Sorry, 'Guest' was me. Nick

Nick - Lovely site btw

I spoke to a diversification consultant today and have got lots of new info all about
Solar Panels
Bio-fuels
Waste disposal
An architect
A builder
A grant person who will know if there are any grants around for this (unlikely)
& a company who will come & audit my systems, provide me with energy saving ideas & only charge me for their service after I have saved the money that their suggestions will save (neat idea that)

But apparently I shouldn't combine solar with wood/straw I should combine either with oil or LPG (not sure I agree with that tho')

My Architect from last week hasn't been in touch (yet - I should give him more time)
& neither have the straw bale building company I have approached

So we aren't really much further on atm.

www.earthlyideas.co.uk - chaps name is Jason

The company is called 4Biz - I need to look them up yet - they may not be suitable

Was Jason good?
What did he do?
Come and explain your options for your particular case?
Is he tied to any company or independant?

Graham

Thanks,

Did he charge?
How much?

Graham

Not bad.

I'll research him, thanks a bunch.

Graham

Katymac, back to the begining - I wondered:
Why asbestos removal? as far as I know corrugated asb cem roofing's non hazardous
Truss removal - existing ones really no good?
200m2 - long and thin, or nearer square? What span?
Single blockwork - is it a framed barn, or an overgrown garage? How high? Gable ends? How steep?

How about dirt cheap pime trunks as low-pitch monopitch roof beams, instead of trusses? Modern handsome, with overhangs, look good inside. Minimises external surface, insulation and Onduline quantities.

Hi Katymac
What is this asbestos you've got? Agreed nearly all kinds shd be removed, except the very common old asbestos-cement corrugated roofing is I believe harmless because the cement content effectively encapsulates the asbestos, so it cd stay, or wd require no special removal precautions (anyone confirm or deny?)
Your angle-iron trusses sound great - I bet you *could* find a structural engineer who'd approve them without fuss- my favourite one in Somerset would - maybe with a bit of welded strengthening - easy - e.g criss-cross diagonal bracing between them at top level.
10m - that's a big span, so sorry, forget the pine trunks idea. Keep your trusses if you possibly can. They help stabilise your walls, which sound very flimsy for that height. You definitely need a practical, helpful structural engineer, then you've got it made, just roof sheeting and insulation and you're all cosy.
A grain store - that sounds like potential big outward pressures on the walls. Are you sure you haven't got steel columns built into the piers, to which the trusses are fixed? That wd make it a frame shed, and you cd if you wished knock the existing walls out altogether.
An engineer wd also advise whether your existing wall foundations cd be made to support an external skin of straw bales (which are heavy). That wd be ideal, as it's work a volunteer force cd do and have fun with, providing superb insulation and a heavyish interior suitable for slow-response heating by e.g. woodburners. If not, you'll need plastic lightweight insulation and rainshield cladding at much greater cost, retaining the heavyish interior; or else putting the lightweight insulation internally, which implies a rapid-response heating system. I can't see an internal blockwork lining, unless for some structural strengthening scheme.
With straw bales you could in places not just clad the blockwork, but build little funny-shaped extensions like a half-igloo, or bay-window-like things. Have you read Places of the Soul by Christopher Day (Thorsons)? You should.
Sounds very promising, unless the trusses really are u/s. If so, I'm afraid that all you've got is a building site, because those flimsy walls and probably rough and ready floor are almost more trouble than they're worth, once you start altering bthem.

http://www.nant-y-cwm.co.uk/" >Nant-y-Cwm

Katymac, you could laughing - find a stuctural engineer who will tell you what you've really got, or not.

Maybe a pic would prove him obviously right but structural opinions do reflect the personality and experience of the engineer - I'd say get a 2nd opinion! Can you see if you have steel columns inside your blockwork piers?

Climb up and look at the top of the piers - if the trusses are bolted to up-poking steel, that's probably column tops. If the trusses are bolted down onto the blockwork, or a concrete pad, then probably not. On the piers, are the blocks laid flat (10 or 15cm courses) or on edge (23cm courses)? If the latter, the piers are probably a 10cm-thick shell enclosing steel - they seem big enough.

15cm thick - is that 15cm height-wise i.e. blocks laid flat, or 15cm thick widthwise i.e. blocks stood on edge?
If it turns out there are steel columns directly holding up the trusses, then (good or bad?.......hmm, dunno) the whole thing should be stronger, you could knock out more (or all) of the blockwork, generally it should simpllify matters, stability-wise; offer more possibilities.

Sounds like you could have a 15 x 15 cm steel column inside each pier. Does it look like each pier is a hollow shell of blockwork?
Is the plain blockwork between the piers also 15cm width? That wd sound a bit more substantial than if it was 10cm.