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Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book.
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Downshifting: Renovating an old static caravan....

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    • CommentAuthorfibee
    • CommentTimeMay 9th 2011
     
    Not where to post this so forgive categorization...? We have inherited a static caravan which a couple of people have suggested should be scrapped (there is some floor damage from what looks like a bathroom leak, and its pretty tatty, but overall seems dry to me) . We could use the extra space for friends and family to stay and I was wondering about prolonging its life by creating a new shell - timber cladding (waney edge boards form our wood)it and perhaps puting a sedum roof on it (it is currently a hellish eyesore!) - extra insulating it and refurbishing the inside. Any thoughts/experiences? It just seems like such a lot of 'stuff' (metal, insulation, timber..) to throw away, but I am wary about wrapping it up in an extra shell (could I cause problems through condensation etc?).
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMay 10th 2011 edited
     
    Posted By: fibee...static caravan...creating a new shell - timber cladding (waney edge boards form our wood)it...

    I don't know how successful it was but I've certainly driven past examples up here in the Highlands & Islands that look to be exactly that, i.e. wooden 'sheds' that give every appearance of being constructed around a static caravan. I've also seen static caravans with a wooden entrance porch added on the side.
    • CommentAuthordickster
    • CommentTimeMay 10th 2011
     
    The "house" we bought was a double mobile that the previous owner had built an extension on. The whole thing was then dressed up to resemble a house. The mobile bit had 2 x 2 battens screwed to the outside, fibre glass insulation, then the whole thing covered in roofing felt, expanded mesh and then rendered. A new pitched roof and concrete tiles finished it off.

    We stripped it down last year and moved the mobile (after 40 + years of immobility) to live in as we build our new house.

    2 x 2 was rotten as a peach where it touched ground, insulation and roof full of dead rats, nests and shite!

    Unpleasant.

    PS make sure the axles are not supported on wooden blocks, use concrete.
    • CommentAuthorfibee
    • CommentTimeMay 10th 2011
     
    Thanks both - that makes me feel positive about having a go (trying to avoid making rats nests and keeping all off the ground, of course) at timber cladding - I would be ecstatic if I could extend its life by 40 years!!

    Any thoughts on sedum/green roofing (which I would be doing mainly for aesthetic reasons - from the mountain above us our mobile stands out like a sore thumb - but also because I fancy having a go at green roofing too) - I'm asuming a static caravan roof wouldn't bear the load of 240 sq ft of sedum plus media but not sure whether to build a freestanding canopy with a few inches of gap, or fix to roof but build in some load taking 'help'?.... All experiences, thoughts VERY gratefully received. This project is going to be a mini 'test bed' for all sorts of things that we are considering for our budget house renovation (12v lighting, solar PV, DIY solar water and wind turbine...)

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