Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit | mdhayes's comments login

From the article:

> Executive found that condensation could cause 25% of roof timber to decay within five years if spray foam is applied directly to roof tiles, or certain underlays. The general risks increase the further north the property is, because of colder climates.

Most houses in the UK will have a timber frame, condensation will cause the wood to rot.


I was wondering indeed, I am insulating with PIR plates, but they are coated with a vapor-closed layer and one is advised to tape all panels together with vaper-closed (aluminum) tape, so no air from inside the living area can get into the insulating layer, cool down and leave condensed water. As an additional precaution, the advice is to not insulate from the inside if a vapor-closed foil is on the outside of the wooden part of the roof (where the tiles are resting on), to ensure any vapor getting into the insulation after all, can vaporize away when temperatures rise.

All that being common knowledge, it does indeed seem weird that people were just spraying foam directly on the inside of their roofs as vapor will be deposited somewhere in the open cell structure of the foam, or against the inside of the wood/roof-tiles (as the air cools down, it can hold less and less water so that condenses).

Given all that knowledge, I'm still unable to close all the vapor bridges in my house, because I can't remove certain structures. So it is still a bit of a gamble here and there, where the moisture will pile up. I just try to get it to pile up in sites that are exposed to outside air.

I can't imaging everyone being as analytical and careful as me though. Indeed I sometime here people just pasting PIR plates or mineral-wool in place and leaving them like that, no vapor screens or anything. Time will tell what happens to these houses. Old houses were made to just have a lot of heat-transport through the structure, which prevents vapor deposition. Insulating any house should come with at least some thought about where the humid inside air will go (preferably outside through ventilation holes.)


Start saying 'No'.


Replace side hustles with "parent of toddler age children," or with "second full-time job" is a more realistic measure of commitment, and I'm in the same boat as OP.

The above should be and will be the top comment in this thread, because it's the only advice I can think of that has worked so far.

The benefits of learning to say no generalize to many other areas. Although I like to think of it inversely, as making my "yes"es very hard, and thus every no becomes a reaffirmation of a higher-value yes I had made in the daylight of reflection and conviction.


Love it. Reminds me of the Wilderness Downtown 'music experience' from Arcade Fire in 2010 - http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com


Really cool list. I'm founder of RookieOven - https://rookieoven.com - a coworking space for tech startups in Glasgow based in a Victorian shipyard.

If anyone is ever in Glasgow and looking to meet the local community feel free to pay us a visit.


I'm just down the road - I might pop past at some point for a nosey :-) The only things of note I'd ever spotted in Govan were Titan Props and Film City - live and learn!


More than welcome. We're in the recently restored Fairfield Shipyard Offices on Govan Road so not been open for too long. We also do a monthly meetup for local startups in The Raven on the first Monday of each month.


Yeah I'm going to give vscode a shot.


Geez. In what world is that a sensible response?


Mattermark is something of little relevance to me but how good is the data? They recently produced a list of the fastest growing startups in my local community and the results were pretty odd. Companies with huge measurable growth beaten by, literally, new starts just a few months old with no revenue and few customers.

Granted I don't know what yard stick they used to come up with the list but to me on the ground in the community the list seemed way off and widely ridiculed.


Well done to the team. Being based in Scotland I really appreciated the work Shaun and Doug have put in to connect the community here with other tech communities across the country. Also add to that the great job they are doing in the Manchester community.

All the best to them with this new version of Tech Britain.


Also for folk using the search term 'Ni'.


Actually I've found Apple maps to be pretty good so I could see myself sticking with them.

Yes not as many features as Google Maps but adequate and with some nice features of their own. My nearest city, Glasgow, has recently been added as a 3D flyover city which I feel is better than Street View for getting an idea of an area/place.

For me the directions work and I've found the search decent.


Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: