Brick Slips Cladding, Notts,Leics,Derbys,Staffs,Lincs,Beds,Yorks

” ARE BRICK SLIPS REAL CLAY BRICKS ? “

A lot of home -owners would like to replace their external render with brick but cannot afford to build a new brick skin around the house and do not want to stick on those ghastly artificial “brick lookalikes ” that we all know but don’t love and which we can remember from our “real brick ” effect internal chimney breast walls in the 1970′s ! Real clay fired brick slips and brick tiles are available to transform the look of your home.

HELP IS AT HAND

Brick slip tiles are now widely available thanks to innovative brick companies such as Ibstocks the discerning home-owner can now choose from over 360 different real clay brick finishes in a wide range of colours and textures including a reclaimed brick effect.

Usually around 20mm thick we affix these slimline brick slips by setting them onto the existing wall surface in a bed of special adhesive or on top of an insulation board for solid wall houses. They are then pointed up in the standard way and completely transform the look of the home.

Ibstocks and Papida both have excellent websites with brick slip pictures and will send out free samples upon request to home-owners to choose the preferred style and colour .

GRAND DESIGNS

The availability of these authentic clay brick tiles means the customer has a great array of design options from brick cladding one wall to the whole house, partial walls such as the bottom one meter or picking out a feature such as a prominent porch or gable wall. Yet another option is to mix and match the brick slips with a render finish to give added character or depth to the outside appearence of the property.

Ibstock brick slip cladding a rendered house

For more information on our brick cladding with or without insulation contact us by phone or email.

Posted in: Brick Slip Cladding

Greener Homes Update from Dep’t for Energy & Climate Change

The Government last year published a long and detailed report – Greener Homes – setting out the UK’s long term plans to hit the Carbon Reduction targets we have signed up to . Emphasis was on the ways in which existing houses could use energy far more efficiently to cut both carbon emissions and winter heating bills.

Part of this plan was the ” Green Deal ” in which help was to be offered to homeowners to help get solid wall insulation installed along the lines of a long term greem loan with low repayments and some help from the Energy Suppliers themselves towards the costs.

The below article is reproduced from the Dept for Energy & Climate Change and is the latest press release on this subject:

Huhne demands greater lagging effort from energy suppliers

A massive increase in the amount of home insulation installed across Great Britain is being kick started today, paving the way for the Government’s new Green Deal.

By properly insulating homes, people can save money on fuel bills, protect the warmth of their home and cut carbon emissions. It’s estimated the most energy inefficient homes in the UK could save, on average, around £550 per year by installing insulation measures.

Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne is today demanding that energy suppliers work harder to insulate lofts and walls ensuring that consumers, especially low income vulnerable households, receive measures which can offer significant energy bill savings.

Under the newly restructured Government obligation on energy companies (CERT – Carbon Emissions Reduction Target), extended from March 2011 until December 2012:

* 68% of energy suppliers’ work will now have to be met through professionally installed loft, cavity and solid wall insulation. With DIY insulation added, more than 80% of the scheme will be focused on insulation. Previously just 60% was met through professional and DIY work;
* 15% of homes helped will be the lowest income households more at risk of fuel poverty;
* Energy companies will now be stopped from promoting compact fluorescent lamps in order to prioritise insulation, further to the total ban on light bulb mail-outs.

The changes to CERT will mean some 3.5 million more homes across Great Britain are likely to benefit from insulation, building substantially on the 2.5 million homes treated under the scheme since April 2008.

Chris Huhne said:

“Our plans will give a huge boost to the insulation industry during the economic recovery as we pave the way for the start of the Green Deal. This is the beginning of a massive and urgent increase in home energy insulation for the nation. We are demanding that energy companies work harder to make homes warmer, more environmentally friendly and cheaper to run, especially for those who need it most.”

The government announced in the Queen’s Speech that it is to introduce legislation which will enable households to finance more expensive measures like solid wall insulation with no upfront costs. Through the Green Deal, energy efficiency work could be repaid through a charge on a home’s energy meter offset by the savings made on fuel bills, meaning many householders will benefit from day one. This Green Deal is expected to be available in late 2012.”

We will make sure that future press releases are conveyed on this blog and welcome your thoughts on these matters.
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Posted in: Insulation Grants

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Insulation Jargon Explained

As with most industries ,the outside insulation industry for solid wall houses has its own generic words and terms which sound like a foreign language at times to the typical home-owner .

Hopefully the following explanations should help:

EWI – external wall insulation

ETICS – external thermal insulation systems

SWI – solid wall insulation

CERT – carbon emissions reduction target

U values – a measure of the thermal efficiency of a wall , the lower the number the better

Part L1B – section of Building Regs governing insulation standards in walls, floors and roofs

BBA – British Board of Agrement is the independant construction industry test and accreditation body

Phenolic – a very effficient high density rigid foam insulation board

EPS – a polystyrene insulation board

Rockwool – a natural mineral wool insulation board

DPC – line where damp course starts and which must not be bridged by a coating or insulation board

Microporous – ability of a material to allow moisture evaporation whilst repelling water

Vapour Permeable – as above ie ability to let moisture pass through a material in the form of a gas

Dew Point – temperature at which water vapour condenses to a liquid when warm air hits a cold surface

Nano – a billionth of a meter !!

Posted in: Jargon Explained

External Insulation for Concrete Houses

Anyone living in a home with mostly concrete construction will vouch for the fact that they can be incredibly cold and expensive to heat in the winter months but also become very warm and uncomfortable on hot sunny days . This type of construction material can also have issues with black spot mould and condensation damp especially on outside walls where the bedding or wardrobes are pushed up against the internal side of an exterior wall.
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From an external insulation point of view No Fines, Fines,Woolaway and Airey homes – to name a few concrete based construction styles – are no different from any other solid wall house for insulation purposes.

Outside insulation- and the benefits it brings both in winter and summer months- can be affixed in the standard way or slightly adapted and so these once “hard to treat” homes can enjoy the same ambient temperatures and lower running costs as any other more traditionally built house.

In addition,they often qualify for some partial Grant Funding to help with the costs.

Freephone 0500 300 407 or click SOLID WALL INSULATION ADVICE to ARRANGE A FREE QUOTE

Posted in: Concrete Built Houses

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Energy Saving Trust

The independant authority The Energy Saving Trust are an absolute mine of information and are most keen to help the average home owner save energy throughout the home from the water we waste to the heat that escapes through our walls.

This advice covers ways of using energy better as well as information on green and renewable technologies such as external wall insulation and photovoltaic solar panels.

They have a superb website – www.energysavingtrust.org.uk – full of helpful advice and there are also advice lines you can ring as well. For those of you who prefer a face to face discussion the Energy Saving Trust also have a network of Regional Offices that act as walk in centres.
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In addition to the above services the Regional Offices also run a series of travelling roadshows across their regions and to find out if they are due in your neighbourhood either give them a call or check out the website.

They are also very influential with Government and the Energy Companies so can often offer advice on possible grant aid for solid wall external insulation for instance.

Posted in: Energy Saving Trust

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EPS – Polystyrene Insulation Boards

Perhaps the most common of the insulation boards and certainly the cheapest is the Expanded Polystyrene boards that can be used on new build or retro fit as can the other types of board.

The main characteristics of the EPS board are :

Lightweight
Can be rasped and shaped to fit round curves etc
Lightweight
Accepts most renders and brick slips
Suitable below ground level and below DPC line
Ranges from 20mm to 300mm in depth
Special cavity drain system for NHBC warranties
60mm depth = 0.43 U value on a solid 9 inch wall

Posted in: Polystyrene Insulation Boards

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Kingspan Phenolic Insulation Boards

In the Wethertex external wall insulation system our award winning resin renders are applied as the protective and decorative finish over external boards of which the Kingspan K5 board is our preferred option.

kingspan phenolic board

Kingspan K5 Kooltherm boards are made of a rigid high density phenolic foam core with a tissue facing on both sides and are especially constructed for external use on solid walls or timber frames.

Kingspan K5 is acknowledged as being the best external insulation board from the point of view of thermal performance per mm of depth thereby keeping ancilliary external alterations to a minimum.

We find our clients prefer the Kingspan Kooltherm K5 external board as the slimmer profile depth reduces the degree of adjustments to the likes of down pipes, soil and waste pipes,boiler flues,outside taps and roof tile overhangs.

On a lot of period properties it can also mean that architectural detailing such as tiled or stone cills and headers can be retained and feature brick korbels and dental courses are not covered over.

Main Features of Kingspan K5 Kooltherm

High Density – good impact resistance
Lightweight – easy to cut and affix
Class 0 Fire Risk
CFC Free
Suitable for all types of modern polymer renders and brick slips
Highest thermal insulation value
Wide range of depths from 40mm to 300mm
60mm board onto 9 inch solid wall = 0.29 U value
Material does not delete over time

Posted in: Kingspan K5 Kooltherm

Rockwool Mineral Wool External Insulation Boards

Rockwool mineral wool boards are mostly made from volcanic ash and are manufactured with a special water repellant additive for exterior use.

We prefer Knauf Rocksilk boards as they are high quality and have a crimped surface to aid the backing render that is trowelled on to them.

Knauf Rocksilk

These boards have the following characteristics:

CFC free – environmentally friendly
High Density – so good impact resistance
Class 1 Fire Resistance
Vapour permeable – highly breathable
40mm to 300mm thickness available
60mm depth = 0.43 U value on 9 inch solid walls
Suitable for mineral and silicate modern render systems

Posted in: Rockwool Mineral Insulation Boards

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Do I have solid brick walls ?

If you own a brick property built before 1930 it is highly likely your walls will have no cavity . A quick test to check the method of construction is to look at the brick pattern and if the bricks are laid both sideways and head on then the walls are solid. Sometimes this head on half brick appearance can be difficult to spot as certain bricklayers alternated the rows of bricks so check a good part of the wall to try and finf the tell tale head on half bricks.

The below picture is from the informative Energy Saving Trust and demonstrates a solid brick configuration:

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If your walls are rendered or made of stone then it can be possible to measure the width of the walls around a door or external window. If the depth is less than 24.5cm you probably will have solid walls and will be suitable for an exterior insulation system if you wish to save heating costs.
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In some early cavity walls the width of the cavity could be less than 50mm and in that case there is insufficient space to have cavity wall insulation injected and again external wall insulation should be considereed as these types of walls are very similar to a solid wall in their heat retention abilities.

Posted in: Jargon Explained

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Breathable Walls

Bricks are ideal as a building material as they allow moisture vapour to pass through them and so allow our homes to breathe. However, solid 9 inch walls are also amongst the coldest found in any type of construction and especially when the outer bricks have been exposed to over 75 years of the UK’s varied climate. The effects of hot sun and wet frosty nights degrades the front face of the brick and leads to spalling . This is when the outer most protective layer comes away from the brick .

This then exposes the highly porous heart of the brick and can lead to water ingress, penetrating damp and condensation damp and a lot colder internal temperature. Naturally the responsible home owner wishes to prevent this so decides to cover the outside wall to protect it from the weather. This is often a case of making things worse not better if a cement render or the wrong paint is used.

If not carried out properly using the correct materials adding a layer to the outer bricks can seal them and stop them from breathing. This will make the damp far worse and will eventually lead to the cement render covering or the paint covering splitting and cracking open. This of course just allows more watewr into the wall when it rains and exacerbates the situation.

blown paint from trapped moisture

It is therefore absolutely vital that any paint covering, rendering or insulation that is put on a wall is microporous. This means the material is able to repel water whilst simultaneously allowing moisture from inside to escape to the outside. In other words it acts like human skin in that we can have a swim in without our bodies absorbing the water but when we get hot our skin is able to let the sweat and moisture come out of our bodies.

Our homes are full of moisture generating devices such as heating, showers, washing machines, cookers and kettles etc so it is vital we ensure the fabric of our homes can allow this moisture to pass to the outside and keep us dry and warm inside the home.

Posted in: Breathable Walls

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