Can I ask for some up-front ideas here please to get me enthused and moving again, and have more to kick about?

Due to work and other commitments the efficiency improvements to my house ground to a halt two or three years ago, and they need to be kick-started again.

I attach an image of the outside front. Nothing much to see there, Yes, it's dull. (But from the rear we do have 20 mile green view from our gorgeous elevated location :).

It’s conventional early 1970’s with medium block (that nasty black power-station tailings block), blown urea filled cavity. Original builders blessed us with their deep money-saving skeilings to the first floor, which, as was the way, they kindly filled with fresh air for us.
I added a new large wrap-round rear extension 15 yrs ago in brick and block which used 90mm cavity (60mm PIR internally to the wall), with additional 25mm PIR dry-lining. I have 3G (Adpol) timber glazing to the rear.
I’ve stripped out empty plasterboard skeilings through most of the first floor, and replaced with (eaves ventilated) 120mm PIR build up between and under, and I’ve internally dry-lined internal walls with additional (variously depending on the space) 50..100mm PIR. I have always taken as much detailed care as I possibly can throughout with meticulous VCL and sealing the PIR boards both to the wall and between as far as It’s been possible, even into the electrical outlets.
The massively inefficient internal garage has been sealed off on the internal house side with 100mm PIR to all it’s internal (single skin) walls, and to its ceiling also to the bedroom above. There are still cold bridges – notably floor penetrations and some window reveals, but the world (and my house), remains imperfect. I have not yet “treated” the top left room in this pic, It’s the cold one. Enough of the history.

Q)
Front windows you see are typical UPVC 1980’s nastiness and they need to go. Internally on the downstairs and upstairs (one room) I’ve already remedially insulated as above. I did what I could into the existing (solid) reveals with 15mm PIR (as much as would fit to the old window frames), but cold-bridging there is inevitably still evident.
Fixing the front elevation to do the windows will be a missed opportunity unless I take this deeper. I must for starters fix the tile hung zone. (Plasterboard-air-felt-tiles! lovely). Also to potentially to shrink the window openings by wrapping a better layer of PIR into the reveals. This would then tie up with – maybe- a breathable EWI and render to just this elevation*. Eaves aren’t generous, perhaps 120mm (asbestos board soffits), and the most thickness I could realistically add externally would be ~ 60mm including a render (If I render, that’s TBD, but a cladding may work OK.
I have an idea to swap the windows for single large pane downstairs (we scarcely open it), and to shrink the upstairs to a horizontal on the right and a vertical on the left. Maybe a single-room MHR ventilator downstairs alongside, to run probably only on winter nights when humidity builds up too much.

I have no mechanical ventilation, and (only if it becomes part of a plan), the sheer shortage off space would restrict to to upstairs rooms only, and even the there’s hardy anywhere to realistically for the fan without a noise nuisance. (Thank you, I am award of Viking House Fresh-r, and it’s been noted..).

I am bashing about ideas for most economical way to (A), shrink the brickwork openings, (B) to fill the empty timber void tile-hung area, and (C) to remove window reveal cold-bridges, and (D) maybe (or not) marry this with a breathable EWI if that becomes a good idea to hide the former. Weathering detail around reveals and cills is very much my concern, and how this could work with an EWI (which due to my internal alterations would be more of a breathable not-too-thick wrap, and to reduce the temperature gradient in the brickwork, rather than the full-blown thick EWI layer).

(*The North elevation (wall to the left) is 100% windowless elevation. Perfect, you might think for quick and economical EWI. Yes, want. The floor penetrations and condensation risk thereto would also benefit from that, since after my internal works, those do bother me just a little - However, neighbourly relations don’t lend themselves to any access whatsoever, either working there or to increasing the wall thickness this side. So that will need to wait. Whatever I do to the front needs to be compatible with and to connect into (future hopefully) an easy North elevation EWI upgrade.)

Are you doing new windows? 3G ? I would fit new windows outside the reveals overlapping by 20 to 40mm then wrap the EWI round them covering the edge totally and front of the frame as much as possible.

Windows do look big so you could use say 50mm pir or xps right through from face of new render to inside edge of reveal then use eps for the EWI

Then live happily ever after

Posted By: Jeff BJustin - regards EWI on the windowless side wall. What do you intend to do at the edges where the wall joins the front and rear elevations? Curious because I am still contemplating what to do in my place. You can see a photo of our gable end in this thread:

http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=16226" rel="nofollow" >http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=16226

I have the added problem that there is practically zero overhang of the roof!

do you mean the detailing join from EWI to face brick/cavity wall finish ?
I did one where I just protuded the EWI 10mm and bead it up on both 90deg edge and render finished it. to creat a kind of framing feature , looked quite good even if I do say so myself

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: jamesingram</cite><blockquote><cite>Posted By: Jeff B</cite>Justin - regards EWI on the windowless side wall. What do you intend to do at the edges where the wall joins the front and rear elevations? Curious because I am still contemplating what to do in my place. You can see a photo of our gable end in this thread:

<a href="<a href=" comments.php?discussionid="16226"" rel="nofollow">http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=16226</a>" rel="nofollow" >http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=16226

I have the added problem that there is practically zero overhang of the roof!</blockquote>

do you mean the detailing join from EWI to face brick/cavity wall finish ?
I did one where I just protuded the EWI 10mm and bead it up on both 90deg edge and render finished it. to creat a kind of framing feature , looked quite good even if I do say so myself<img src="/newforum/extensions/Vanillacons/smilies/standard/bigsmile.gif" alt="" title=""></img></blockquote>

I mean, as in Justin's example, where the windowless north facing wall meets the windowed front west facing wall. If he applies EWI right to the edge then the end of the insulation will be visible. If the north wall is clad with timber cladding I guess it would be ok to just apply strips of cladding vertically to "box in" the corner.

jamesingram - did you do the EWI work yourself, including the rendering? I could definitely do the insulating bit but I am totally useless at rendering anything with anything, plaster, cement, you name it. So I definitely would not attempt to use these new modern, thin, polymer-type renders. My dilemma would be finding a local plasterer who is familiar with applying the latter or would a decent plasterer be able to cope do you think? I have been on the MyBuilder website tonight just to register and see if there is any interest locally.

P.S. Apologies to Justin for hijacking this thread but hopefully some of these issues will be of interest to him too.

recent job using thincoat system

James - the way you describe it, it sounds so easy! As you say, maybe I will find a local plasterer who is familiar with the new render systems. I have been contemplating red cedar cladding (which would be more DIY friendly) until I checked the cost - wow!

I see you have the exact same situation on the gable end of your “current 200mm project” as I do i.e. zero overhang with those tiles. How are you going to cover the top of the insulation? Extend the roof or use this kind of profile:

https://www.insulationshop.co/50mm_Wemico_wec_791_verge_trim_upstand_profile.html

Re cedar , I did a job about a decade ago clad with feather edge cedar. Got a local sawmill to cut it from some trunks they had , come in around £1.50ish linear metre for 125mm, I think.
Wasn't the tight shiplap finish you get but looked good and still does.

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Pile-o-Stone</cite><blockquote><cite>Posted By: Jeff B</cite>
I see you have the exact same situation on the gable end of your “current 200mm project” as I do i.e. zero overhang with those tiles. How are you going to cover the top of the insulation?</blockquote>

You could always fit a skylight or roof integrated solar panel(s) and use the removed tiles to extend the roof over the gable end.</blockquote>

Actually I do have a stack of spare slates here that I could use, although they would be newer in appearance than the rest of the roof which would make them stand out a bit. I already have four Velux windows in the roof so I don't need any more! I just don't fancy extending the roof as I think it would be beyond my capabilities. I quite fancy the aluminium profile that I mentioned in my post above. I could use some matching mahogany uPVC edging under the overhang (I know that's very small, maybe 15 mm) and over the lip on the profile and both screwed together on the wall.

This was another idea I had some time back for partial EWI which I posted on the forum but generally got negative feedback. I thought it might be a good idea just to insulate to attic level as it is a cold roof set up anyway. It might look a bit odd I suppose.

Jeff , personally I don't like the look of the profiles solution on my place, especially at the intersection corner , as its 200mm I think it would be a shame not to try to reduce any thermal bridging as much as practically possible.
Yes I'll lose heat up the gable wall into the loft space but my header tank is up on that side above 400mm loft quilt so could prob ably do with a little heat.

I think Tony's idea of creating a little slate pitch on top of it could work well on yours

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: jamesingram</cite>Jeff , personally I don't like the look of the profiles solution on my place, especially at the intersection corner , as its 200mm I think it would be a shame not to try to reduce any thermal bridging as much as practically possible.
Yes I'll lose heat up the gable wall into the loft space but my header tank is up on that side above 400mm loft quilt so could prob ably do with a little heat.

I think Tony's idea of creating a little slate pitch on top of it could work well on yours</blockquote>

I understand, yes.

Jeff, as you've a habitable attic space i'd say the only decent solution is to do the gable as PoS suggested

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: jamesingram</cite>Jeff, as you've a habitable attic space i'd say the only decent solution is to do the gable as PoS suggested</blockquote>

James - any tips on how to construct a gable bridge with the situation I have please i.e. no external rafters/bargeboards?

Tom loves the old 'hit and miss' rafter/stub joist solution. I've followed on of his ideas in the past to avoid thermal bridge on some cantilevered flase eaves extensions sitting on top of a warm roof.

Jeff, GIve it a few weeks and I'll post up some picks of what I come up with at my place.

for your gable without barge board you could strip back a or 2 rafters and send a strip of OSB over the rafter/wall/insulation , fix it to the rafter, felt and baton over it and at the edge stop it a little short so as the slates lays on the EWI last 25mm , the render up to them ( giving them a 50mm over hang over EWI finish )

as Will suggests , getting some insulation under the OSB and on top of your wall would also be good, but to keep the pitch flat would require dropping your wall a little to get it in.