External Wall Insulation ~ The Ugly Truth?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 เม.ย. 2022
- Roger looks at the disadvantages of external wall insulation and the misguided efforts of the Insulate Britain protests.
EWI Store: ewistore.co.uk
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Insulation Superstore - external wall insulation diagram
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Look out for our future videos that will cover:
• External wall insulation grants
• The external wall insulation DIY options
• Finding external wall insulation installers
• The best external wall insulation
• Using an external wall insulation cost calculator
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#EWI #ExternalWallInsulation #InsulateBritain
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I was a property manager and we decided to EWI a whole estate of 1920`s solid brick houses which were suffering with excessive damp and mould (also the properties externally were looking old and quite depressing) We specified that any obstructions to the insulation must be removed and insulated 100% of the external walls. It was a huge success resolving years of problems as well as modernising the appearance. That was 25 years ago and driving past recently I noted that the properties are still looking really good.
Sir, i am thinking about getting this installed, is this gentleman correct in what he is saying. 😮 😮 😮
@@user-xs6hf1xo9iYes he is. To fit the external insulation correctly and prevent cold bridging the entirety of the insulated wall had to be cleared of any water downpipes, fence posts existing window/door sills and then extended or refitted over the new insulation including the removal of any lean to/conservatory structures. If the the existing roofs are flush finished with the walls the roof coverings would also be extended to cover the new cladding (mostly at gable ends)
Bet it looked awful, though.
It’s been done to some horrible 1950s flats in Paignton Devon. Not cheap but they look MUCH better and residents say they are now really nice to live in.
Sir, i am getting my bungalow done soon is there any thing that i should look out for, i know nothing about the building trade, was a Chef for most of my working days. Thanks 👏 😊 🫂 🙏.
I worked in social housing for almost 20 years. Black mould and condensation was the bane of every repair officer's life. Even when we'd insulated the stock, installed the most efficient condensing boilers and double glazing, some tenants still suffered from condensation and black mould. Often, you'd have two adjoining houses, one mould free, the other full of mould. Regardless of the witch hunt in the tabloid press, it's mainly a lifestyle issue. Cooking with pan lids off, not using extractors in bathrooms and kitchens, drying clothes on racks and radiators, not opening windows to vent a bathroom after use, or using the heating to avoid cold surfaces. Most often, black mould is directly related to poverty. When all else failed, I found one product was amazing in removing internal moisture laden air to avoid condensation and mould growth. It was the Nuaire Drimaster (for houses) and Flatmaster (for apartments). They extract continuously and use incredibly low amounts of electricity. My own parents bought a bungalow which had terrible mould growth behind wardrobes and on external walls. I installed a Drimaster in their hall ceiling and it immediately resolved the problem. I'm not making some marketing pitch on their behalf, but on this I'm absolutely certain. No other humidistat or extractor came close. They are absolutely brilliant. They're not cheap to buy, costing £300-400, but I've never seen anything work better. They're ridiculously cheap to run, literally a few pence per day and are silent.
Ian
I agree with every word of your comment.
"Cooking with pan lids off, not using extractors in bathrooms and kitchens, drying clothes on racks and radiators, not opening windows to vent a bathroom after use, or using the heating to avoid cold surfaces"
Or not opening a window when you boil a kettle.
And ye - even with an extractor fan vent I have noticed that my dads bathroom still feels/smells wrong simply because he seems to be allergic to opening the window in that room despite being fine with opening them everywhere else.
@@mnomadvfxI bought a Honeywell humidistat for my folks ranch (first floor house) bathroom which kept the exhaust fan running which was vented to the attic. Furthermore, it triggered via relay to run the attic fan, which normally would run by excessive heat thermostat. It worked really well. It was fully automatic. There were times it would kick on in the summer if the air conditioning was not running and the humidity ran high, so occasionally we would turn the dial up a smidge. It solved all humidity issues in the bathroom.
Thanks for this advice
My daughter used to let properties to high-net-worth customers in London. Despite them paying eye-watering levels of rent and presumably being very well educated my daughter repeatedly had to give them a simplified variation of this presentation after their lifestyle issues led to mould infestation. Open a window, don't dry your washing on the radiators, use your exactor fan and if need be, get a dehumidifier. Unfortunately, I have even met architects who are basically clueless about the physics of dwellings. People are always suggesting things schools ought to be teaching, this one is one my list. Likewise, the building trade needs to change, once you start insulating to this level, detail really matters so we need a whole new generation of builders who won't compromise on their standards and will quote regulations and advisories back at customers who want the cheap and the quick and politely say, sorry mate that's above my pay grade, plenty of good work without messing around with unsafe solutions that will bring problems down on my head later.
Great video, thanks. I’m an Architect and fitted external wall insulation to my 1929 house 8 years ago.
I did it at the same time as a major extension and rebuild which avoided most of the problems.
Fortunately because of that I haven’t had any issues with condensation or mould.
We doubled the size of the house and halved our heating bills. More importantly we have a lovely warm and draft free house which is very good for my wife’s arthritis.
Dehumidify cost?
Normally you shouldn't use polystyrene on a brick wall. Even if it's more expensive (+30-40%) use bazaltic wool.
Doubled the houses size with a single extension?
Damn, that's gotta have been expensive.
I guess the insulation will eventually pay for part of that in saved heating costs, but that is still a sizable cost to bear unless the house was already pretty small to begin with.
@@tibiavram It is again covered with polyester mesh and an acrylic low vapor permeable facade. Apart from the greater thickness and the price required for insulation with hard mineral wool, the effect is usually similar or worse due to the lambda coefficient of satisfying the thickness of the thermal insulation and the savings that people resort to.
@@jackdeniston59Good question !
In Canada, with new build homes, we have to install air exchangers, so as to manage the moisture issues. I used to go on house calls with people in older updated insulated homes and they would complain about moisture on their new windows. I had to explain that they had made their homes more airtight and that the house needed to breathe. One couple were upset with one another sash having moisture and the one next to it had none, I explained that the fly screen was trapping moisture, they removed the screen and shortly after the moisture evaporated. You are correct, making your house more airtight, needs some attention to air flow control.
As an expat, the UK don't use air conditioning as standard, the climate is so mild they 'get away' with a total misunderstanding of 'Building Science', so they don't get 'vapour permeability'. They need to listen to Joe
Having better windows would help. It only happens because the interior humidity is able to condense on the windows. I can understand wanting to have less-dry air during wintertime, and it sucks that windows, almost by their nature, are not very good at keeping out the cold.
Nice to see you are insulating your thumb 👍🏽
A craftsman who actually works will, at times, do some damage to his/her thumbs and fingers.
@@American-In-Mykolaiv An office worker who actually works will, at times, sleep with a married colleague.
Lol 👍🩹
We need fresh air to breathe. We need ventilation.
We need warmth..
Compromise creatively
GREAT videos Roger mate.. I gotta say the energy that comes off the screen is brilliant. I used to work with a guy one day a week who was a master decorator if there is such a thing. He did the rag rolling and all these beautiful paint effects, Artexing ceiling with crazy designs and u remind me of him. It was 25 yrs ago mind when I lived in Croydon.. Man I miss the lingo from there.
I'm enjoying the info on the videos too BTW Roge mate. My brother is called Roge too and he lives in London atm at the behest of Her Majesty Prison service... LMAO.. He's an 'eejit'.. That's the Irish wax of sayin' 'idiot'.
We bought our house around three years ago, black mould all over the inside walls and absolutely sopping with moisture. solid concrete and small so only possibility was to do ewi, they give a 6k grant here in Ireland to do it, absolutely great job, but because we had just bought the house I was able to take absolutely everything off it, got new windows in and mounted them flush with the exterior face of the original wall, had to put a meter cabinet in as power was coming in onto gable of the house, do I left meter cabinet proud 110mm. Got the insulation done, and it absolutely transformed the house, no cold spots at all. What did happen though is all my moisture flecked off into the attic and I had mouldy patches where all the rafters were coming down to the top of the walls. Cored a couple of holes in each gable and made sure I was getting ventilation through my soffit, attic absolutely bone dry now and not a patch of mould anywhere, also added benefit of ewi is the thermal mass of the walls gets put to use, house stays warmish for a good three days with no heating on now.
House stays warm for 3 days because the solid wall is a giant storage heater. You heat the wall and the external insulation traps the heat in it. It's not a bad thing but internal wall insulation would have been better.
@@ItsFriscoBaby I know.. Thats what I said..., and that's what makes it great. Insulated dry liner wouldn't have worked, and would have caused huge thermal bridges at the junctions between internal walls and external walls causing mould, also would have made the small rooms unusable.
Do you remember what the grant is called. I live in Ireland and trying to insulate my mum's house as there is nothing but the dry line I've done inside the old house but the extension as nothing in the walls just attic space is insulate.
@@tomschevette home energy upgrade grant I think, specially for ewi. We got in just in time though because to qualify now you need to achieve a BER of B or better I think, so basically the only option is the deep retrofit grant for older houses. Load of bollox as it just puts any improvements out of reach of alot of ordinary people.
@@mktrollop1093 thanks I'll have a look into it. No surprise they changed it don't want to pay out 😂
Totally agree - I brought a 1970s build with empty cavity as part if the huge renovation we decided to have both internal and external insulation fitted to lower energy requirements , great until you realise the humidity increase. First off regarding flue and soil pipes prior to arrival and because it wasn’t occupied, the soil pipe and glue were extended. For the flue it ment getting a gas engineer in to size one up and cut to the new length needed. This one was easy since we were Also fitting a new system boiler , with the external soil pipe removal and extending was essential or it would have to have a larger box section fitted , but thankfully we had a fitter who was happy to work with the team so they could pre cut to size , but there’s little to do about fitting around the sewer inlet other than to fit a box with the internal insulation plug sockets or new outlets must be planned and run , but we still had to retrofit a new heat exchanger in the dining room /living room . The kitchen extractor on when cooking and washing up and a green room dehumidifier 8kwh running plumed in , this fills up a 10 litre in about 4 days when people stay and sleep over . I was thinking of a house hvac exchanger but retrofitting now is Awkward now that second fit onwards so please plan ahead if you plan on doing the same also when having air tightness talks for external find out what they are using to close the gaps or if they fit external edging on these sheets like internal rated for , trust me you can’t get a good fit with a saw no matter what they say , it’s no say labour job it needs planning and working well on site it took a week to do everything external to get it all in . And it’s not cheap to do this 5 bedroom cost 18,000 external and 9 k for inside . For a team of 3 , plus Plummer and gas engineer. And please don’t forget to super insulate your cold feed it’s a condensate magnet otherwise
Finnish housebuilder here. This is so very true. Nice and simple explanation how it works.
Fantastic video - thank you for taking the time to explain the pitfalls of non-optimal EWI installations!
One of the first retrofits I did was install heat recovery ventilation. It made my house less drafty, helped keep my heat and improved indoor air quality. Insulation is great, but ventilation is key.
Yes ventialtion is the key for longivity of the hoouse and the people inside it :)
Would never have a house without this, makes a huge change to air quality and comfort.
are there any companies/modules you would reccomend?
both go hand in hand
Wow, i never knew that fancy ventilation seals the house.
You hit the nail on the head: insulating and air-sealing older homes is very, very challenging. I've done it and never again, thanks! We built a new super-insulated home and never looked back.
so don't insulate old houses at all? I have 100 year old house, but it has no insulation. Should I just sell it and let someone else deal with it?
It also has some knob and tube wiring. So what I've heard is I'd have to remove that (or disable it at least) before adding insultation in the wall cavities.
Hello Roger from a GC across the pond. Great video. It's important for people to understand that there are no singular silver bullet solutions. All solutions need to be comprehensive. You explained it well.
hi Roger thanks for covering this subject up.May be more of my clients are going to accept replacing and extending all the pipes because most of them don't accept the extra cost and it can have a big impact on the system.Thanks i always follow your advice
I've got a few flats with EWI. No issues with moisture at all. Soil stacks are plastic, boiler flues obviously warm enough, and no issues with damp or mould anywhere. If the EWI did anything it got rid of damp on inside walls that was there before and made the flats so warm that heating is no longer required. Nothing but good things to say about EWI. Tenants love it when they hear there are low or no heating bills, especially with the cost of living crisis. Recommended.
@@user-ep3iv1pc8k no grant. Was fitted by a company from Glasgow that specialise in this. Worked out about £7,000 per flat so not cheap.
Company was called SkyForm
If moisture has gone down after installing, you had damp ingress through the walls.
@@whirled_peas pls explain
I live in Canada but your points remain just as relevant. I bought an older house and one of the previous owners did the external insulation. The points you bring up around awareness of such areas as electrical, plumbing and other such wall penetration is invaluable. So is moisture content. This past winter I had no issues with it because I made sure I had a dehumidifier going. But, I was able to identify areas of heat loss. It is early spring here so I am going to address those issues before it gets too hot! Good vid. Thanks.
It's been common in Slovenia for over 10 years now. But as a general rule they use vapour permeable insulation, and a vapour permeable render/stucco. Esp important on old buildings which generally need a breathable wall.
@Hugh Davis my house is a hills presweld permanent concrete and steel structure, which I'm pretty sure is why there are pipes at random points dotted around to ventilate.
Any idea if that's the case?
Great video thanks! Home ventilation is one of the most overlooked aspects of construction. You can buy cheap moisture traps in the high street pound shops and these are a great indicator of just how much airborne moisture there is in your home. See how long one takes to fill before and after you make changes to your insulation or ventilation systems.
Just buy 2 to 3 industrial grade atmospheric water generators that will drain all the moisture from your house and produce drinkable water at the same time. And it will solve your mold problems and airborne moisture at the same time. The problem is that they all require power.
@@darthvader5300 and these generators run on what? unicorn dust? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great Video and explanation of potential issues in the future. The building code here in Canada is addressing these issues and was a big difference to our life in the UK. But in a country that is -30 in the Winter and +30 in the Summer you have a wide temperature range over the seasons. The new code is EWI on the outside and lots of ventilation on the inside. Thus the air is circulating and humidity is being extracted. The old building methods of "seal up every crack" and being helped by new building science.
Roger, please take into account the 'Saturated Vapour Pressure' that forces the wet air through any gaps. It does not just float around! great video by the way, keep up the good work!
If you render your house regardless of area (listed status, conservation, national park), even in a “normal” area you need planning permission if the house wasn’t already rendered. Also if you render more than 25% you need to notify the building control department as they may force you to apply EWI. We rendered our house, farm house, middle of nowhere, not listed or in a special location and the council served us with a enforcement notice then made us submit a full planning application, which the council then refused the application and we are now taking it up with the inspectorate. This is such a grey area and the reality is that we may have to remove the very expensive modern render system and go back to a damp cold house, be warned it is a nightmare having these childish council jobsworths on our backs.
Great video roger as usual. My thinking would be,
Control layers of any building have to deal with Water, Air, Vapour and Thermal in that order only. Air tight envelope comes before insulation. Insulation is cheap and insulating is easy as compare to doing an air tightness and making sure it passes the air tightness test. If cold air moves around the building meeting warm air is going to be the biggest issue. Also if cold air moves around, it will reduce the effect of insulation that supposed to hold warm air. Unless we understand the building science, I am afraid we will actually end up ruining our existing housing stock.
Hi there. I work doing ewi and yes we do have a plumber that moves the pipes . We do take the fence or gate post from the walls that’s my job. Yes I am a carpenter. We rebuild from new the fence and gates that we remove . We do on some properties work with wales and west utilities to move same gas boxes and insulation is behind. Sorry we do move most things and put them all back when it’s finished. I hope this explanation is good for you and keep up your good work as I always enjoy your videos and I hope your thumb gets better .👍👍👍
And tom jones was also black..
That is good to hear but it is, by no means, typical.
Very accurate
@@goygoyim6443 what ?, get off , this channel is about house insulation , and no he wasn't , they did a family tree , but so what if he was
Well done Roger, as someone who works in the construction industry I appreciate your commentary. This whole area is fraught with risk if the principles at play are not understood and you explain the building science extremely well!
Thanks Marc
@@SkillBuilder hi Roger could you say in layman's terms how much in £ at todays money how much energy you would save by ewi ground source heat recovery taking into account installation cost running costs maintenance suitability for various types of construction because to me it seems there is at best a very small benefit if at all in retro fitting this ....
@@garywheeley5108 That's an impossible ask. The first thing to do is a heat loss calculation on the property as it is. That's not expensive or particularly difficult and will inform you as to where your money is best spent first. As to whether the measures you list are worth doing depends on your aims, which could be comfort, saving money ( which is contentious and may rule out some measures) or reducing carbon footprint. I think you have to decide what it is you want, and how far you can afford to implement those measures. In general Return on Investment may be something you are unlikely to see, depending on your age, and depending on how much capital you spend.
@@SkillBuilder Very interesting video as usual, l have not seen this type of insulation method before but did work on a project around 35 years ago for the local council that involved applying insulated plasterboard to the internal walls of 4 storey blocks of flats, the job was a nightmare for the tenants due to the major disruption but at the time it was the only solution to the problem.
You're such a refreshing guy when it comes to renovations. I've seen too many cowboy builder, especially when I use to work on home appliances and saw under all the kitchen cabinets. You're all about the quality of your work, you show the good and bad of everything and above all, the videos are very intelligent and straight to the point. Keep it going and home the channel explodes even more!
Good information, thank you. I’m on a small island off of the west coast of British Columbia Canada (yes, my father was a lumberjack)… I have been considering external insulation for a while and this helps.
After 48 seconds i already want to elect Roger as PM. Well said.
Was going to say the same thing. Used to think Roger as PM and Clarkson for transport but now I think Clarkson should do farming too.
So pleased you mentioned this. I had this issue when moving into my current home. Dehumidifiers are useless. The internal wall insulation caused this. It's also caused damp under floorboards which has also led to an internal wall having damp.
I sleeved vents and added new vents to solve the sub floor issue to some extent but a neighbour has had all his floorboards rotted away because of this insulation.
I solved the humidity and constant mould growth via a positive input ventilation device in the loft. This pulls in less moist air from outside and pushes the moist air out as a result. Really cheap to run but make sure you get the one with a heating element to temper the air.
Beware with insulation because the humidity and mould caused me to develop asthma after being in good health before moving in. It's very hazardous to health. Just constantly cleaning the mould is not enough.
That is all good information, thanks for the comment
@@SkillBuilder roger could you do a video on why a bath plug hole gurgles when you flush the toilet ? What is going on ?
The PIV unit must be a lot cheaper to run than a dehumidifier.
@@DMC888 it is. Also a dehumidifier is effective in a small room but you need to usually keep emptying the water collection container. Don't get me wrong, I used one in my little extension that was too cold before I ripped everything out and insulated. It did a job but it's a sticking plaster rather than fixing an issue. So.rhe PIV fixed the unhealthy situation upstairs and the new internal.insulation has fixed my cold extension which saves me losing so much heat downstairs.
Good comment. We are leaders in PIV installations in the north of England and routinely find ourselves working on such properties. EWI literally means one MUST consider the merits of PIV.
I insulated my solid wall house 4 years ago. Although there are no cold bridges, it definately gets more humid. If that moist air makes it into the loft it condenses on the roof and drips down. I've put a lot more ventilation in my loft and try and do regular air changes. Getting rid of cooking and shower moisture at source is important too. It has been brilliant on the whole, during cold weather the outside of my house has ice crystals in it as the heat loss is so low!
Hello mate, did you insulate internally or externally?
@@darkknight17 externally.
Would you say it made your house a lot warmer in winter?
@@Chief81 It's night and day compared to before. We could never get the house warm before. it would be freezing again within an hour of turning the heating off. Now we run the heating for an hour and it's warm for hours. We did have old aluminium windows before too.
@@joegatrill6634 sounds like my house 😅, 1930’s ish detached house no cavity wall. Freezing in winter when heating is not on & heat disappears rapid after turning it off. Considering having this done dependent on price of course.
Had EWI installed 8 years ago. 1930's built solid brick house. They did it properly. They even put a bend in the soil pipe. There are no "blank" spots.
It's been nothing but positive.
We used to get mould in the corners before in most rooms where condensation would meet cold walls. Despite having humidistat extractors and running two dehumidifiers.
The day the insulation went on (Feb), I had to turn the central heating thermostat down by 2 degrees as it was getting too warm inside. We have no more mould growing in any corners.
The only fly in the ointment was the patio doors no longer swing all the way open like they used to as the insulation stops them opening beyond about 95°. But I have a cunning plan to remedy this when I come to replace the doors.
Well you should name that company then. Otherwise spending extra money and electricity on a dehumidifier doesn’t make sense to me. Don’t do insulation on the outside. Just on the inside.
Another great video from Roger. I have worked as a consultant for housing associations and to their credit their new builds had high levels of insulation and air tightness, complete with MVHR systems, sadly no one explained to the tenants that the filters had to be cleaned regularly or that the 2 fans had to run 24/7/365, when they found this out then most were switched off. The units weren't serviced as the maintenance contractor didn't get a budget for it.
Seems to be a nationwide problem. Councils spend a fortune on the old council housing stock and then just leave it to rot. Don't know if housing associatons are any better. It's a bit like buying a new car and never servicing it. Prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure. But they just have not got the budgets for it.
So true. I work for a mechanical ventilation distribution company and we've had to replace many MVHR units because the tenants weren't made aware that the units needed servicing and at the very minimum, having the filters changed or at least cleaned!
Id turn the MVHR fan off if it ran 24/7/365 too! An automatic version would cut the running costs and changing filters is simple. I wonder listening to all that’s going on in the building industry, councils and govt if anyone has got a joined up plan for energy efficient healthy housing stock to replace the majority of old damp leaky stuff, I know the answer.
@@alan2804If the house is well sealed, the ventilation also helps remove CO2 that we humans make, in addition to removing humidity. Drafty houses didn't have issues with CO2, as there was a good air flow in and out of the house.
100% agree about the pros and cons of EWI. Since i got my house done, it never gets colder than 17 degrees in winter, meaning i hardly have to put on the heating. Just the moisture management, but ive got window vents in and PIV put in and make sure to open windows and use extractor during showers and cooking. I might DIY a MHV instead which will hopefully help.
The other consideration is screwing things to the outside. If you have to take it down or move it, then its harder to fix as you have to foam fill, render prime and finish otherwise the holes or a bad fill job really stand out.
Thank you
In my rental properties I have fitted automatic humidistat extractor fans (I set them to about 60% humidity) in all the kitchens and bathrooms. I also fitted vented tumble dryers, and outdoor rotary clothes airers. There are adjustable vents in all the rooms and trickle vents on the double glazing, but I cannot be sure the tenants will use them. That said, since installing the extractors I have not had any problems with damp or mould.
I find attaching a wood board as a mounting plate for lights etc works well. The board spreads the load - and my insulation is Rockwool slabs, as the house is very old, and needs to 'breathe'.
Hi Roger, We have had 3 and 2 bedroom flats (looks like a large Semi from outside) done last year. We removed the down pipes, svp, lights, gate etc. We then fitted new SVP on 97mm spacers , two new boiler flues which interestingly they put rock wool around to approx 600mm all around it. We removed the original 9 x 6 wall vents. The building was then insulated and rendered with a silicone render (luckily we had deep soffits) which appears to be self cleaning in heavy rain. We have trickle vents on all windows anti back draught (non shutter type) extractors in both bathrooms, anti back draught extract to outside fans in both kitchens, new down pipes with rawl plug, screw and adhesive clips & new 32mm vertical external condensate pipe running down to a mini soakaway, 1st floor flat roof space was insulated with wool to current standards..... My word what a difference it has made both flats, much cooler in the summer and much warmer in the winter & ZERO condensation.
Alot of work, cost us £9K plus the £10K grant (which is another long storey for another time) but I now run the heating via the Vaillant combi boilers at 58 degrees (well below dew point) without the tenants knowing a thing!!! If done properly and not the way you are suggesting it is worth it. Next step is to redecorate flats which will also involve over sizing rads to 35-40%
Thanks Ducan. What did you do about the soil pipe where it connects to the drain?
Used a pair of offsets which because of the gap between the bottom of the insulation and the ground slipped into the clay adapter a treat.
I am helping friends and family with this at the minute, and have advised them just about the exact same as what you have done! Although, a few are doing internal plastering later so they are using limestone plaster to aid breathing and on the outside, they are going for graphite expanded polystyrene as the EWI contractors said it was the only type of polystyrene which was breathable at the time, and allowed for better moisture dispersal.
I was not looking to look into this subject as I have/had no plans to have this fitted to our 90-year-old semi, with cavity brick walls, DGU's and loft insulation. I came across this channel seeking greenhouse bubble wrap insulation advice. That said, I am very pleased to have watched it in case the situation changes or friends/family are considering it. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed" as they say. Great information provided here (although we do use a dehumidifier to also dry the air for more effective heating, cost now being a big consideration) so many thanks for this helpful video.
Very useful information - we moved in to a house with EWI 8yrs ago, moved out a nearly a year ago now. We had some minor difficulties with moisture, unfortunately there was no information provided from the EWI installer about managing moisture supplied in the pack that was passed on by the previous owner (not sure if any direction was given from the installer) - getting this information out there will save a lot of people a lot of headaches!
What issues did you experience? I would love to know.
Good video Roger, it's certainly something that can be wrong, way too easily, but I'm of course glad for anyone that's had it done and has no problems. I built an outbuilding last year and did external wall insulation just to see how it would perform. Pretty good generally, 18 Sq. M. / 195 Sq. Ft. room heated easily by one 800w oil filled radiator - of course it takes a few hours to get warm when it is used. As for doing it on the house, I'd think twice, but may be - saves killing internal floor space and over all I guess it's less agg and more effective than internal insulation. Bonus with internal I guess is that you can do a space in any weather, and you don't have to do the whole house at once. Also like you say, no planning issues.
oh and I used ewistore, pretty decent, though I only used them for below DPC insulation.
Thanks for the advice. I have spent years getting my windows changed with trickle vents integrated at fitting.
I have the nuaire PIV system so hopefully getting EWI will be the last piece of work needed to sort things out.
You're a treasure.
Explaining a very prevalent issue about how we live that is important to millions so clearly they might do the right thing to fix their habitation.
I've observed about 6 houses here in Ireland getting EWI. None of them had the soffits ( they were usually about 200mm deep) removed to take the insulation up to the wall plate to meet the attic insulation. Result a big cold bridge in just the worst spot in a room where the ceiling meets the external wall. All there were done by "professional" outfits.
Actually in case the soffits were replaced but the insulation was not carried all the way up the wall
As Roger says it's all in the detail
I've installed ewi on houses all over Scotland and never removed sofits. Always told just take it upto the sofit and if the roof overhang isn't big enough put the Angled top cap on.
I did EWI on my house. DIY. Best decision ever. I didn't take the soffits off but pushed loft insulation down in the space, while still leaving a gap for ventilation of the loft.
No cold bridging, no mould whatsoever.
Great informative video ! The problem with the EWI system is that the installation specifications from the manufacturer's do not specify ventilation. You can insulate your way in to a condensation issue as the humidity in the building is trapped. If you insulate you should also ventilate but most installers and home owners cover up there vents. If done properly EWI is a great way to keep the property warm in the winter, cool in the summer and can reduce energy bill's also co2 footprint. The point at where condensation forms is called a dew point and generally the coldest surface in each room. I use a non mechanical ventilation air brick called an ultravent and we have never had any issues. Hope this comment can help anyone considering having EWI 👍
Brilliant vid!
After EWI a house with a Pava-Tec solution and finished with a zinc cladding, soon after, the customer found windows reveals soffit zinc work weeping significant moisture, all because of the efficiency was so high. The heating was rarely on after too.... The house was 200 years old and without any insulation before. So, the 'exhalation' or drying out period from extended dew points was significant because of the previous years of moisture accumulation (dew points) beginning to shift. That's progress. Dehumidifiers are the way for a couple of years! Stone/brick can also leech moisture to the interior space due to the exterior skin being 'tanked' by non porous insulation.
The amount of terrible fitted insulation I have seen is abysmal. The gaps accumulate the percentage loss of heat significantly. The insulation is only as good as the installation.
Good explanation of EWI and it's potential problems. On the political side of things with insulation, I agree with what Insulate Britain are doing. We are being told that one of the best ways of reducing our carbon footprint is to insulate our houses. This is coming from many sources (the Energy savings Trust for one example) but it costs a lot of money. So if people on low incomes cannot afford it then the government should be providing the resources to get it done. But they have other priorities, like giving huge amounts of money to their mates to provide practically nothing in return. The current (and so far, and previous governments) are not taking the environmental issues we are facing seriously. It's all just greenwashing when they talk about what they have or are going to do. Someone has to raise the issue to the public so it can be discussed seriously.
This is a great educational video and I really hope the message landed! Many home owners completely neglect that a new build is better insulated but it also has airflow management which is now mandatory. If you want similar performance from 100 year old house you must use similar principles and air flow is essential to EWI. I just wish large installers were more upfront about the need of it and provided a complete solution but we'll get there
Hi mate, I am about to get my 1950s done with EWI, any tips for air management would be appreciated. I have trust issues with builders and like to do my own research and chat to those who have experience. Thank you
Excellent Roger ! This is exactly the problem with UK housing stock. I moved to the Nordics some years ago and the difference in construction techniques is quite staggering. It is pretty much standard here to have wet floors in bathrooms with underfloor heating (which drives away sitting moisture) , walls, floors, roof are heavily insulated, triple glazing , double seals on outside doors and opening windows, moisture barrier (damp proof membrane) in walls and ceilings...which makes the entire house air tight and a potential nightmare for moisture and mould growth...except that all houses have forced air ventilation and there are building regs which require proper flow calculations etc We have a ventilation fan on the roof which runs 24x7x365 drawing fresh air and ventilation ducts running throughout the house. There are fresh air ducts in external walls allowing outside air to be pulled in under control, these can be closed when its very cold in winter. In more recent years the newer systems all use a heat exchanger to recover heat from the exit air flow - it is very rare to ever see damp , condensation or mildew problems and if you do find it then it indicates a serious problem....it also makes your house un-sellable ! The vast majority of people in the UK have "insulation" rammed down their throats but without any follow up regarding the need for proper air circulation . Its difficult in the UK because of the age of housing stock and also house design e.g. soil pipes are fixed to outside walls as you nicely point out. Keep up the good work and keep educating people , as you correctly state - insulation without managed air circulation will typically result in solving one issue and creating another.
so do their houses cost a fortune after all this?
@@utubeape They don't cost a fortune, but they do cost a little more. The difference in construction techniques are not so great nowadays. The UK Building Regulations are bringing us closer to the Nordic way of doing things. You save the extra cost in the first three to five years due to lower energy bills.
@@tlangdon12 Yes with higher energy costs I think that is going to be the right direction to go
@@tlangdon12 The problem is still the majority of older houses, 1930's semis, there are millions of them and if old people live in them they will not see a way to recover the cost of exterior insulation via lower fuel bills if they think they are not going to be there for more than 15 or 20 years.
In a war scenario or any emergency that causes frequent power cuts these airtight homes would be in trouble. But I suppose people would have more to worry about than damp. All the same, this Nordic approach does seem a potentially fragile high-tech solution. It assumes a wider service grid that will keep working properly without interruption.
My first labourer job was doing just that. Can't remember if we moved the gas meter, but everything else was moved to enable us to board the whole house. The scheme changed the windows and put new window sills. Was done very well.
Thank you so much.
Very interesting.
Having the council put exterior insulation on my council house, was the worse thing I've ever done!! (Perth & Kinross Council, Scotland).
Now I understand why!
The actual job was an absolute nightmare, regarding them totally destroying my flower beds and borders, which they promised me beforehand would be protected with covers....that never happened, so I lost ALL my plants. The dust and debris was everywhere outside, inches thick. It affected my breathing very badly, and I ended up having to spend £400 on two large air purifiers. They badly scratched my windows, and after months of complaining, they begrudgingly had to take up all my contaminated gravel, and replace it. They didn't give me enough gravel, so there are bare patches all over the place, where it's just too thin. They destroyed property, etc etc.
Black mould started to appear about a year after it's completion, in places that I've never had it before. In fact there wasn't much mould at all pre-insulation! The humidity of the entire house was approx 45% all year round. Now, although the winter isn't too bad, the humidity during the rest of the year has sky rocketed! (I'm disabled and am almost house bound. I feel the cold VERY badly, so have a thermometer/humidistat in every room).
The heat seems to get trapped in the house in warmer weather, and it is absolutely unbearable, despite all the windows being wide open.
I tumble dry most of my washing, with the window and door open for ventilation. The rest is hung in the spare bedroom, where I used to have a very small desk top dehumidifier. I've now had to spend £150 on a big dehumidifier, am having to get another one for my bedroom, and I honestly don't know what to do about downstairs!
It's a nightmare, and I wish I'd never had it done!
I have noticed no difference at all, in temperature in the cold months either! I still need my heating on all day.
sounds like you need an air brick(vent) in every room and especially under floor and loft vent, otherwise Donald will not dry his troosers when the tumble is burning! oh... and get a vent hose fitted to the tumble burner to shift the hot,wet air to the outside of the building - won't stop your elecy meter from spinning like a top, but will remove moisture
@@ocean686 thanks. Well, I have an air vent in the bedroom, but my ex blocked it up due to the noise from outside.
It's very weird, but since the exterior insulation was done, the humidity in the winter is sooooo low (bordering on unhealthily low), and yet sky rockets in the summer!
Well done Roger on explaining condensation problems. I worked for local councils for about 2 years and condensation was probably the biggest issue I came across. The problem then is that because people do not realise how much moisture we release in a day is a substantial amount it creates as you say black mould. But in my experience with local authorities it is never there fault and push the blame onto the tenants. Education is what we need and properly ventilated houses.
Keep up the good work
How many people dry their clothes indoors? That is a real NO NO!
Great video. I work for an MVHR distribution company and this is a key area that often gets missed when looking to better insulate the home!
who do you work for? I'll be needing MVHR for my renovation project. And do you sell any systems with cooling added? I know it wouldn't cool much but combining that with an ASHP that does cooling and UFH/UFC throughout, with measures to control thermal gain, I was thinking it might be enough to keep the house comfortable in really hot weather... we are in south-east of England.
Nice report, we are in Portugal and during the winter we use dehumidifiers and they take out a gallon a day. We have ceramic tiled floors and single skinned walls. The house it great for 8 months, but wintertime moisture is a problem. Denitrification is cheaper than the heating saved.
Good on the technicals, terrible on the politics. People like insulate Britain are putting themselves out there and are vilified to the extreme. Even if you don't believe in their methods you do believe they have a point and the government is not helping anyone. We must stand up for each other and not just do the bidding of the powerful for them i.e call brave, principled people 'idiots'.
Saying that if they do insulation they look that are 'caving in' is ridiculous as they'll never do it without any pressure, no government has ever given anything without a fight. It's thanks to protesters that we have weekends, the vote, women's suffrage, holidays etc. Stand by your fellow average person don't just do what you're told by the Murdoch's and Morgan's of the world.
An old neighbour did this to their entire house.
The current owner tried to claim we had moved the fence line when we replaced it saying her alleyway was a lot narrower than ours.
She felt stupid when I pointed out how much deeper her window openings were and at the bottom of the wall you could see the overhang.
That is very amusing
When she bought the house what did she think the surveyor and solicitors firm where for?
Hi. I live in Normandy now (so the climate is like yours), but I come from Poland. East of Poland and it sometimes gets below -25C . I was in a complete shock when I saw how people in Normandy build their houses, or renovate the old ones. Complete lack of basic knowledge on how insulation works and how humidity works. Then they complain about the mold.
welcome to France 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Brilliant video and explained really well, neighbour is having the mould problem and his solution is EWI, will show him this video before he starts.
This is an excellent point that is brought up. Also, remember that for some people decreasing the moisture level inside the house is not an option especially if they've grown to feel comfortable with internal moisture being above a certain level. I've lived in a brick home without any insulation and two brick walls completely exposed and in an internally insulated masonry home and the difference was night and day: in the uninsulated home the exposed walls were freezing cold and we could never get the indoors temperature to be at a level that's comfortable even with the heating blasting all day long.
What is not addressed by any video I've seen on external insulation is what will happen nation-wide when these insulations are start to fail in 25-30 years' time or when these insulated buildings are taken down or remodelled. If there made be a method for separating the plaster from all the plastic insulation materials I'd sure like to find out about it because frankly, I don't see it and I'm fairly sure that there will never bee a method for separating all those resins used for gluing those parts together so that resin will be invariably be left with the plaster and what. What I also do not see is any proper method of handling these materials when they are removed being enforced or even being introduced and their adoption monitored for a good long while. This will create a huge problem as these materials take a lot of space and will invariably end up in landfills.
I am a big proponent of internal insulation made with aircrete (aerated concrete) blocks. Until proven otherwise, I believe this is the best way to insulate many old homes but, alas, it's not suitable for every old home and also it does require extensive internal remodelling which is a show stopper for most.
Why does aircrete insulation need to be done internally?
US ran into this problem back in the 70s, after the first oil shock people insulated and sealed their houses with wrap, so moisture would build up. The series "Original This Old house" showed the black mold build up in houses and how to use the existing heating/cooling system and dehumidifiers to eliminate this problem. Thank you for bringing this up again so people can know about this.
Really well put Rog. I get a Little frustrated with people knocking the external insulation system and I’ve got no axe to grind either way actually. It’s a little like I remember when double glazed windows first came in, quickly followed a few years later by adding trickle vents. I recall many arguments querying the fact that you’re losing all the saved heat 🙄😀. It’s a good, genuine point and one that does benefit from a heat recovery system. 👍
I raised this with surveyors who went out to assess a friends property for EWI, since now to get the Government Grant for EWI in the UK trickle vents are a primary condition of grant approval! And when I suggested why not just open a window onto the security latch/night latch would just be as effective. Either way grant fund is not approved currently in the UK (though funding ends in September 2023) unless the homeowner agrees to extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, along with trickle vents and internal doors modified to allow greater air flow! For current funding to be approved you have to have 2 site surveys, the 2nd of which is to asses for air and moisture analysis!
I have been talking about this problem for 20 years. A person consumes about 17 cubic meters of air in one night. In order for moisture to be properly distributed inside the walls, the mass of the wall is needed, which will move the vapor barrier inside the wall, and that the wall is made of material that is vapor permeable /brick or brick block/. Unfortunately, another mistake is made here, which is painting the walls with water-washable acrylic paints that are limited in vapor permeability. Thus, by saving energy, people seriously endanger their health, that is, they endanger the humidity of the living space. And finally, how air conditioners or dehumidifiers work in your home: When you want to cool down a space, you extract moisture from the air, and that is the condensate that is removed from each internal unit of the split heating and cooling system. Here we return to the effect of thermal insulation from the beginning, which should save us energy that we have to spend later on dehumidifying and thus cooling the space in which we live. And finally, with good thermal insulation, there should be no wet places even on parts of reinforced vertical and horizontal cerclages, and with 3-layer, not 2-layer windows, the biggest thermal bridges in the space prone to vapor condensation, which are windows, are reduced. There is still much to talk about external thermal insulation and wall materials, but the fact is that a good part of the energy that you save in such a house in the winter must be spent in the summer for cooling, not because of insolation but because of the activities that are carried out in the house and the temperature that I am a human being. creates with its heat, cooking, washing machines, refrigerators ... The American system of prefabricated construction where the walls have no accumulation at all is the simplest because it relies only on split heating and cooling systems and their quality of automatic humidity regulation. Due to climate change, the traditional European system of solid construction no longer meets the standards of a healthy and economical life. Conclusion: No matter what modifications we try to economize energy consumption, it greatly affects our health and, at most, our budget. P.S. I hope that google translate translated this text correctly.
You should not be removing moisture from your house through the walls. That is one falicy that perpetuates the problem. The airborne moisture travelling as vapour will condense on the cold side of the wall and that means you have a lot of hidden condensation. It is inevitable that some moisture will migrate into the structure but this should be kept as low as possible. Ventilation and dehumidifiers are a much better option
Great video with sound advice. I used to live a 1960’s bungalow and had some issues with moisture laden air. I had to educate myself on this and ended up fitting a PIV unit in my loft which was great and solved my issues. But you have to think a bit about how you live when you live in a house like that you certainly don’t want to be drying your cloths on the radiators and not using mechanical extraction in kitchens and bathrooms.
Hi there can I ask if it was a prefab bungalow? looking for tips on ventilating ours and preserving heat without cladding if possible
@Seonaid Macdonald Hi. No it wasn’t a prefab. I would definitely recommend looking into a PIV system as it’ll help to heat too as the dryer air will heat up quicker and save on cost in the long run. I also considered lining outside walls with insulated plasterboard but didn’t want to risk any issues with condensation. I installed a wood stove in the lounge which was very nice and just excepted the fact that bungalows don’t hold heat as well as newer houses. Good luck with it though.
@Telly George Thank you so much for the advice and taking the time to reply
Great video!!! I was hoping for another explanation for cavity walls where it's prominent in my area.
I am in the HVAC trade and very aware of proper ventilation. I can sense stale/contaminated air the moment the front door opens. Also all the scented fresheners, I like to call them "odour masker", makes me wonder why there are so many people with cancer nowadays.
I find the people willing to spend all the improvement money trying to contain all the heat in the house aren't willing to operate a dehumidifier. I've encountered many idled HRVs/ERVs due to "energy consumption". The same people aren't utilizing a hood fan while cooking....why exhaust "precious" energy to the outdoors? keep all the heat inside the house!
wow that's very revealing about the lack of information the people in the 'insulate!!!' community give out. Only talking about heat energy and not the whole picture. Do you find people understand when you explain the problem to them?
So often the problem is education. And the problem starts early, when fathers don't educte their children, especially girls, on how houses "work". People would never turn their freezer off to save money, so why do they think they can turn their MHRV/PIV off to do so?
them odour maskers are killers; studies show they can be worse than smoking, only a fool would use them; i am allergic to some of those chemicals, i get a metallic taste in my mouth and throat,and breathing becomes difficult; just one whiff,before i run off, and it takes me a couple of hours to recover; also,they are totally forbidden in hospitals.
I've always been amazed by how far EWI has been adopted in the UK without any mention of WUFI calculations and condensation risk. Great comments below highlighting that the condensation issues are often transferred to other non-insulated areas. Maybe Roger can highlight how a building can be insulated either internally or externally whilst ensuring the wall build-up remains breathable for old solid brick properties. I've attended a webinar about a clear external liquid applied breather membrane for masonry. If anyone has any experience of this system in combination with internal wall thermal lining I'd be interested to hear them.
WUFI is a linear model of heat and moisture transfer. In real ingineering it is better to use some FEA for isotherms in building's details.
You can make house airtight by using XPS or XPS/MineralWool in EWI.
If you gonna put the insulation inside your external wall then the wall will be not protected from the external cold but it willl be separated from heat-> you can easly end up with your external wall freazing in winter and if there is any water inside there can be a huge problem because ice have more volume than water->that is how most of the sand on this planet was created, from huge solid rocks were crushed by freezing water in them->and you do not want to change your external wall into smaller pieces...
Generaly in the topic of breathing the water is accumulated in the winter and if its able to "breath" then it leaving it in the summer. You can calculate all of that but for that you need exact info about avg temperature in your locstion and how the wall is constructed and what kind of materials were used.
"that the condensation issues are often transferred to other non-insulated areas." it is not a transfer, the problem is in concentration of the condensation in a much smaller area because that will be the only cold place and other parts will be to warm for the condensation to start=that water will be left in air and all of it will be able to condensate only in some small areas(heat briges) and too much water in one place=mold gonna start to growing.
We used Rockwool and a vapour permeable render. Zero issues with moisture build up, and the EWI was done a good 10 years ago. Pretty nuts to use an impermeable insulation for EWI, esp on old buildings that need to 'breathe'.
I really enjoy your talks Rodger , you say it in a way I can understand , if ever I have a building question , I always refer to your channel and you’ve not let me down yet , thanks a lot 😊👍
Brilliant presentation and extremely educational. Thank you, Well done, get a tv programme series, it would be very successful and popular.
Nice video, thanks. Insulating walls is often a trade off with limiting draughts, and a good airflow system. Passive design, without an air management system and the energy and components needed for it, as long as it's thought through or adjusted right, (using closable vents), is worth considering, in my view, as is using damp-permeable materials, or even insulating the inside of house walls, rather than the outside. Insulate now.... hahaha i'd like to see them have it out in the carpark with the anti fossil fuels lobby, where oil is used to manufacture so much insulation ;)
Your point about the use of fossil fuels only underlines how precious and useful a resource petroleum is. Which is why we should reconsider burning it once for transport when the same material can pay for itself many times over and benefit ourselves and the generations to come who will inhabit the homes we leave to them.
@@markharmon4963 that would assume we were building 'everlasting' houses that will never be knocked down. I think it's daft not to use fossil fuels, but yeah they ought to be used more wisely, steadily and with forward planning, as you say. With new builds we have lost the plot (haha) it's totally daft not to build them south facing, etc etc to gain as much natural energy as possible.
@@gurglejug627 100% on orientation of buildings to the equator.
Telling it like it is will draw criticism! Another "on the spot" episode to help dwellers understand the consequences (or side effects) caused by insulating outside walls and how to avoid mold - thanks for your efforts. You are a truth teller!
He drew criticism from his video about heat pumps, because he was wrong for most of it
Here, he's right for most of it, however it is completely unnecessary to make political views on a video that isn't inherently political. That, and people aren't going to remove insulation because some pressure group said they should insulate.
People aren't dumb American types that will hurt themselves, to prove a point.
@@waqasahmed939 He is absolutely right to speak up against politicians who make rules to influence heating of living space using heat pumps. If not a professional builder, then who? The folks who market and sell heat pumps will agree with any effort to make more money. To be tactful about this I will only say you are wrong.
I had a long chat to an installer on a neighbours house, he explained all these points. But this neighbour had decided to only clad the 1st floor, heat rises they say.
I'd also install heat recovery systems in the attic.
American here. Very well spoken guy. Interesting topic. He did take a bit of time to get to the point though. I have been to Ireland and it was a wonderful trip. But I noticed a few things. Unreinforced masonry walls being used in new construction. As a California boy that struck me as very strange, but I guess where earthquakes are uncommon resistance to earthquakes is less important. Another thing I noticed about Ireland was that it is really wet. I imagine that sorting out humidity problems in houses is a big issue. It was interesting to hear some of the things that are done to combat it.
Possible topic for this show. British house construction versus American. I watch Grand Designs and some of the British construction techniques strike me as being unnecessarily labor intensive or expensive. A few things
1. Masonry walls for internal construction. Why? Hard to run services, hard to make future changes, labor intensive
2. Retaining walls made out of blocks. Why? Seems less strong than reinforced concrete, more labor intensive, more permeable.
3. Blocks being used to make posts for post and beam construction. Why? Seems like a sonotube form filled with some rebar and concrete would be cheaper and use much less labor.
4. American "cinder blocks" usually have holes for rebar and concrete for reinforcement. Even in high load areas like on a high retaining wall the Brits seem to use solid "breeze blocks". Why? A very strong retaining wall can be made with less labor, less material and less time using cinder blocks with holes for reinforcement.
The Brits also seemed to have taken much longer to adapt to power saws and nail guns than the Americans. Based on Grand Designs it does seem that the Brits have now discovered nail guns and power saws. But based on Grand Design episodes the transition happened many years after the transition in the US.
I live in a 1950s mansion block in central Europe with thick solid brick walls. Had 18cm of rock mineral wool EWI applied to facade. Now we only switch radiator in living room when it's really cold. If it weren't for my wife, I wouldn't even switch that one on. I understand there might be problems with cavity walls and suspended timber floors, but if those can be overcome, it's a no-brainer.
Mineral wool done right is transparent to moisture. It's what you use if you start before you run into problems. Polystyrene is both harder to get it right, not transparent to moisture and usually done in a rush because your heating bill shot through the roof. Central European, 1930 building, mineral wool and no problems. But I did all this 15 years ago, before there was a rush.
When I was single - I got by without a single air conditioner or heater.
I moved to Bulgaria 15 years ago - the first place I lived in had 150mm of insulation on all exterior walls, the guy kept going on about it that I rented it off - I thought he was a bit obsessed. But we got through a -25ºc winter there just fine burning 3m3 of wood. We moved to an almost identical house when he sold that one and it had NO insulation. We nearly f-king froze to death in a -5ºC winter, we burned 14 cubic meters of wood, we had electric AC units on heating setting going 24/7.
I could NOT believe the difference it made - I lasted 1 winter in that place.
@@piccalillipit9211 Few years ago our government had a program for subsidising EWI. A lot of people took that opportunity including our entire apartment block (4-5 years ago) and I can confirm that there is a significant difference with/without EWI. The block is a 10-12 story tall structure, 40 apartments, finished in 1990 just as the communism collapsed and back then no one was doing insulation.
Because it is a tall building there was a requirement to be earthquake resistant, so there are few internal and external walls built entirely from reinforced concrete from the foundation to the top. These walls in the summer get really hot (at least ours - facing west) and in the winter it is quite cold, not only that but in the morning you could have seen the moisture on it.
Now after the EWI was installed (it included also replacing the old wooden windows with double glazed PVC) my parents use AC for heating in the winter and they are barely switching it ON (which is astonishing for me - my father likes to be really hot in the room), and when the AC it is ON, it is set on Auto to maintain 18 to maximum 22 degrees C.
Back then we were buying about 1 metric ton of coal and 1 cubic meter of wood for heating in the winter. Pricewise it turned out to be much more expensive compared to electricity, not to mention how dirty it was!
Let's see how it will be this year with this energy crisis, but no matter how expensive the electricity will be, the price for coal and wood won't be cheaper either I guess! Regarding the moisture it disappeared from the room and we don't even use a dehumidifier, maybe because I think the windows itself have some sort of vents.
@@yanitsvetanov1162 - I now live in a 16 story communist block. No insulation. But the solid concrete walls are east-west, so they heat up very slowly in summer and let the heat back out in winter, even without insulation its a very warm in winter block. They just announced they are about to start insulating the block, so I hope to not have to use any heating or colling. :-D
Well said Rog, the problem with all the new technologies is that they are often conflicting with older ones in existing properties, reading the comments some find they have no problems where others have a nightmare, we worked on a property where a rising main had been leaking into an external stone wall for years, the whole house was black with mold & they had tried everything regarding the insulation fix, even after we fixed it, it was 6 months before the problem went away, possibly with the price of fuel the condensation problem will revert to the outside of the walls because we cant afford any heat!
The “problem” with new technologies that some try to profiteering on the trend, without having the skills to do it. There is nothing to do with the technique, but everything with human greediness.
Looked External Insulation being done pre pandemic. Thanks to this video, I went on the EWI Store (EWI Pro ) course. Similar to the Webber one by the sounds of it, didnt get a response from the latter; one day, am lecture and then pm hands on and recommended. Now to save the pennies for materials. Got air bricks in most rooms so getting there but plan to monitor moister until I'm ready. Keep up the good work Roger.
Works for the USA also as my house on the Pacific coast and this information explains the need for moisture control in an older house. THANKS
You could install a humidistat extractor. It only comes on when humidity levels are too high. Most condensation and mould problems ( not all I hasten to add) are down to poor ventilation (blocked vents) or people drying clothes indoors using radiators. Ten years working in social housing and you see just about every scenario. It's not always the tenants fault though, sometimes it's the situation they find themselves in. Laundry block at the end of the street anybody? That's how they used to do it. 😉
He made that point at 7:39
It does not really solve the problems as you can't have dehumidifiers in every room, they also cost money, and cost money to run. But of course, a lot of problems with damp is down to bad practices by the people in the house. Most people have not enough knowledge about these things.
a house that is insulated after the new standards in most country´s needs some kind of automatic air system (because they are very airtight, and if you dont you get bad air quality)..
i am instaling a heat recovery and that is a in a old house, it reaches all the rooms..
and it is more expensive then insulating the outside and a much bigger work
the heat recovery system i am instaling also have a heat pump, and when you have that in every room its also more worth the cost
and i am also using a wood stove for heat so it can recover free heat..
my water heater also works with heat recovery
both of the is made by genvex
my wood burning oven also have air intake from the outside, or else it cant get anuff air and that could be dangerous and make the draft go the wrong way under some conditions
or it can bring down the oxygen levels inside to far, and become unhealthy
a flir camera is a great tool to look after cold spots
@@Hansen710 Yes all that is true, but very few are taking such steps so it results in more problems then it solves.
@@Hansen710 New homes are not made airtight to the point that you have no fresh air in it=no oxygen and you can somehow suffocate.
Isulation is often made from stuff that is unable to transfer the water from wall to the outside and that water will be gathering inside wall and because of the isulation it will be unable to dry in the summer->your wall can have more water inside with every winter and then the mold will gonna attack it.
Also recovery system is not a replacement/substitute for anproper insulation of the walls...
"i am also using a wood stove for heat so it can recover free heat.." that sentence have no sense, wood is not free and the recovery system is recovering heat from your home(the source of it have nothing to do with it).
"my water heater also works with heat recovery" also sentence with zero logic, you can heat water with heat pump not with heat recovery system->its not perpetum mobile...
"my wood burning oven also have air intake from the outside" that is done for safety and in most of the places is forced by the law and have nothing to do with oxygen levels, its about carbon monoxide that in some cases can be created and that intake outside is an extra layer of protection against it.
My previous house in Bristol was built in 1958 and had air vents in every room. Condensation was never a problem. When I built an extension I installed an air brick vent just above skirting level. That prevented any condensation problems in the extension. Heating is important but so is ventilation.
I agree Jim I have a cast concrete house built in the 50’s no concrete cancer yet than god.
But i know people who have blocked the vents in every room and wonder why the mould is so bad.
But trouble is it’s so hard to heat, people are always saying how cold it’s is.
@@stuwilliam4943, concrete cancer, wasnt that common for buildings built in the 70s?
Really good. Go easy on the insulation protesters, they are making a general point which I get the impression you agree with, as do many of your comment writers. No one is an idiot, just different perspectives.
You are doing a great job on the practicalities.
They are idiots because they have alienated people and harmed the cause. I have met quite a number now and they don't have a clue about any of it.
When I did my bungalow recently, I moved fence posts out, and the back gate, and had a boiler guy extend the boiler vent to get the insulation and render behind them. Job done very happy, and re-do of EPC showed house up a whole category from D to C.
Roger thanks for bringing up the topic, for making an effort, and for warning people - that thermal insulation is no laughing matter, if nothing else. And, I understand your explanation how the food chain works in the housing market (from rental to construction), and how that "chain of command" results in sub-prime insulation jobs being an everyday reality. In my country, most of the housing is owned, rather than rented, but the problems are similar. IMO, the thermo-insulation technology has enough pitfalls and enough principles that one needs to comprehend, before being able to breathe the craftsmen at their necks from behind, that most home-owners just never get a grasp of the finer details before the mold growth actually appears somewhere (or some other fault surfaces).
I disagree with you about your conclusion/morale: that removing humidity from the air is the solution. IMO, this is just a makeshift stop-gap, and troublesome. For one thing, humans do need some level of relative humidity, say 60%+, to keep their lungs and bronchi in good health. In that sense, letting your laundry dry in-house during the frostiest winter nights is a good idea, if you have an asthmatic child. And, removal of humidity costs electric energy. This is not to say that condensation and the resulting mold growth is good for for your respiratory tract :-) I mean to argue that the problem needs to be addressed where it stems from:
1) the insulation not being thick enough or uniform enough. An insulation that's not thick enough doesn't drag the dew point out of the construction wall into the insulating layer. And, those cold bridges that you speak about. I'm afraid attention to detail is key. You do need to have those construction details properly insulated, in the first place. Yes it hurts, but it gets the problem solved.
2) in addition to insulation, you also need a vapour barrier on the inside surface of the walls (or between the construction wall and your thick insulation layer) i.e. prevent the gaseous moisture from diffusing outward through the insulation. There's a nice video on the topic here: th-cam.com/video/k_QXw1BCZ2A/w-d-xo.html
3) windows replaced by a better sealed model (more airtight) - so that in winter, when the condensation on cold bridges is most painful, and people shut the windows to prevent heat loss, inadvertent ventilation no longer exists, and the dry air from outside has no chance of diluting the moist air in the home.
4) no controlled central ventilation in the building (heat exchanger recommended, to retain/recuperate heat *and* moisture).
I.e., it's a combination of factors, and each of them is down to some sloppy practice / neglecting some part of the complex system / trying to save money in problematic ways / resorting to an ugly compromise :-)
For the last 20 years I've been living in a four-story commie-era apartment block here in CZ, built in 1962. I still had a chance to experience the building with hardly any insulation. In the eighties, they added a 12cm layer of some gas-filled porous concrete, not sure what this material is called in English - the thermal resistivity is nowhere near EPS or rock wool, but the neighbors who remember that improvement say that it did help quite a bit, compared to the original 40cm solid brick walls. And, when I moved in in early noughties, the building still had the old creaking wooden windows. Double-glazed, but not very airtight.
The first thing that we did to save on heating, after a couple years, was replace the windows with some relatively modern (not too expensive) plastic-frame variety. Double glazed and airtight, except for a designed-in always-open "micro-ventilation". There was some mold growth around the window frames before the replacement of the windows, but after that replacement, the mold just got wild. After the first winter, I glued slabs of XPS on the outside of my window openings, on the "ceiling" surface (effectively the concrete beam/panel above the window, working as a perfect cold bridge) which did help somewhat. Quite to my surprise, our "owners union" did not take long to reach a decision, that we should add outer XPS insulation. I was among the advocates - and I did not promise too much savings on heating, but I did stress the expected effect on mold growth. And, I was right.
We added 14 cm of polystyrene (XPS). It was funny to observe, during the hot summer while the insulation (including a new roof) was constructed, how *immediate* the effect was. Especially the top-floor apartments would no longer overheat as badly as in the previous years. The semi-insulated heating pipeline in our basement now effectively keeps the corridors and stairwells always warm during the winter. And our heating radiators in the apartments (now with thermostatic valves) hardly ever fully open, even during the toughest freezing winter nights. And, molds are gone. We didn't need to kill them chemically - we just washed them off, let the wall dry, and painted over them. They're GONE, for good.
When this insulation project was about to start, I was already estblished among the neighbors as a techie/tinkerer, so there were no objections when I naturally started to check on the construction team on site, every day, meticulously - things that I was able to learn that need to be done right and that the construction people sometimes cheat. Such as, the reinforcement nets need diagonal additions across window corners, above and below (4 corners each window). And some other tidbits like that. They did not dare to dilute the spacing of the plastic anchors or some such. I was definitely not the official "construction site inspector", but we hired one (it's a legal obligation here) and I did report to him anything I didn't like. The construction company gave me a written notice that I should not climb the scaffolding, as I am not a member of their team - so I gave them a written response that I thank them for their care and that I do so at my own risk. Before the project even started, I actually provided some input into our RFP - specific technical requirements. How deep underground the insulation should be extended (we requested 0.5m, we could as well go deeper).
And, 10 years down the road, the insulation seems to hold. Someday soon we may want to wash some dust off the facade and apply fresh paint, but otherwise, it holds surprisingly well. There are some issues with the rain gutters, but not very serious and they're getting tackled.
The one unhandled downside is, that our building does not have central ventilation - and there's no space to add one. A central ventilation with heat recuperation would be wonderful, and I believe is (almost) mandatory in new buildings. The way it is, we just keep venting in the old lossy way. After all, we all need to breathe.
There's one particular thing to beware of: gas-powered stoves. We do have natural gas in our apartments. These consume a lot of oxygen, produce a corresponding amount of CO2 and under some conditions, can produce CO = the dreaded carbon monoxide. The original kitchens didn't even have a dedicated vent from the fume hoods above the stoves. I have added an outside vent to my own fume hood, but still I need to have a window open while cooking. We have an excellent "gas equipment inspection engineer" turn up every other year or so, and he always takes great care to warn us, that the way the gas stoves were designed into the kitchens in the old days, is nowadays considered dangerous - and that we should always keep a window open while cooking, even if we don't use coalgas anymore (replaced by natural gas decades ago).
That's about it... I am not a construction engineer. I'm a computer nerd. I was fortunate to find and purchase two interesting books on the topic, before our insulation project started. And, I was able to find free software to simulate the temperature gradients in some "construction details" relevant to our building. If you're interested, there's a short webpage, written by me, as an intro to the software...
frantisek.rysanek.sweb.cz/agros2d/agros2d.html
in my slavic mother tongue... maybe skim the pictures, feel free to enlarge, and Google Translator appears to do a surprisingly good job on my text on that page.
P.S.: insulation is properly done on the *outside* of a building. If someone seriously suggests to add polystyrene or wool on the inside - humiliate them for their ignorance, have no mercy.
There's a neighboring topic: insulation of tiled roofs having a wooden frame. Many people here still put insulation betwen the beams, so that they don't have to remove the tiles and do the right thing (which is more intensive in terms of labour and materials). Which typically results in water condensation in the insulation and rotten wooden beams. Because the vapour barrier is almost impossible to get right. If a tiled roof is desired, long-term the relatively least troublesome way is to insulate above the wooden frame (again: on the outside of the building). Thus, the frame enjoys a relatively constant non-condensing humidity and a stable temperature. Only the overlapping ends of the beams need to pass through the insulation (if not solved in a different way).
I'm going to have EWI fitted to my walls and I realised that it wouldn't be an easy job.
Doing research for myself and identifying all the problem spots it turned out that it can only be done properly in conjunction with a total house renovation.
So that's stipulated out my plans.
Got new window frames with tripple glazing fitted, I insulated the cavities 50cm around all windows to minimise cold bridging around the frames and especially trough the outside window sills which are in blue stone which protrudes into the insulation (these are mounted on brackets to keep them isolated from the outer leaf of the brickwork).
The flat roof is going to be renewed for a warm roof in a couple of weeks time, the edges have to be built out to accommodate the extra thickness on the walls, the saddle roof will have its eaves widened, luckily does the gutter tray on the front and overhang at the rear allow for the insulation.
Floors on the level which are wood are replaced with insulated concrete floors on a sand bed because under floor ventilation gets nearly impossible from the outside without breaking the envelope (floor joists are bad anyway).
Insulation is taken down to 40cm below floor level or ground level outside, so it means digging around the house.
At the garage which doesn't get EWI the outer leaf has to be cut out where it connects to the house to continue the insulation into the wall cavity, the garage walls will get cavity insulation, and the inner wall between the garage and house is also insulated from the garage side.
At places where pipe or ducts go trough a wall the hole is widened and insulation fitted around the pipe or duct, I try to minimise the amount (luckily we don't fit soil pipes on the outside in the Netherlands)
And finally ventilation with heat recovery will be installed.
As you can see there is a massive amount of work needed and things to consider before EWI can be installed, and when EWI is installed you have to discus every outside fitting which has to go on the wall afterwards, even for a light or birdhouse, as reinforcement pieces have to be inserted where screws or nails will go in.
Fitting things otherwise will damage the rendering and make guarantee void.
I discussed a lot with the company which is going to fit my EWI, and if I forgot something I wrote it down and asked them again, and also show them all steps I do in preparation in detail and ask their opinion.
That's the only way I'm sure you get a satisfying product at the end, and it doesn't come cheap for sure.
"frames with tripple glazing fitted," Triple glazing will give only microscopic savings on energy. It's also become aware that triple glazing could be the cause of health issues.
@@michaelmayo3127 It's true that tripple glazing compared to modern double glazing gives you just an around 15% higher insulation value.
But it does a much better job in keeping noise outside, not unimportant if you live near a busy road.
Because the government gives a high subsidy on tripple glass in the Netherlands the eventual cost is not higher than for double glazing.
The health issues you talk about are not caused by the glazing itself, it's due to poor ventilation and will also occur with double glazing in an otherwise well insulated house. This because in a well insulated house everything is made airtight as possible to prevent heat loss via drafts. But this also limits natural ventilation. A form of mechanical ventilation is needed, and to minimise heat loss via these there are now heat recovering ventilation systems which extract the stale air from the inside of the house and transfer the heat in this air to new fresh air blown in via a heat exchanger.
The ventilation unit also has a particle filter, so the air which is coming into the house is even cleaner than the air on the outside, given the filters are cleaned or changed as specified.
@@Tom-Lahaye
"The health issues you talk about are not caused by the glazing itself, it's due to poor ventilation" The health issue that I mention have nothing to do with ventilation. Ventilation:- be there 2 of 3 layers of glass they will not effect ventilation.
"15% higher insulation value" is an outstandingly high value for glass. Are you sure that you have got that one right?
Are you confusing noise leaves with heat efficiency?
@@michaelmayo3127 The 15% higher insulation value for triple glazing is when compared with double glazing.
The insulating effect of double and triple glazing is not from the thickness of the glass panes themselves, but from the cavities between each pane of glass, typically between 12 and 16mm.
These cavities are filled with argon gas, an inert gas which has a low heat conducting value compared to air, which you will find in older double glazing.
The gas is sealed in and does not move, so has a very low heat transfer.
These types of glazing are known as HR, HR+, HR++ and HR+++.
Typical U value for single glazing is 5,7, for old double glazing 3, HR 2,0 HR+ 1,6 HR++ 1,2 and HR+++ (triple glazing)0,9.
These values denote the Watts per square meter of glass for each degree Celsius of temperature difference between the in and outside of the window, so the lower the figure, the lower the heat transfer trough the window.
The value of 0,9 is as high as for 30mm thick XPS insulation, and as you can see the 15% difference between tripple glazing and the best double glazing is very conservative, these figures which I looked up on building code sites of the Netherlands show around 25% difference.
Lastly you must explain me exactly why tripple glazing effects your health and double glazing not when they are made of exactly the same materials (glass and argon gas which are both totally inert to the body) if poor ventilation isn't. Is this one of these conspiracy theories?
As far as I know poor ventilation and related condensation and mold is what affects your health in a negative way.
@@Tom-Lahaye I lost what I had written to you but, I will recap with out the technical details.
Optimal distanced between the two layers of glass 16 m/m. Aluminium shouldn't be used as edge material in double glazing because is causes cold-bridges.
One of the layers of glass should be treatment with a transparent metal that allows heat from the sun to enter the building but reflects any heat from the building, back into the building. This type of double glazing has the highest efficiency to date and its measure to 5%. Adding an extra layer of glass won't change this efficiency rating notably and it will certainly not increase the efficient by 15%. But, may be 5/100*15 = 0.75% or less that 1%.
As regard the health issue with 3 layer glass.
This was from a article that I read in the Danish publication - The Engineer - which is a publication of note. The article's main subject was about thee-layer glass base on a study by the DTU Danish Technical University: - also an institution of note - Of the effectiveness of thee-layer glass that had been installed in two hight-rise (400) dwelling in Copenhagen. the conclusion was that thee layer glass did't improve heat retention efficiency, as oppose to two layers.The health problem was mentioned because residents complained . DTU conclude that a study should be made with regard to these complains.
I saw the title and thought that this was going to be about the external isolation of firewalls in cellars, which moves the freezing and condensation point outside the basement itself, saving you issues with the basement.
This was unexpected but still very interesting. :)
I am polish living in Ireland from last 20years.
This way I gonna say might be surprised some people. All my childhood I was living in apartment , never, never,never in my life I did not hear from anyone about "damp " I did not even know that problem exist. In that time there was not trumble dryer machine, there was special room , space where you could go , downstairs,
But honestly all clothes we dried in own bathroom, using line. Never anyone, my family neighbors complain about damp. At now is easier with tumble dryer.
Ireland , UK weather damp, damp is everywere , you can even feel that in your bones .
In Canada this is called EIFS (exterior insulated finishing system).
Fasteners are prohibited, panels are applied over a waterproof primer with mortar using a notched trowel allowing for drainage of condensation. Panels MUST run above the soffit line.
Having visited the UK recently, I noticed a lot of failed EIFS systems. 99% of the problems I saw were improper installation resulting in water traps. I even saw a few in Irvine Ayre that were applied directly over shot stone stucco from the 1950s.
If you’re going to insulate Britain ..please do it properly.
The problem with installing over stucco. I thought more mass was good.
@@douglaslindsaychapman5188I guess he means the water traps, stuppled stucco or pebbledash will have lots of pockets, if the edges are ever compromised they'd become water pockets. I'm just guessing.
I hope the Insulate Britain lot haven't been watching your videos Roger because if they've seen your recent adhesive review we are never going to be able to scrape them off the roads!!
Insulate Britain are applying pressure to the government to make huge leaps in the number of British homes that are insulated because private enterprise is NOT going to get us there by any stretch.
I have never seen anywhere where they have said "ONLY insluate, we don't care about trapped moisture." Its a detail really.
Also, I have seen a lot of criticism of them that effectively says, I agree with their goals, but I don't support their methods. But when pushed on the methods that would be supported we come back to writing your MP or voting which has demonstrably not worked.
So we have this very mind bending situation where everybody (as in a majority) agrees that we should insulate Britian, but its not happening; it has not even picked up speed. And when someone does something extreme to try to force the issue, we spend huge amounts of our energy to attack them, rather than piling on the government to say yes we want you genuinely fix this issue.
Strange. Really Strange.
All the while, year after year, we are drifting into climate catastrophe.
Dewole
I have great respect for your views but it doesn't take 'huge amounts of energy' to attack Insulate Britain. They are a very easy target.
As for drifitng into climate catastrophe the little bit we do in the U.K will make not a job of difference. Everyone is focused on our emissions but it is our consumption of goods made abroad with no restricitions on emissions that is doing the real harm.
We need a border carbon tax to bring some sense to this situation and that will do more good than all these silly little virtue signalling stunts. Installing Chinese heat pumps is not the answer.
Thanks for this video. Here in Canada we call it the EFI system. Whe I was a young man, starting my trade, this system was just starting to gain popularity. I can remember the first fast-food chain building I seen it used on in my town. In 1-2 years it was sagging off the parapets
Do you mean EIFS?
From my experience, with a better insulated home, the moisture will be dramatically reduced, but the ventilation is key, trickle vents in the windows and good extractor fans in the bathrooms and kitchen.
I’m in the process of cladding my own bungalow, I’ve used 25mm celotex foil backed, between battens (that the cladding fixes to), it’s made a huge difference in the kitchen extension, all cavity walls.
Where I live in Wales, retrofit cavity wall insulation is not recommended as it gets so wet in the winter.
I found external insulation on our cavity wall extension doesn't work as the heat just escapes up the cavity.
AllTheGear its not just keeping the heat in, it’s keeping the wet cold out.
Cold damp air sucks heat out from a property.
@@SBIGDTSM Agreed, as we are having renovation works done we are having the cavity insulated. As we have external insulation (done by previous owner) which is rendered I am not worried about driven rain getting to the cavity and should provide even more warmth. We are also having a MEV instlaed to controlled humid air in the house. Good luck with your works too.
Really good info about the importance of managing humid air - very well explained. It's definitely not easy with our old housing stock. I live in a very old stone cottage with lime plaster and original sash windows. I can't bring myself to rip it out so it's just extra jumpers for me.
The only issue I had was with your views on IB. I've been on a few XR and anti airport expansion protests. I wouldn't think of myself as a born protester (I only started in my 50s!). I hate to make a fuss - but I felt compelled to do something that would let those in charge know that there were people who cared about these issues (a vote for the greens or a letter to my MP was too easily ignored). Most of the other protestors were either young folk who are going to have to deal with the mess we've created, or educated, tax paying professionals like me, who have never claimed any benefits in their lives. There are plenty of XR supporters who are doctors and scientists.We've known about climate change for decades but our governments have been very happy to continue 'business as usual' - getting sizeable donations from oil producers and basically doing as little as they can get away with.I believe, as inconvenient as it occasionally is, that the recent protests have brought the matter to the fore, and the issues are finally starting to get the airtime they deserve (even if we still need to act on them).
Keep up the good work, just be careful not to generalise and tar everyone with the same 'protestors are jobless, hippy, layabouts' brush. As a builder, I'm sure you'll have had experience of some very lazy stereotypes too :)
It is all a massive SCAM just like everything that we have been getting conned with since birth - They called it Global Warming at first until it was being exposed by many experts that the Planet has actually been COOLING for decades so they changed the name to Climate Change even though the Climate has always been changing for billions of years - and funny how it has been the bankers and oil executives that have been funding this SCAM and the Greens etc all over the world and making BILLIONS from this SCAM - the 30% tax we are paying on our heating and power etc bills all going into their off-shore accounts and all of these so-called elites behind this SCAM being the biggest pollutors on the planet with their many big houses, many cars etc and big private yachts and constant flying all over the planet. Mustnt forget that there are volcanoes going off all over this world all the time putting out more polution than mankind has ever put out since the start of the industrial revolution or the FACT that CO2 is actually PLANT FOOD and only 0.39% of all of the gasses in the atmosphere. The net zero these so called elites are talking about is getting rid of YOU and 95% of the worlds population with the 500 million that will be left as total SLAVES as exposed in this video here exposing these Mafias behind everything that is going on and their agenda and how we have been getting lied to since the day we were born as BONDED SLAVES th-cam.com/video/98qv9ztkW_U/w-d-xo.html
Roger, Roger, Roger...you should thank those that take action and if you think they don't understand educate them like you did here with this video, insulting them will only alienate them.
That was magnificent and clear explanation, thank you kind sir.
I talk to them whenever I can and listen to their views. Most of the time the arguments don't stack up. If they can't take a few harsh words they are not cut out for protesting. I get loads of stick all the time and I deserve it, just like anyone who sticks their head above the parapet.
I would argue with the phrase 'take action' is mostly inaction, lying down in the road and they got their how?
@@SkillBuilder
Yes, half truths and stupidity in a blender. People can see a problem and want to take action but without sound, facts based information, they do the next best thing - wing it.
We got the top half of our house externally insulated (the top half was previously rendered but had blow and looked a mess) For me it's made a huge difference (upstairs anyway) The insulation on our has not gap under the soffits it goes right up to the top and makes a nice tight seal. The guys also replaced our old iron soil stack and there is no gaps where it connects through the insulation to the wall it was all sealed in a very tidy way.
The air vents are all in the same place as they were, our windows are a couple of years old and have decent sized trickle vents. The old external cracks have all gone and the upstairs now never drops below 17 degrees even at the moment when its -4 in the morning, we also previously has issues around a chimney stack with damp coming through, we've had no issues since having this so it was probably a pointing/cracking issue that it has helped us resolve.
Luckily the only thing I have at the bottom of my house in ways of obstruction are pipes from my kitchen and boiler which they advised they can as you mentioned box in and make look tidy so we're hoping to get the bottom done with the new government scheme next year, it also means I don't need to spend 4k on having all the bottom of my house repointed.
Personally I highly recommend it , as is mentioned as long as you have adequate ventilation (vents/trickle vents).
Hi I'm in the southwest near bristol- can you recommend your installer? thanks
Lots of good points on condensation cold spots and ventilation but the 🌄 orientation of the building and solar gain makes a big difference.
We insulated our detached house (60s solid wall) entirely in 100mm EWI, new triple glazed windows with adjustble vents. Providing special attention is paid to cover the north elevations you wont get any condensation spot issues on small missed areas facing South.
EWI transformed the house, never goes below 18c, 70% reduction in heating, zero condensation issues, also reduces traffic noise from outside.
South is where the cold comes from !
May I ask, how does that work in summer? If there is 30+ outside, what's your indoor temperature on days like these? Thanks
@@linmal2242 yes..in the southern hemisphere
@@lukebratrsovsky A few days of v hot weather the internal temp is good and remains consistent. After a week or so of v hot weather temp eventually creeps up and can a while to cool down
In your EWI insulation you have to put a "vapor screen" to stop this humidity
And inside to absorb this humidity you might have to add an airconditionning system. The surface of the coil will absorb this humidity
You need a proper calculation for this heatpump
Of course the basic is first to have a good ventilation
I have done a lot of insulation,inside, outside and the biggest problem was the cold bridge
We learn a lot just reading the comments, thanks everybody !
Please kindly explain what is the cold bridge
I've just had EWI done to my property through E.on. It's been an absolute nightmare as the work looked like it was done by cowboy builders yet they were TrustMark registered. So many people complained about the poor workmanship done by E.on on the Green Homes Grant scheme. E.on conveniently signed the unfinished poorly installed work off to get the money, then refused to respond to my complaints about the work. I had to contact TrustMark who then told me to report it to their scheme provider the BBA to get the work finished.
Thank you so much !
This is an excellent video with no fluff. I am a developer and until now didn't really get the issue with thermal bridging but you have opened my eyes
Thanks so much !!
Glad it helped!
Great video, worked for a company doing this back in the 90s,don't know if it worked at all but what this man said makes sense, 9 inch solid brickwork was a nightmare where a 9 inch cavity wall was the best for of building
Cavity wall construction is used in thе UK only, it seems. It's not the norm in Europe. A solid wall has mote stability than a flimsy cavity wall. Put EWI and solid walls become the best option.
Sorry Rodger but i have just literally had this done to my house. All downpipes were removed and extended out to make way for full insulation coverage. Gas box removed and insulation board put on then box reinstated. All gates and fences removed and reinstated when insulation completed.
Most people, however, will not spend the extra funds it takes to do it right.
How much was it?
What are you sorry for? Have you also had an extraction system put in place to remove any moisture laden air?
That is fine. There were around 20 installers on my course at Weber and they said that they never do that because the price is too tight. You got some good guys but I would say it is not typical. I could be wrong
@@SkillBuilder That's interesting Roger. When you say that the price is too tight, what do you mean? That they're being priced out by people who won't take the proper steps to move obstacles, or are they given a price that they must adhere to by a third party?
Thanks Roger - great video and fabulous presentation style.
Brilliant video - thank you. You’ve explained it simply and definitely helped me to decide to do this on my downstairs Victorian bathroom extension which is single skinned and bloody freezing!
My mum had the outside wall insulation blocks put on her bungalow a few years ago now and it made a huge difference making her home warmer and cosy.
She said it was like a tea cosy had been put over her little home and sometimes she was too warm so had to open windiws etc
Which I guess helped to.keep air circulating because she didn't suffer any signs of increased damp or mold etc
One other thing she had fitted at the time was sonekind of solar chimney thing which maybe helped the movement of air and vent any moisture?
Yes, probably there is no problem with one or two people living in a bungalow or a small house. The problems of moisture build up mostly comes when there is a large family - say five people or more. Each individual giving of moisture, plus all the bathing, the clothes washing and drying etc. Same issue in HMO's (houses of multiple occupation). You have got to have some means of extracting the moisture from the air - The old method was gaps in the houses ! So air was constantly being replaced. Now we live in haemetically sealed boxes so the air in the house is pretty much static and is not replaced. So you need a moisture extraction system. As Roger explained the moisture will build up and condense in the 'cold spots' on the walls, or where there is little air movement because of furniture against the wall. If you seal the house up and moisture builds up it can actually dampen clothes and furniture, resulting in mold attack.
@@1414141x I've lived in damp and mouldy property before, some houses are just more prone to it than others.
The thing is some people don't realise you have to open windows, ventilate the house and don't dry all your clothes on radiators etc
People have hot baths, showers etc don't open windows and wonder why the walls are dripping with moisture and condensation and mould starts to grow ...
Dryers are another issue, especially vented ones where people just run them into a bucket or sink, steam everywhere etc
Also not having your heating on enough can help moisture build up.
We had EWI installed over a year ago and what a difference. There's more emphasis on fearmongering here. All our drain pipes were replaced as part of the install (even extended our garden water tap out), flue was extended fence detached and reattached. A building warrant was required but we didn't need to worry about that as the installers did everything. All the local housing assocations used the same company as we did to similar houses round here and they've done the same for all those, looks great.
How much was it?
@@rob5944 I'd love t be able to tell you but I don't have the details to hand. I can tell you that it maxed out the grant which paid for it (greenhomes grant i think) and had to pay the remaining £300 ourselves.
@@salibaba that's pretty good. I was hoping to get a handle on the costs because I'm guessing that the government won't be to fund every household in the country. There was a feature on the news where a couple spent £36 1/2 k on cladding their 30s home.
@@rob5944If memory serves it had been between £10-12K, ive googled what the limits of the scheme were and lists 10k max, so that sounds about right. Had a similar figure on our old EPC. It seems to have cut our heating demand by about 1/3.
@@salibaba then I suppose that example I mentioned was for some similar sort of system, although it was a sizeable house. I cannot help but wonder how the average homeowner can afford to finance a project like this, and whether all houses will be suitable. One thing is for certain, it's a huge undertaking. What seems eminently more achievable is the production of true green electricity, I can then run my heaters with impunity. 🤔
Even if one were to fully insulate 100% of their walls with external insulation, or internal insulation, or cavity wall insulation. The moisture levels inside the house will condense on the coldest parts, which will then be the triple glazed windows you had installed. This will then cause big moisture issues in the frames of the windows and corrosion in steel framed windows, or rot in timber framed windows. The most critical thing you can do is manage ventilation in your home. It''s painful because when we are at home, we want to be warm, and ventilating rooms is the opposite of keeping warm. But I find if I'm out at work all day, opening the windows a crack to allow a through breeze on a dry crisp day is enough. Yes your house will be cold when you get home, but then you can shut the windows and turn the heating on.
- moisture in the structure will not freeze until the dew point is reached
- warm air can contain more moisture than cold air. 40% at +20C will have much more moisture than 80% at 0C not to mention -20C
- that's why in winter, in a room with "normal humidity" there is more humidity than outside and the partial pressure of steam pushes everywhere it can penetrate
- in nature, everything tries to get in balance
- that's why in winter the constructions dry out in our climatic conditions
- if drying is not blocked to the outside, for example with foam or vapor-impermeable plaster or paint - there is no place for dew to fall, then the moisture will dry without freezing!
- I already mentioned a couple of disasters before, under normal conditions +20 60% in the room, a lot of moisture will accumulate in the aerated concrete wall during the winter, which will not be able to dry out quickly enough.
- if you live at +20, 40% and there is no bathroom near the outer walls, then everything will be fine even if you insulate with a sufficiently thick layer of foam, the moisture that will condense in the winter will have time to dry out in the summer.
-but if you apply foam of insufficient thickness, it can freeze through and then it will really freeze, but if there was cotton wool, then no problem even in this case.
had ours done 5 or so years ago and have none of these "issues", it has dramatically reduced our bills though
Very Interesting get Rodger to come visit you and see how it works. I am sure many people would be interested to see the benefits etc
It could be that your house was insulated properly - especially around the eves where most external insulation issues arise.
How much did you pay?
You probably manage your moisture properly. Using the extractor in the bathroom and the kitchen, opening windows when its stuffy. I once had neighbours complaining about mould in the back bedroom of a new build. Eventually I found out that they turned off the radiator in that room because they "weren't using it", would have a bath, not open any windows, turn off the extractor fan because it was noisy and leave all the upstairs doors open!
Hello SNORKYMEDIA.
How much did EWI cost?
How many KWH on heating have you saved?
John.
We had EWI done last year, it reduced our bills and its made the house much more comfortable our solution for moisture is easy those window things open you know 😛 Actually the company who did ours almost insisted we had trickle vents put in but I did explain we would be installing MHRV eventually and in the mean time I'd just put the window on lock.
I'd say the biggest drawback is the fragility of the EPS it's probably not suitable for houses that are directly onto a main road with high footfall its quite easy to damage the render with a hard enough knock with a bike or scooter for example. Not the end of the world but it needs fixing promptly when it happens.
I agree, seems very susceptible to dents with such a thin layer of silicone render over the top
@@laidbackLUKEY I don't think it would matter how thick/strong the render was the underlying EPS is the weak point. I wonder if PIR might be a little more resistant to damage.
@@ZicoTheMysticalWarrior please could you tell me what PIR stands for? Thanks.
@@teripurewal1970 polyisocyanurate I believe
There's a house near me and the kids have played football against the wall.theres nothing left of it now 🤣
years ago, we did ewi in NC, over brick, etc. And then they would skim it with stucco. the problem is ....that the walls always get damaged. Literally, the first day, a child dropped his bike handlebars against the house, breaking thru to the ewi. We were coming back every week (it was a rental). it was ok, but it needed a level of maintaince which did not exist before the ewi. They even put the ewi, over a roof, and put a rubber membrane over it. And then one New Years Eve, a woman in high heals was walking around up there, poking holes everywhere she stepped. We had even put rubber pads, but she was not going from a to b. She was walking around in a drunken stupor.
Hi Rodger, I'm in the process of self building a new house. You have given me a lot to think about. Thanks.