On 17/09/2010 15:57, A.Lee wrote:
stuart wrote:

Anyone got experience of working on these? I'm advising a relative who's
thinking of buying a 1988 Omar Ranch Style home for all year residence.
I've done all the Googling about the pros and cons of the basic idea,
but I don't know anything about the construction, and what the specs are
likely to have been at that time as regards insulation etc. Do they have
timber rafters and joists between which celotex could be fixed? I'm
thinking exterior insulation panels might be prohibitively expensive,
and probably not as effective.

Any advice welcome

I lived in one 15 years ago. Had it for 6 years, and generally liked it.
Cold in the winter, warm in the summer would accurately describe it. The
walls were 2" thick, so you'd get cold if the heating wasnt on.
Although, as the volume of the full building was small, it didnt cost a
great deal to heat, I think it was typically 2 bags of coal a week to
keep the Parkray going 24/7.
Mine had an ally skin,2x2 framework, stuffed with rockwool insulation,
with a hardboard inner. I upgraded over the years with insulation backed
plasterboard for both the walls and ceilings, and this did seem to make
a difference. Blocking off the underfloor is a big energy saver, as ours
only had an 18mm chipboard floor, laid on the steel chassis, so the only
insulation there was the wood and carpet. Bricking it up definitely made
a difference.

Alan.

Thanks, that's interesting. I was afraid the walls on this one might
only be 2" thick, but it sounds as though there wouldn't be a problem
upgrading the insulation. I hope just replacing the Rockwool with 50mm
Celotex on the ceiling would make a big difference, as I don't think we
would want to lose height. I'll try and find the specs for this
particular model.