External Wall Insulation (EWI)
External Wall Insulation (EWI), or solid wall insulation as it is becoming increasingly referred to, is a concept originally developed in Europe to economically upgrade post war social housing estates.
Although this remains a major market here in the UK, the principle of EWI is now universally accepted on a wide spectrum of new build projects and across all residential categories.
There is a EWI solution to virtually all types of building, in technical, aesthetic and performance terms.
The application of a suitable EWI system can provide benefits to the building owner and occupier beyond that of purely thermal performance, the concept upon which most installations are sold.
These additional benefits include, the provision of a low maintenance primary weathering wrap, a visual upgrade, improved acoustic and fire protection performance, the elimination of condensation problems, an increase in property value, an improvement to occupant lifestyle and a reduction in heating costs.
The visual impact of these installations can be varied to reflect local planning requirements and or the designer`s imagination. External finishes can be provided through a broad spectrum of render styles, textures and colours, by use of brick effects, dash finishes and by combining with alternative EWI cladding systems such as timber, panel, ceramic etc.
The EWI market has adapted to provide efficient and economic cladding solutions for modern construction methods, including to timber frame, SIPS panel, cross laminate, light gauge steel frame, modular, ICF, and more.
The current housing stock alone presents a multitude of design issues when specifying an EWI cladding solution, with consideration necessary for a wide variety of non traditional construction methods, ranging from a variety of concrete forms through steel frame to timber frame, and in size from 26 storeys to mid storey blocks and down to single and two storey units. This diverse range of construction techniques is further complicated by the adoption of different external wall construction methods and finishes.
Using our in house expertise, we are able to design and install light gauge steel sub frames, external support walls and infill panels to reconfigure facades, or simply as a means of carrying the EWI system independently of the original facade (normally due to instability issues). This becomes common practice in the case of certain non traditional dwellings.
Traditional construction dwellings can present almost as much consideration, with historic, listed, protected and regional variance (stone, slate, wattle, timber frame, weather board etc) facades, demanding sympathetic cladding solutions or a combined approach by use of Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) to street facing elevations.
Evolving product specifications, system design and innovative installation techniques are necessary to maintain pace with the ever increasing performance specification requirements placed upon the industry by the desire to reduce carbon emissions. Recent upgrades include substrate preparation procedures to reduce the air leakage through external wall substrates, prior to the installation of an EWI system.
Anglian Building Products are well placed in the market to co-ordinate the interface and construction detailing between doors, windows and fascia/soffit elements when installing EWI and loft insulation works.
We are in a unique position to provide in-house technical support and independent advice on the ideal EWI solution to your property from management teams with in depth experience in the industry.
There are a variety of funding streams available for EWI/solid wall installations. These funding schemes vary from time to time, in their aims, target markets and levels of financial support and it is part of our service to access the appropriate funds and arrange the benefit in favour of the building owner.
Find out more
To find out more about how we can help insulate your hard to treat non-traditional construction properties please contact nikki.le-grys@angliangroup.com or ross.stquintin@angliangroup.com.
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