Mesh and first 2 coats of render now on, so ready for final coat.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Insulation below dpc going on
First boards going on...
Mesh and first 2 coats of render now on, so ready for final coat.
Mesh and first 2 coats of render now on, so ready for final coat.
Preparations for insulation below dpc
Putting external insulation below the damp proof course is rather like giving the house some very warm snow shoes. That and the insulation below the floor slab and against the walls on the inside should keep heat loss down through the walls to a minimum.
But first, preparation - using insulating foam to seal up around any holes or pipes going through the walls.
And secondly, minimising cold bridging below the front and back door by removing some bricks and putting in a layer of super-insulating marmox thermoblocks.
And finally, the sticky stuff that sticks the insulation to the walls....
But first, preparation - using insulating foam to seal up around any holes or pipes going through the walls.
And secondly, minimising cold bridging below the front and back door by removing some bricks and putting in a layer of super-insulating marmox thermoblocks.
And finally, the sticky stuff that sticks the insulation to the walls....
Friday, 6 April 2012
We have a roof!
The house is starting to look more like a house than a ruin now that it has a roof. The benefits of the insulation on the roof and dormer walls won't be fully appreciated until a few more windows have gone in!
Refurbishments based on passive house principles don't usually have roof lights, but we wanted a bit of extra light in the loft room. However, as roof lights go, the quadruple glazed Fakro rooflight with insulated flashing is probably as well insulated as it is possible to get. The challenge will be to make it completely air tight around the opening, and we plan to add extra insulation around the edge on the inside to minimise cold bridging.
The dormer is the first part of the external insulation work to be completed, and it's looking very smart. It took a bit of coordination and thought to get the vertical insulation to meet the roof insulation all round (battens etc. can potentially get in the way), but we think we've got it well and truly covered!
Refurbishments based on passive house principles don't usually have roof lights, but we wanted a bit of extra light in the loft room. However, as roof lights go, the quadruple glazed Fakro rooflight with insulated flashing is probably as well insulated as it is possible to get. The challenge will be to make it completely air tight around the opening, and we plan to add extra insulation around the edge on the inside to minimise cold bridging.
The dormer is the first part of the external insulation work to be completed, and it's looking very smart. It took a bit of coordination and thought to get the vertical insulation to meet the roof insulation all round (battens etc. can potentially get in the way), but we think we've got it well and truly covered!
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Where would we be without expanding foam?
Now I know why lots of passive houses have nice simple roofs and gable ends - it's so much easier.
Here, we have the insulation above the rafters (hiding beneath the blue felt), meeting up with the first layer of wall insulation, and overlapped by the second layer of wall insulation. And any spare space between there and the last counterbatten is filled with expanding foam.
Helps with air tightness too.
Excess foam is trimmed off and that's it.
Here, we have the insulation above the rafters (hiding beneath the blue felt), meeting up with the first layer of wall insulation, and overlapped by the second layer of wall insulation. And any spare space between there and the last counterbatten is filled with expanding foam.
Helps with air tightness too.
Excess foam is trimmed off and that's it.
Insulating round the windows
To minimise cold bridging, the windows sit forward of the brickwork, in line with the first layer of insulation.
(These are EcoPassiv windows with an insulated wooden frame.)
Then the second layer of insulation overlaps the front of the window frame.
It's easy to do (if the insulation thickness matches the position of the window), effective, and makes a nice size window reveal.
One thing to keep in mind - inward opening windows like these go well with external insulation. The typical UK outward opening window could be restricted by insulation like this in some circumstances.
(These are EcoPassiv windows with an insulated wooden frame.)
Then the second layer of insulation overlaps the front of the window frame.
It's easy to do (if the insulation thickness matches the position of the window), effective, and makes a nice size window reveal.
One thing to keep in mind - inward opening windows like these go well with external insulation. The typical UK outward opening window could be restricted by insulation like this in some circumstances.
External insulation goes on the dormer
People tell me that energy efficiency and insulation are "un-sexy" and "boring" (while renewable technologies are apparently more exciting).
I beg to differ! It's great watching all this insulation going on (180mm of Phenolic foam boards) - and just thinking how nice and warm it is going to be!
The big thing about insulation is avoiding any gaps. Here, the wall insulation makes a perfect junction with the insulation above the rafters (100mm boards of Celotex directly under the blue felt layer).
At the top of the dormer walls is the junction with the dormer roof above. This is a trickier junction, but we think we've got it covered...
Looking down on the dormer walls from above... The space at the eaves (between the ends of the counterbattens) has been filled with a high grade mineral wool to enhance the junction where roof insulation meets wall insulation beneath.
I beg to differ! It's great watching all this insulation going on (180mm of Phenolic foam boards) - and just thinking how nice and warm it is going to be!
The big thing about insulation is avoiding any gaps. Here, the wall insulation makes a perfect junction with the insulation above the rafters (100mm boards of Celotex directly under the blue felt layer).
At the top of the dormer walls is the junction with the dormer roof above. This is a trickier junction, but we think we've got it covered...
Looking down on the dormer walls from above... The space at the eaves (between the ends of the counterbattens) has been filled with a high grade mineral wool to enhance the junction where roof insulation meets wall insulation beneath.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Loft conversion taking shape
The super-insulated loft conversion is starting to look like a super-insulated loft conversion finally.
It will be a while before the insulation between the joists goes in - but with 100mm of Celotex above the rafters, it feels quite sheltered even without all the windows in yet.
The joins between boards of insulation have been taped on the outside, and will now be filled with foam on the inside to make sure that the insulation is continuous and air tight.
It will be a while before the insulation between the joists goes in - but with 100mm of Celotex above the rafters, it feels quite sheltered even without all the windows in yet.
The joins between boards of insulation have been taped on the outside, and will now be filled with foam on the inside to make sure that the insulation is continuous and air tight.
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