EWI paid for by your energy supplier.....

[ProDave]

Had an interesting one today.  Had a call to go and do some electrical work in a bit of a hurry.

 

The story is , the customers energy supplier is paying for external wall insulation, for free, on a standard bungalow. This was aparently the 4th time they had applied and much to their surprise they were accepted.

 

So the bungalow is being clad in 80mm EPS (or is it XPS I can't tell the difference) and then being rendered.

 

The reason for the panic call to me as an electrician, is they were simply going to cut the stuff around a couple of external 13A sockets which would have left them rendered in place in a recess and unservicable. so my job was disconnect them, extend the cable and leave just a cable to be threaded through a hole and then rendered, and to go back when it's all done to re fit them.  Also had an outside light and a couple of PIR sensors, who know what concoction they would have dreamed up had I not removed those.

 

The insulation is cut round the external oil fired boiler, and also cut round a stack pipe that's tight to the wall. Also where a fence panel joined the wall, they have taken the fence panel off but left the post that was screwed to the house. It looks like they will render around, this fence post then put the fence back!!!!!

 

It will be interesting to see what the finished thing looks like and how much difference it makes.

[SteamyTea]

Who is their energy supllier?

Edited March 14, 2017 by SteamyTea

[Ferdinand]

 

Looks like interesting circumstances. Target to be met by end of Financial Year?

 

Does 80mm EPS on a solid wall meet building regs? If not, presumably somebody is turning a blind eye.

 

When I have had detailed quotes, the supplier would build out all utility gubbins, but not satellite dish type things and posts which touched the ground. These would be down to me.

 

Ferdinand

 

[ProDave]

I believe it's EON.

 

It's a timber framed bungalow, but an old one when they only built with 100mm frames, and not much insulation in the frame, then a 50mm cavity then the blockwork. Adding the EPS will improve it but who know by how much. Who says it has to meet any particular target U value? surely just the fact it's improving it is the target?

[Ferdinand]

29 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I believe it's EON.

 

It's a timber framed bungalow, but an old one when they only built with 100mm frames, and not much insulation in the frame, then a 50mm cavity then the blockwork. Adding the EPS will improve it but who know by how much. Who says it has to meet any particular target U value? surely just the fact it's improving it is the target?

 

I thought that if you renovated whole thermal elements then it has to meet building regs(?)

 

eg https://ewistore.co.uk/does-external-wall-insulation-comply-with-building-regulations/

Edited March 14, 2017 by Ferdinand

[thomas]

I don't think there is anything new about this, nor the way they are insulating around stuff.

It's part of eco, the energy suppliers commitment to improving the energy efficiency of existing housing stock.

 

The surprise is that eon are still doing it, I thought all their money had run out.

 

You only need to get to building regs when possible, adding 150mm of insulation to an existing house can cause lots of problems with detailing.

Edited March 14, 2017 by thomas

[Onoff]

So.....how do you ensure a decent fixing into the rendered EWI for thinks like external sockets, lamps?

[Ferdinand]

Various means.

 

eg long screws into plastic sockets.

 

Ferdinand

[Nickfromwales]

Whip around the day it's all clad with the insulation, and where the accessories are just rebate some panels of PVA coated OSB3 / similar, bonded in with foam. You could screw them too with some long screws if it were more than a socket etc. 

Other than that your Donald Ducked.

Oh, and not extending the soil pipes is just horrific. 

 

 

[ProDave]

8 minutes ago, Onoff said:

So.....how do you ensure a decent fixing into the rendered EWI for thinks like external sockets, lamps?

I'll let you know when I try it.

 

Planning 150mm long 6mm screws (because I have plenty) into the brick.  got to first buy a longer 6mm SDS bit

[TerryE]

This sort of cladding is a quite common in Ireland. Watched some YouTube videos on it in the past.

[Ferdinand]

Also the 100% funding (if so) is unusual.

 

Here ECO was 2/3 of the first 6k iirc.

 

Good luck to them, however.

Ferdinand

[A_L]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

I believe it's EON.

 

It's a timber framed bungalow, but an old one when they only built with 100mm frames, and not much insulation in the frame, then a 50mm cavity then the blockwork. Adding the EPS will improve it but who know by how much. Who says it has to meet any particular target U value? surely just the fact it's improving it is the target?

 

To get ECO funding the finished wall has to achieve 0.3W/m²K. Hope the cavity is unventilated.

[ProDave]

1 minute ago, A_L said:

 

To get ECO funding the finished wall has to achieve 0.3W/m²K. Hope the cavity is unventilated.

It will be now as the EWI will have blocked the weep vents and I see no sign of any new vents being fitted.

[Onoff]

I thought there would be some clever "plastic" screw to avoid cold bridging through the screw!

[Ferdinand]

46 minutes ago, Onoff said:

I thought there would be some clever "plastic" screw to avoid cold bridging through the screw!

 

There are.

 

If you wish you can drill a 25mm hold in the EPS and fill it with expanding foam, which is tougher than EPS, then screw your plastic screw into that.

 

Chatter here:

http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=8514

Edited March 14, 2017 by Ferdinand