Any idea what percentage of rated output a woodburner will average?

[Big J]

That doesn't sound quite right to me! Our house, 7mx7m upstairs and downstairs, so about 100m2 or there abouts not too far off 127m2 really, though semi-detached.

 

I have only used our 5kw stove for the last 18 months now, in fact even taken away one of the storage heaters (...put it into storage just in case), and we keep our house at a cooler consistent 19deg C with that. I use about 1 sack of coal / coke a week (Mrs Steven P forgets its a wood fire and needs feeding more often than the boys did when they were babies, with coal she has more chances to remember fuel). So far I think I have used 3 or 4m3 of mixed wood this year. Thats with the fire on most of the day.

 

Hot water is electric immersion heater and we use about 14kwh a day electricity (water, washing, cooking and the ****** tumble drier), no gas, oil, or whatever else.

 

Using a 28kw stove plus a load of oil for heating and hot water sounds a lot to me to be honest! (plus electric I assume for the laundry, cooking etc?)

 

 

 

To give an answer, I reckon that my 5kw stove puts out a lot more than 5kW when needed, it is marketed as a 'nominal' 5kW. When its ticking along nicely like just now, 5kW sounds about right (2 1/2 electric fan heaters, yes, about that).

 

 

One day I am gong to turn off the fire and go to electric for a week or so and just add up how many kWH it takes to heart the house.

 

 

 

 

 

As for insultion, I remember an advert on the radio saying the free insulation can be given out even if you are a tenant and not the owner. Worth keeping an eye on that - even if the wood is free, better insulation means its warmer in the morning before the fire gets going and fewer trips to load up the stove (and so fewer trips to the log store in the rain...)

 

As for the stove if you replace it, think about one with a boiler as well, if the fuel is free why buy oil for hot water?

 

The stove is only 20kw - it's the boiler that is 28kw. Our annual electricity bill is £950, but that's with daily use of the dryer and I have two large aquariums and a pond, which use a reasonable amount. Our oil cost annually is about £600. The wood is pretty much free.

 

The estate have had our house surveyed for eaves insulation. The house is a traditional 1.5 story Scottish cottage, though the eaves section of the bedroom roof is only about 3ft or so. As I said, we really don't lose much heat from the house as this has been demonstrated with a £20,000 thermography camera.

 

We keep a warm house. I never, ever wear a jumper in the house and I'm not even keen to wear trousers (excepting guests visiting, obviously!). I make no apology for this - I work outside in the crappy Scottish weather and wish to be warm and comfortable when at home.

 

The climate around Edinburgh is almost uniquely pants. We have more cloudy days than almost anywhere in the UK (the famous haar that skulks up and down the Firth of Forth means every third nice day in summer is ruined by low lying cloud and mist). We have a lot of wind, rain and very little sun.

 

I don't think that 3-4 cube a month is excessive for heating the whole house. Even if I was paying for it it would only be £220-240 a month. I had a Rayburn at the old house - no interest in boiler stoves. Without an accumulator tank to smooth out the peaks and troughs in heat output, they're a PITA to operate and I'd never have one again.

[Remora107]

Best thing we could do is demolish these dreadful old buildings and start again.

 

Yeah , right , and fill the World with nice shiney new noddy boxes that have no character or soul and look like shite .

 

There are things that can be done to old properties that can make them warmer to live in , but not without spending money , and if they are tenanted then that money is not likely to be spent . That doesn't mean they need to be knocked down .

[Big J]

Yeah , right , and fill the World with nice shiney new noddy boxes that have no character or soul and look like shite .

 

There are things that can be done to old properties that can make them warmer to live in , but not without spending money , and if they are tenanted then that money is not likely to be spent . That doesn't mean they need to be knocked down .

 

Most of them do need to be removed. The inadequate nature of the houses extends further than simply the ability to retain heat. They are damp, poorly laid out, cramped, dark and unfit for purpose.

 

The issue with new building in this country is that the only concept that we have of modern houses is that which the mass developers like Barratt and Wimpy inflict on us. I use the word 'inflict' deliberately as they fit your description of 'no character, soul and look like shite'.

 

The house that I referenced in Kincraig is a beautifully crafted house of about 110 square metres, two bedrooms, spacious with huge amounts of natural light and living spaces that flow organically into one another. There is no need for us to accept houses as crap as the mass built developer homes as the standard for modern building. That would be like exclaiming that Dacia was the pinnacle of modern automotive engineering.

 

For reference, this is my friend's house under construction (it is now complete):

 

[Mull]

Most of them do need to be removed. The inadequate nature of the houses extends further than simply the ability to retain heat. They are damp, poorly laid out, cramped, dark and unfit for purpose.

 

 

 

The issue with new building in this country is that the only concept that we have of modern houses is that which the mass developers like Barratt and Wimpy inflict on us. I use the word 'inflict' deliberately as they fit your description of 'no character, soul and look like shite'.

 

 

 

The house that I referenced in Kincraig is a beautifully crafted house of about 110 square metres, two bedrooms, spacious with huge amounts of natural light and living spaces that flow organically into one another. There is no need for us to accept houses as crap as the mass built developer homes as the standard for modern building. That would be like exclaiming that Dacia was the pinnacle of modern automotive engineering.

 

 

 

For reference, this is my friend's house under construction (it is now complete):

 

 

 

 

 

I'm working on a mates house that is clad with larch, in between working there we also done an extension that had larch cladding, but the cladding was on top of block work, which seemed sensible to me, how long will 22mm boards withstand our buffeting shite weather, I remain unconvinced ATM.

Also, it looks nice when installed, then turns a crappy grey, worn out looking colour in a matter of months.

 

 

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[Big J]

Cladding is an expendable wall covering and is a very effective and replaceable barrier against the weather. The durability of the cladding material is largely determined by the detailing (as in where the water run off occurs) and the overhang of the roof. Spec this right and the life expectancy of the cladding is at least 30 years. My wife's architecture practice saw houses in Bergen in Norway (similar climate to us) with untreated timber cladding over 100 years old. It's important not to treat it so that when it is eventually replaced that it is not a landfill product.

 

I personally like natural greyed cladding.

[Mull]

Yep, it's a personal thing j, large overhang on the house I'm talking about, I assume the timber will suffer most from sun/ heat? Water not so much an issue, more air moisture content?

 

 

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[Big J]

With a large overhang it should be fine. Sun and heat won't do it any great deal of harm if it's correctly screwed into place (allowing for expansion). Same applies to moisture.

 

What other options are there in Scotland for exterior wall coverings? Stone is not even remotely economical in this day and age. Brick is almost never used. Harling looks hideous within a couple of years due to staining and mould due to the aforementioned damp. I do think that wood is the best option and most abundantly available. And I don't just say that because I produce huge amounts of cladding annually!

[Remora107]

I have softwood cladding on my converted cowshed that I took off and reused when I rebuilt it . I reckon it is well over 100 years old . It was painted with a black tar/pitch type substance which may , or may not , have helped preserve it . Some off it is coming to the end of its useful life , as it is a bit wormy , but by the time I get around to changing it , it will have another 20 years of use.

 

I would expect larch cladding , sawn not planed ,if it is properly detailed , to outlast you and me.

 

As for turning grey . That is the whole point of timber cladding , especially oak , to turn a nice silvery grey .

 

I have 10"x1" oak boards on my garage and part of my main house and they are aging nicely , but as a bit of fun I plan on lime washing the boards on my house and let the weather take off most of it . That should add quite a lot of character to the house .

[Big J]

I have softwood cladding on my converted cowshed that I took off and reused when I rebuilt it . I reckon it is well over 100 years old . It was painted with a black tar/pitch type substance which may , or may not , have helped preserve it . Some off it is coming to the end of its useful life , as it is a bit wormy , but by the time I get around to changing it , it will have another 20 years of use.

 

I would expect larch cladding , sawn not planed ,if it is properly detailed , to outlast you and me.

 

As for turning grey . That is the whole point of timber cladding , especially oak , to turn a nice silvery grey .

 

I have 10"x1" oak boards on my garage and part of my main house and they are aging nicely , but as a bit of fun I plan on lime washing the boards on my house and let the weather take off most of it . That should add quite a lot of character to the house .

 

Very good. I much prefer the appearance of wood as a wall covering and when it can last 100 years, why wouldn't you?

 

Good point on the sawn finish too. A fair bit more durable than planed (slightly rougher finish has a larger surface area and wicks moisture away more quickly). Also a lot less hassle for sawmills like me. I absolutely hate planing anything.

[Steven P]

Going back a couple of days - fully agree with modern mass market designs, I think they are designed by tick box. en-suite master bathroom, tick, detached tick (even if you can touch the next door house from your own), no storage space tick, panted magnolia, tick.. yup inspirtational places to live. All you need is a rep mobile car and you would be shopping for a rope pretty quick.

 

 

The norwegian wooden clad houses work - I've had few weekends in the Norwegian Artic, all wood clad houses, all have a decent wood supply, and the wood is all aged (ie you can see it hasn't been replaced for a few years) - and their climate has more extreme trmperatures than ours but I guess not as damp as Edinburgh - or Glasgow for me