Hi All.

I have owned an 1800 stone / rubble end terrace house for 10 plus years and have fell into the cement based render / gypsum based plaster trap/

Scaffolding has gone up and down more times than I care to remember in an attempt to stop the rain ingress, cracks have been filled, painted over and so on and so forth.

I'm now having read this great forum considering extending the verge and then insulating from the outside, then finally cladding be it slate, timber or upvc.

The trouble is i want to do this right first time having in the past winged it.

Are there any threads or documents etc detailing this kind of works available to read or could some kind soul advise please ?

Once that is done i Intend to also insulate from the inside if necessary ?

I've read about vapour barriers and wondered if that wouuld be the way to go or should it be lime plastered with maybe hemp or similar added for warmth.

A lot of questions I know sorry but I'm hoping this will be the last time I have to scaffold the building !!

Thanks in Advance

Dave

Is this the gable end wall or all three? If more than one, it might be the whole construction, but if one it could be a fault. I know of one instance where the water was penetrating a granite wall and the cause turned out to be the slate tray over one window was directing the rain inside the wall, where it tracked its way through.
My neighbour had a problem with one granite cottage wall and water penetration appearing in different places for years - tried everything. Finally discovered that the water was tracking through the wall after entering the top of the wall through the roof where the wall plate had moved in a storm! Once repaired (new roof thanks Insurance Company) all fine.
Another friend in the village had a rubble wall with the same general damp wall problem (this is Cornwall and it is wetter than many people think) They fixed it by doing what you are proposing, using battens and slate tile hanging. Works and looks nice, although a bit vulnerable to damage at street level. So far not a problem, although I don't think they included insulation in their build - no idea why not!
EWI is the way to go I think, but in a row of cottages the extra depth could be a problem where it meets the neighbouring property. If you can do it though, it will enclose the whole building in the warm envelope which should eliminate the condensation/freeze damage within the walls.
I hope you find the answer whatever you decide - I hate doing work more than once wherever possible

Hi Peter Did you fit it all yourself then get somebody to render it ?










<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Peter_in_Hungary</cite>What I have done with my stone / rubble walls is to use standard external wall insulation (EWI) EPS insulation with the normal glass mesh and render then thin film acrylic render to finish and I have had no problems with this and it works. I didn't render the walls first but rather used a triangular bead of adhesive around the EPS slab and then 3 dabs in the middle. The adhesive should be thick enough to account for any irregularities in the wall. Whilst there is a recommendation to use mechanical fixings as well I could not as it is impossible to drill into the basalt stone sufficiently well to apply the fixings (I gave up trying after 20 or 30 failed attempts) but so far there have been no issues from the lack of these. Your ability to use mechanical fixings will depend on your wall type.

The final coat of the thin film acrylic render gives a good finish, an unbelievable colour range, and there would be no technical reason to put a cladding over this. Aesthetics or planning permission may dictate otherwise. If the gable end is north facing or shadowed by trees then consider using the silicone based thin film render as this is equally breathable and delays the growth of algae longer than the acrylic version.

If your wall is rendered there would be no need to remove the render providing it is sound. If the gable end is habitable space then there would be no need for internal insulation if you put (say) 100mm or 150mm EWI on the outside. If the gable end is not habitable and you have standard loft insulation lain on the joists then the gable end can be insulated internally for about 1 meter from the ceiling to mitigate the internal cold bridge at the ceiling.

EPS is a bit breathable as is the adhesive and the acrylic render and using this I have not had any problems. I would not use XPS as this is closed cell.

EPS EWI is a DIY job if you feel so inclined and are up to the heights</blockquote>

Appears the gable is right on the boundary, with someone else's land perhaps, or public foot path??

Check your building regs about flammable insulation within 1 metre of a boundary. Don't believe EPS will be permitted. I've used a rockwool product in the past, for this non-flammable reason. Think it's document B4 for England, section 2 para 6.4 in Scotland.

I was just raising an awareness. Of course, do check very carefully, as it's a greater burden to take on the non-flammable route.

My understanding is that it's about spread of fire to adjacent buildings. If you didn't own the land, then you would be in violation of the reg as the land owner could in the future build on it. But since you own the land, then you are probably OK. The corner of the building immed adjacent to the public highway would maybe fall into the "other owner", as that presumably is your true site boundary

Here's a link anyway...

www.rockwool.co.uk/product-overview/cladding-solutions/ewi-slab/?selectedCat=downloads

There may well be other manuf products, but this is one I have spec'd though not personally installed. Bottom support rail, then pinned with metal fastenings, then the usual multi layer.