Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 3

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 3

As expected, the main build team were back on site and focussed on laying the Marshalls GrassGuard blocks around the perimeter of the block paved area – and tidying up, in preparation for exiting the site. The overflowing skip was removed.

The self-levelling floor screed laid in the Utility Room on Monday had caused some condensation on the windows and doors so I turned on the newly-completed ventilation system and started to take some airflow measurements with a view to properly commissioning that in a few days. Without any of the Extract and Supply valves fitted, the Supply vents were moving significantly more air than the Extract vents – which was surprising because they have longer duct runs. It looks like the fan speed will need increasing on the Extract side (and / or reducing on the Supply side) – since the flow volumes want to be balanced to reduce the tendency to vent air through the building fabric.

The heat pump / air conditioning installation isn’t finished yet and running the ventilation – even though it incorporates Heat Recovery – is tending to cool the building, so there’s a small oil-filled radiator helping to maintain the temperature in the Utility Room to aid the floor laying tomorrow.

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 2

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 2

No contractors on-site today: the flooring team are leaving the self-levelling floor screed a bit longer to fully dry – though there’s some news on the availability of the replacement concrete headwall for the stormwater attenuation pond, which is due for delivery on Friday, so work is planned to start up again tomorrow.

In the meantime I’ve been progressing the rigid MVHR ductwork that was cut and dry-fitted recently. All the joints were sealed with the supplied (Soudaduct) duct sealant and then taped with the supplied aluminium tape. The sealant stays permanently flexible so isn’t a structural adhesive whereas the wide aluminium tape does add significant structural integrity – as well as being belt-and-braces for air tightness.

I’m going to commission the MVHR system before adding the insulation to the two ‘external’ ducts, which should be easy enough on the long straight runs but could be challenging on the bends.