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External Wall Insulation (EWI) is the act of insulating a home by fitting insulation to the exterior parts of the building which in turn improves thermal performance, cuts energy consumption ( savings on energy bill) and also adds to the home’s visual appeal. The systems are built in multiple layers, with the insulation board offering a plethora of options with each being suitable to varying projects and their needs. Installing an external wall insulation comes with a variety of benefits, let’s have a look!

• Thermal Performance Improvement

With EWI, the thermal inertia of the walls are greatly enhanced while also restricting the loss of heat. Ultimately, this lowers heating costs, enhances the comfort of indoor thermal and also reduces CO2 pollution.

• Eliminates Noise Pollution

When the noise levels are high, it can have a bad impact on our overall well being. A great way to reduce the disturbances from the outside like traffic noise is by fitting an External Wall Installation system.

• More Comfortable Living Space

Do you know the damp in homes can contribute to respiratory problems? A properly insulated home will greatly limit the impact of condensation by combating the damp issues. As a result, you can always expect your house to be cosy and comfy irrespective of the season. A cooler summer and warmer spring is guaranteed with EWI.

• Enhances The Property’s Visual Appeal

Looking for an excuse to rejuvenate your home’s aesthetic appeal? Well, you can as well try out adding an EWI system. There are a plethora of unique colours and styles you can pick from to beautify your home effortlessly.

• Adds Value To Property

An insulated home will generally cost more than an uninsulated one at the time of resale. Potential home buyers are more interested in the acquisition of a home with an EWI system due to its various benefits - and a higher demand can only imply a higher price!

With the numerous benefits that comes with the installation of an external wall insulation in a building, it’s also important to find out whether it’s also safe before proceeding to fit one in your home. Firstly, to ensure that external wall insulation systems are safe, they must be BBA approved, which means they’ve been subjected to a thorough testing by the British Board of Agrement and therefore, suitable for use in UK homes.

Given the fact that cladding materials have recently generated a lot of debate and negative press about how reliable some particular materials are, questions are being asked of the safety and reliability of external wall insulation. However we must clarify that, although external wall insulation can be classified under cladding, it is very different to rainscreen cladding - which caused the Grenfell fire tragedy.

External wall insulation is completely safe. However, when it comes to fire, the safety of your system depends largely on the insulation type in question. The safest type of insulation you can have installed is the Rockwool insulation boards which are rated as Euroclass A1 non-combustible. The board is specially designed in such a way that it contains fire - preventing it from reaching the other areas of the building. They also do not produce harmful emission or smoke when impacted by fire.

Meanwhile, the Wood Fibre, is also a great insulation which is known to char and not burn. Contrary to many beliefs, it actually burns slowly creating this charring effect which produces an oxygen barrier that helps reduce the spread of fire.

To make your system safer, you can also make use of Fibreglass Mesh for reinforcement. It helps to improve the strength of the tensile which promotes the security of the boards attached to the wall.

Some individuals who have been in the construction department for many years may not be qualified, that is, they may not have undergone an apprenticeship and/or trade certificate courses, but they might still be very skilled at their work. However, anybody can pick up a sledgehammer and demand themselves a builder lacking any skills or training. The wise thing would be to ask the builder coming to your house about what qualifications they have and what training they have undergone.

Licensing of building practitioners

You can now check if your builder or tradesperson is a licensed building practitioner by using an electronic public register which has a record of every registered builder. Being licensed provides you with an assurance that the builder who is about to do your work has proven his shill to the government and earned his right to be a practitioner. If you wish for certain important building and design work on your home it is imperative that you hire a licensed practitioner, the act is very common when you compare the scenario with when you have to call a plumber or an electrician regarding any work.

In order to become a builder in the UK, you must complete an apprenticeship or an NVQ. NVQ is another popular route to becoming a builder. You can also get your NVQ even when you are working as an apprentice. You can also make it based on any recognised overseas qualification.

All associates maintain a Code of Practice and Conduct which sets the standards for all stages of the building procedure. The Code requires builders to:

• Submit quotes on projects for which they have time.

• Securing the contract with a sufficient insurance cover.

• Maintain honesty and integrity at all times.

• Obey the law and industry standards of conduct.

All members of the construction association must also follow a code of conduct. As a consumer, if you think your builder has breached the Code of Conduct or the Code of Ethics, you can file a written against him or her.

If you want to install an external wall, it is only wise to consider whether or not a planning permission is required in order to avoid a hefty fine. In a great kudos to the government and a welcome relief to home and property owners, the installation of external wall insulation is seen as an “improvement to the house and not an “extension or an “enlargement. Ultimately, this implies that external wall insulation fitting is to be done under permitted development and a planning application may not be required. However, like many other regulations, there are also exceptions to this rule and the main one is if the activity changes the appearance of your property. Properties such as a listed building having tighter regulations may pose some issues. As a result, we’d advise you to consult your local authority to ensure that there’s no fast rule to this topic before commencement of the external wall insulation project.

At the moment, according to the Government Building Regulations, the surface of the entire wall is to be improved to existing standards if the area to be insulated exceeds 25 percent of the wall. In normal situations this is usually the typical case, however to prevent avoidable fines and other possible punishments, it is always best to reach to your local authority and check out the rules guiding external wall insulation in your constituency. Furthermore, since external wall insulation is not a task that’s recommended to be done by yourself, you can also ask the professional external wall insulation fitting company for the applying rules before proceeding. As a good professional, the company should have a better knowledge of the rules and regulation guiding its activities.

In general, you won’t need planning permission to install soundproofing. If you are installing soundproofing against a shared wall, you will usually need to follow the rules and restrictions set out in the Party Wall Act. In listed buildings and conservation areas, there may be extra restrictions on soundproofing.

If you’ve converted a non-residential barn into a home, you might be able to reclaim some of the VAT that you’ve paid for your project. This includes money spent on:

• Construction materials

• Flooring

• Light fittings

• Kitchen units and worktops

• Electrical, heating and plumbing materials

To reclaim your VAT from HMRC, make sure you request and keep all of your invoices. You’ll also need proof of planning permission and evidence of completion. You should then submit your claim with all relevant paperwork within three months of receiving your completion certificate. You’re only allowed to submit one claim, so you’ll need to make sure you get it right first time.

Aside from the cold weather not being the most pleasant condition to work in, the winter weather can also cause a lot of problems for construction workers and even more so when you’re working with render. Poor weather conditions can generally cause a lot of harms on the final finish of a render. Below are some of the reasons why you should not consider rendering in a bad weather.

✓ Lime bloom. Render can be impacted by lime bloom as they are subjected to damp conditions and low temperatures while curing. This is due to the fact that cement are intolerant to slower drying conditions especially immediately affect its application.

✓ Top coats can be compromised. Coating are likely to get washed off before they’re even afforded the chance to set if drying conditions are low.

However, because its cold out there doesn’t necessarily imply that work must stop. It’s very possible to render during the winter months but to avoid potential pitfalls, we’ve got some tip that can be of great help. Let’s have a look!

✓ Check the weather forecast. Determine the drying and curing time and watch the forecast for the temperature dropping at night.

✓ Select the most suitable render. There are renders that are suitable for application in low temperatures to about 5℃ or even as low as 1℃. These types of render are fast setting which makes them perfect for the cold condition.

✓ Watch out for frost. Frost and render are enemies. Therefore, it won’t be wise to work with frosted materials, on frosted subtrates or apply below the recommended temperature that’s written on the product’s datasheet.

✓ Protect the finish. Make use of artificial enclosures around the scaffolding to battle adverse weather conditions.

When it comes to laying of bricks, it is essential to get the right mortar mix. It is vital, be it for construction or maintenance projects, so far mortar is required. There are several materials incorporated in getting mortar which includes both cement and sharp sand, soft sand or plasterer’s sand and lots more. Here, we are going to look at the right ratio for cement and sand mix in bricklaying.

Cement include ingredients such as iron, aluminium, as well as silicon and it is mainly used for mortars like aerated cement mortar, Portland cement mortar and gauged mortar. Sand, on the other hand, comes in different forms such as sharp sand, soft sand and plasterer’s sand. The sharp sand consists of a larger grain size than the others and is usually incorporated in the construction areas that requires more strength as well as flexibility. Soft sand is the most common one used in mortar and it’s also referred to as bricklayers’ sand. These are used to make all types of mortar. Finally the plasterer’s sand which neither has the sharp sand’s coarseness nor the fineness of the soft sand, but can also be used for any form of mortar.

Cement and sand mortar is used for a plethora of bricklaying jobs serving as a glue for bricks, walls and pillars, while also repairing or maintaining old listed buildings. The preferred ratio here is 1:3 to 1:5 of cement and building sand. Meanwhile, to get a sand cement mix, essential materials that are required includes water, soft building sand as well as cement. However, you must also note that a sand and cement mortar is not used for structural projects, rather a concrete ratio is used.