a last resort c) a gas caldaia. All the heat goes into an accumulator which lives in the cantina. So far we've kept the house warm and have hot water using just sun and wood which we have masses of. We try never to use the gas as you can get through hundreds of euros in days. The whole system takes a bit of getting used to and you have to watch the weather and plan ahead. If we just used as much heat and hot water as we wanted, the gas would kick in to top up but we have turned the gas boiler off and restrict heat to two rooms and shower room+towel rail. That way we run the system for nothing. If it is raining we hardly get any solar so have to light the stufa much earlier in the day. In summer we have to get rid of the solar panel heat into rooms we're not using, and use up the hot water (which seems like a waste but in fact was heated for free). It takes 3-4 hours to heat the floors and days to heat ice cold walls when we've been away but the system works beautifully once you get the hang of it, and it is virtually free to run. There are a couple of little electric pumps that we'd like to power by PV solar one day when we work out how to. You need to put as much insulation in above and below as you can. We put 12cm in the roof and would have done more but roofing company couldn't fit it. UK regs for roofs are 15cm Kingspan. Under the floor you need to keep the heat in as long as poss. We wanted 30cm polystyrene if we could, but the plumber had a system of 3cm polystyrene and 12cm clay beads below that and wouldn't accept the need for more.We will hang curtains up at the windows and doors in winter and use them to keep the heat in. It all helps. We also put these large plastic dome things over the earth floor before laying the base concrete. Hopefully they create some sort of airgap/insulation? It certainly isn't the easy gas central heating system that we're used to but there are no bills and we're willing to think about what we need and manage the system. The only thing we haven't got the hang of is leaving a big enough log in the stufa when we go out at night. It always burns out before we get home and on a cold, rainy day the floors take the heat out of the accumulator pretty quickly without solar help. Apicoltrice
Hi Fabbriche, Sorry, I hadn't noticed your first comment. We're 15 mins from Aulla, I hour north of Pisa. The caravan itself is 4.7m long plus the towbar - about 1.5m. (am guessing that bit). We originally planned to self-build but things changed and while we were widening the access track got recommended a good local builder, so we were then just checking progress and keeping it on course. Apicoltrice