STBA Guidance Wheel Launch in Wales

The shape of refurbishment to come!!

This Thursday sees the Welsh launch of the STBA Guidance Wheel Retrofit Tool - The "Green Wheel“

It shall all take place on Thursday 13th March 2014 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cardiff – Meridian Gate Bute Terrace – CF10 2FL from 5.30 - So no excuse for work getting in the way! (well as long as you don't work nights!)

This is a superb new innovative retrofit tool that will help to make good decisions about retrofit measures on traditional buildings, identifying risks and balancing energy efficiency with heritage considerations.

The programme will be:
5.30 pm Tea / coffee
6.00 pm. Energy Efficiency Retrofit of traditional buildings in Wales and the Heritage Cottage exemplar project, John Edwards, CADW Assistant Director and STBA Co-founder and Steering Group Member
6.20 pm. The Guidance Wheel - Isabel Carmona, Lead on the trial of the Guidance Wheel & Nigel Griffiths, Director of the STBA
6.55 pm CIOB / CITB remarks / toast
7.00 pm Reception

So if you can make time and are interested in making a major step in the right direction with the refurbishment of our precious terraced homes then register with Vicky Coxon on vcoxon@ciob.org.uk ASAP to book your place.

Oh yes, and it is FREE!!

Osmo solve 'oil treatment' problem

As you may be aware there is a major choice to make when treating wood with a natural protector. An oil based or a water based solution?

Oil based treatments are harder wearing and last longer, BUT they do change the colour of the wood and enhance the grain (see above)

Water based treatments do not change the colour as much, but they do tend to lift the grain of the wood.

So what if you want to keep the colour of your wood, but want the longer lasting protection etc? Well up until now it has been a problem, but those clever people at Osmo have now produced Osmo Polyx RAW. This is a new product that has some white tint in the mix to counteract the enriching effects of the oil, plus they have done away with the matting / satin agents that produce the finish, so that the wood is left looking as close to its original state as possible. (Note that 'Red' woods will be enhanced with the reddiness of the wood and so the white pigment in the RAW might turn this pink.)

So if you love the look of your untreated floor / worktop / furniture etc and want to give it the all the protection you associate with oil treated products then there is now an answer!

Eco Home Centre is selling this new product and you can find it in our Osmo Tints product range

Common re-pointing problem

I was walking around yesterday waiting for my car to be fixed and being in the 'trade' it just struck me how many stone walls in Cardiff have been re-pointed using cement. Almost every house (that wasn't covered in cement render - don't get me started!!) had cement in a similar condition to the photo. The hard cement has been placed over the old lime mortar and is now just falling away, looking awful, whilst still managing to increase the moisture content in the wall.

The whole process is ruinous in a number of ways:

1. Most importantly the mortar used should be a lime based mortar (ideally with a stone dust aggregate), the cement used just helps to trap moisture in the wall and this leads to a host a other damp problems internally

2. Any re-pointing should involve the removal of the old mortar. Just placing mortar over the top means that any loose mortar underneath just weakens the whole repair. It also means that that mortar doesn't bind to the stone / brick properly, it then just falls off looking cheap and like you just don't care about your property

3. The mortar here has been placed so that it juts out where it should be level to the stones / bricks. If it is protruding it is more likely to 'catch' rainwater and bring it into the walls again giving yourself damp problems

So, when you are paying a lot of money to have a whole wall re-pointed (most of the cost is in labour and scaffolding), why not get the materials right and save yourself the cost of a) having to have it done again within a couple of years, and b) having to deal with the subsequent damp that it is likely to attract into the house.

Bay windows

Many older properties have attractive bay windows. However there is an issue that tends to go un-noticed by the great buying public. That of insulation in the bay. Basically there isn't any. The mullions and walls under the window are generally solid walls. This is not too much of an issue as the rest of the house will tend to be the same. However, insulating them is an issue to get right. However, this is the smallest problem. The main issue is that of the roof above the bay.

They tend to look a bit like this:

So there is virtually nothing between you and the outside world. A piece of plaster board / lath and plaster and then a void and the bay roof. So these structures are very draughty and not very insulating. So if improving an older property with a bay, this is one of the first things that needs to the addressed.

It is an easy (if disruptive) fix, as the installation of insulation is relatively simple and then it is a case of just making sure that the details are right. This basically means that you have to get the airtightness correct, so use good quality tapes and sealants to ensure that the final finish is well draught proofed.

Note that this situation can be mirrored under the bay if it is an 'unsupported' bay. These types of bays tend to be seen on more modern buildings and / or on replaced bays as they are cheaper. However, they are rarely sealed correctly and hence tend to be very draughty and again poorly insulated. Thankfully they also tend to be timber framed and hence are relatively easy to improve by using conventional insulation, membranes and good tapes.

If you are installing external wall insulation remember that the wall behind the bay also needs to be insulated to stop thermal bridging. Where the roof is tied into the wall will create a thermal bridge as well so think about how this will be dealt with.

Spot the Pigeon Problem

Where we are in Cardiff a local Housing Association has been busy installing PV onto their houses. Brilliant, just the ticket. The residents get to use the free energy created during the day, the HA gets the FiT payments and the planet gets a slight reprieve from a reduction in CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere.

There is though a slight issue that I noticed while glancing up at their handiwork. The clue is in the picture.

The workforce had installed the panels underneath an aerial, and being a seaside city we have a large number of gulls as well as pigeons. A nice secure aerial is a perfect place for a breather from scavenging the streets and whilst there, why not relieve yourself before heading off again! Consequently the areas, of the lovely new panels, below the aerials are covered with bird poo. This has a terrible effect on energy production, so all the benefits that should be accruing for the HA and tenants are being ruined by nature, just as we are trying to do something for it! So when designing your system think about factors like aerials so that you don't suffer this issue.

If you have PV fitted already, remember to check that they are clean and free from bird poo, leaf drop etc and also that any potential overshading issues are dealt with (for example the PV on our garage has a Wisteria growing on the wall next to it, so I have to cut back shoots etc during the growing season.)

Remember that PV is great for being 'low' maintenance, but it is not 'no' maintenance!

Egni Solar Co-Op Launched

A hard working group of committed volunteers in SW Wales have been beavering around for the past year or so getting a large community driven solar PV project off of the ground. The Egni Co-Operative (see www.egni.coop) have clubbed together a wide range of community centres (inc the Dove Workshops shown above) so that they can 'borrow' their roofs in order to establish a community owned solar PV project.

The group had their official launch at the Welsh Senedd in early February 2014 and are now looking for community minded investors to reach their target. Investments range from £250 to £20,000 and operate on co-operative principles. See their website for more details on how the system works etc.

It is important that communities help themselves and it is great to see the SW Valleys communities doing just that, but monies for the project can come from anywhere as there is a return on offer. So have a look at the www.egni.coop site and see if this is a project that you can support.

Egni Coop is also on twitter @egnicoop for anyone who is a keen twitterer.

RDE helped facilitate the non-domestic EPC work that was required for the project, so thanks to Iain at Greenfeet Energy Assessments (http://www.greenfeetuk.com) with this.

Damp appearing?

In this sort of weather you might find damp in places that were dry before. Why?

Well, when you have driving rain rather than just rain it tends to get into cracks and holes that it might otherwise miss. Key areas that are at risk are:

1. Silicone seals around doors and windows - the sealant fails over time and comes away from the wall or frame, this then allows water to get driven in behind. When the wall gets wet it transmits heat better and so it gets colder. The cold patch then attracts condensation, this then leads to mould formation etc. Builders and DIY'ers are quite notorious for choosing the cheapest / most obvious option. These silicons are the most likely to fail, because basically they are rubbish. Look for a more elastic silicon and one that will adhere for longer. They will all eventually fail, but putting more time between replacement is just easier.

2. Poor pointing - pointing is really important for keeping out driving rain. It can fail in a number of ways. Firstly it can be re-pointed using the wrong mortar. Using cement on old solid walls is fundamentally wrong. It traps water in and also ruins the softer brick / stone. Always use a lime mortar (preferably lime putty with stone dust). Rake out to a depth that is double the height, get it wet first and then press the mortar well into the joints. Pointing should be flush with the bricks / stone.

3. Cracks in render - in a similar vein to the pointing, render on older buildings should be lime based not cement. Again wind driven rain gets into the thinnest cracks and gets stuck behind the cement render. Ideally any cement render should be removed, but at the very least cracks should be repaired to stop the water ingress.

4. Leaky gutters - I see no end of leaky gutters at this time of the year. This is because we use poor quality, narrow plastic guttering, downpipes and fixings. The ideal is to use the correctly sized metal guttering (like Lindab), but at the very least make sure that your guttering is not leaking and draining correctly. Water flowing over walls and behind fascias is asking for trouble.

The main message is MAINTENANCE. Whatever you have on your house just make sure that it is working as well as it can. Then, if possible, look for more permanent solutions in the Spring / Summer when the rain stops!!!!! Lime, especially is easier to apply when it is drier and warmer, so good lime contractors are at a premium during this time, so get in quick.