Advise Please Plasterboard onto Concrete Slabs

Lisap

Hi All,

Looking for some advise please. We are doing a self build.
My DH put plasterboard directly onto concrete slabs on the ceilings with metal scres without batteing out the rooms, he is convinced that as he will be installing a heat recovery unit that there will not be any issue with condensation or damp.

It is an ICF build and there is 6 inches of insultation above the concrete slabs but I think we need to take down the plasterboard and batten it out while we can.

Any thoughts on this greatly appreciated.

Cheers
LP

sydthebeat

how is he running electric cables for lighting?

how will he run ducts for HRV?

Lisap

sydthebeat wrote: »

how is he running electric cables for lighting?

how will he run ducts for HRV?

He has channelled out areas to run cables and is running the ducts around the parameter walls incased in coving

sas

Lisap wrote: »

He has channelled out areas to run cables and is running the ducts around the parameter walls incased in coving

He chased the slabs themselves to create channels for the cabling?

sydthebeat

Lisap wrote: »

He has channelled out areas to run cables and is running the ducts around the parameter walls incased in coving

channel out of what??? the underside of the floor slabs??? i hope not

it must be serious coving to hide those ducts, i hope its a nice detail

Lisap

sydthebeat wrote: »

Lisap wrote: »

He has channelled out areas to run cables and is running the ducts around the parameter walls incased in coving

channel out of what??? the underside of the floor slabs??? i hope not

it must be serious coving to hide those ducts, i hope its a nice detail

He channelled out the slabs, it's a single story build and the slabs are 2ft thick. There is no foil back or vapour barrier on the plasterboard and they are fixed to the slabs with metal fixings

We haven't purchased the Heating systems yet or coving so we are at the decision stage, not sure how to move forward? Any advise appreciated as it's a self build ...

Cheers
Lisa

sydthebeat

im confused,

1. if its a single storey building why is there concrete slabs as the ceiling?

2. please clarify 2 ft thick??? slabs are normally 6" thick

3. did you purchase these slabs precasted from a company? if so, did you notify then that you would be chasing them for wires?

4. if single storey why not just drop the HRV ducts into the rooms from above, rather than running them in coving?

Lisap

The Kitchen area is approx 900sqft and we did not want any poles so we had precast concrete slabs ordered, the builder and architect ordered these on our behalf, they are over 2 ft deep and were dropped on by crane. They have 6inches of insulation ontop but none on the inside. There is only a very small amount of chasing for the wiring.

We cant duct from above as the roof is on and the slabs are sitting directly onto the ICF walls so we need to work around that.

Cheers
Lisa

sydthebeat

sorry but 2 foot deep is mental. Thats on the level of bridge building.

At the end of the day, to answer your first question, if the concrete slab manufacturer allowed this chasing (which i doubt) and the ducting can fit behind the coving, and its single storey so no pipework etc involved...

then as long as he is competent in his ability to lay a install ceiling, so be it.

personally i have never seen floor slabs laid in a manner which the undersides are level enough for direct slabbing. There are natural cambers in the slabs, and there tends to be tolerence differences in both the slab depths and the supports.

sas

It would appear that the OP ommitted a rather pertinent point i.e. flat roof.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=67832301

That might explain such a thick slab.

Lisap

Apologies yes it is a flat roof :-)