Building Regulations in the UK have been interpreted for years as demanding that refurbished walls need to meet a U value of 0.3. Products have therefore been designed using BR443 and BS5250:2011 to comply with this. Unfortunately, even BS5250:2011 states …
Many homes have garden boundary walls that butt into the main external wall of the house. The continuity of the materials can look really attractive, especially where it is an old stone wall. There can be complications though with the …
Cracks in render can cause damp walls upstairs. I was in a end of terrace house in Cardiff last week and came across one of the dampest first floor wall I have seen. The Home Buyers survey did not pick …
In Cardiff and South Wales we have a number of different stones that have been used over time for building houses. These stones came from a variety of sources: 1. Red Radyr Stone. 2. Bath Stone 3. Pennant Stone 4. …
How is this possible? Damp on an internal wall? – So no water ingress from blown render or poor pointing, no leaking gutters, no cracked tiles, no raised pavements above damp proof course, so what is going on? Internal walls …
This is how it should be done on older solid walled brick built buildings. The damp proof cream needs to be injected in the lime mortar (NOT the brick) and it should be injected every half brick. The hole should …
Lime rendering and plastering is one the key ingredients of a sustainable older home. Lime putty render with a stone dust aggregate has a very low embodied energy, it is very breathable and it is the correct render of choice …
Many people might think that we are a bit left-field and that banging on about breathability etc is a waste of time. However a DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) commissioned report has just been published – http://www.building.co.uk/Journals/2012/09/27/x/u/l/RESPONSIBLE-RETROFIT.pdf Main …
Old terraces in South Wales look great and they can be a really good buy, however they can also bring their fair share of headaches as your keen-ness to improve the house and make it your home takes hold. Many …
Buying an old terrace house? Fore warned is fore armed! Read more »
In Wales we have a glut of solid walls. Lots of buildings built during the mid and later stages of the nineteenth century to home the workers in the mines and docks. The urban areas of Wales are notably these …
Where do breathable solid walls fit into Building Regulations? Read more »
