Everything you need to know about timber cladding

When it comes to timber cladding, our go-to supplier is Russwood. We have used their products on many projects, and both Paul and Alan have used their cladding on their own homes.

Are you considering timber cladding for your project but unsure where to start? Look no further. David Ross from Russwood shares his top tips to help you get started.

Tips for a radical retrofit

Paul has written a guest blog for Green Building Store drawing on his experience of retrofitting his own home.

What is EnerPHit?

While Passivhaus offers a low-energy standard for new builds, what’s the equivalent for existing properties?

How to create a healthy home

Did you know the UK health and fitness industry is worth around £5 billion and has grown 20% over the last five years? People are spending more time and money on their health and physical state than ever before.

But it’s not just vegetables that make you healthy

Your health isn’t just measured by how much you exercise or how much kale you eat. Your home and the conditions you live in play a major role, too.

There are various ways to heat your home throughout the year. If built correctly, a low-energy house or Passivhaus will be very well insulated and airtight.

It will require minimal heating which will affect your heating choices. You might aspire to have a woodburning stove at the start of your project but once you have the foundations of a well-insulated home that is already warm you might not need one!

A great example of this is Paul’s retrofit project. During the height of winter with a dusting of snow outside his team have been working indoors in just their t-shirts!

As the heart of your home, a new kitchen is a big thing to plan. We’re pleased to have teamed up with Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens to share their top tips for creating your own sustainable kitchen.

The kitchen is understandably a focal point during any renovation or new building project. We first worked with Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens during our Sycamore Hall project.

At January 16, 2019
By paultesta
In advice, construction, design, money, sustainability
0

Working with an architect is an investment. Choose the right one and their fee will be paid back in spades by the value they will add to your project.

However, to get the most from your architect it’s important that you’re prepared as a client.

Here are our top tips to get you started:

We have several residential projects in the Stamford and Oakham area, and so we were delighted when Houseproud Stamford & Rutland magazine asked Alan to write a piece for their Architecture Explained series.

Full of tips and tricks, the article explores how to make the most of the views that surround your home and invite more natural light into your space.

We can help your family stay comfortable, safe & healthy.

When you think about what you need out of a home, it’s easy to forget some of the fundamentals that ensure you and your family are comfortable, safe and healthy. This is mainly because we don’t talk about these things in relation to our houses. We talk about numbers of bedrooms, parking, gardens, Internet speed, even solar panels, but do any of these things meet our primary needs?

Do you have an old home? Or are you thinking of buying one?

Many of us love living in older properties due to their character, sense of space and period features. But many of us despair at how cold, draughty and expensive to heat they are in winter.

But this doesn’t need to be the case. It is possible to dramatically improve your comfort during the winter without damaging the historic character you fell in love with.

old and new join at park road

Why would I retrofit my older property?

It’s estimated 80% of the UK housing stock that will exist in 2050 is already built. Many of these were built 80-plus years ago.

This was at a time when environmental standards were much lower with little or no consideration given to sustainability and comfort.

As a result there is plenty of opportunity to improve an older building. Both to deliver efficiency benefits as well as to create happy and healthy homes for you and your family.

For more information on the benefits of a warm and comfortable home check out this blog post.

What measures can you use to improve your comfort?

These fall into 4 main areas:

Thermal insulation: Wrap the building in a warm blanket to keep the heat in
Ensuring thermal continuity: Cold bridges need to be minimised so there are no cold spots for heat loss or condensation issues
Air-tightness: Avoiding heat loss through uncontrolled air-leakage
Ventilation: Improving ventilation to ensure good air-quality and humidity control

But it’s really important to design these measures in a holistic way when working with a historic building. Otherwise there could be significant, unintended consequences: both to the building and to its occupants.

The risks of unintended consequences:

These can include:

Interstitial condensation:

If poorly designed additional insulation can lead to condensation inside the building’s construction. This could damage the building and encourage mould growth out of sight. This can all have serious implications for the longevity of an existing building.

Thermal bridges:

Breaks in the insulation, especially if these are isolated, can lead to cold spots. These lose heat but also provide potential surfaces for condensation and unhealthy mould growth.

Reduced air quality:

Making a building more air-tight will certainly help with heat loss but can conflict with its original ventilation strategy. Carefully designed ventilation is critical to ensuring there is plenty of clean, healthy air.

What information is available to help me understand these risks?

The Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance [STBA] has some useful tools for understanding the possible risks of retrofit measures in traditional buildings.

The responsible retrofit guidance wheel is especially good. It identifies which other elements of a building might be impacted on by a measure and also what consequences should be considered.

The STBA responsible retrofit guidance wheel

Alternatively, get in touch with us today to discuss your retrofit and any potential risks in more detail.

The importance of a step-by step retrofit:

A proper phased plan is key to avoiding any unintended consequences with your retrofit.

It will also help you to understand major development milestones and how your building might perform as the works are completed.

By taking an informed and holistic approach you will ensure you gain the maximum benefit at every stage of the retrofit.

How does a retrofit strategy differ in an older building?

A different approach to retrofit is needed in a property older than 80 years old to avoid the risks of unintended consequences.

Air-tightness and good quality ventilation can make a huge difference to your comfort. Prioritising these over other measures will mean you’re more likely to have a comfortable but risk free build.

For example on our Grindle Cottage project we concentrated on roof insulation, windows, air-tightness and ventilation but avoided upgrading the existing walls. This delivered energy performance far better than a new-build home with little risk of unintended condensation.

This approach also means there is plenty of clean, fresh air 365 days of the year.

grindle cottage

Which materials work best in a retrofit of an older building?

Natural or hygroscopic insulations / materials:

These are very useful in retrofits of older buildings. They help reduce the risk of interstitial condensation and mould growth by allowing moisture to pass through. Materials include wood-fibre insulation; hemp/lime plasters or insulation; and clay plasters.

From our experience on Cinder Bridge Road we found the hemp/lime plaster applied to the existing walls made a huge difference to humidity levels in the house. This vastly improved comfort and, despite its minimal insulation, instances of condensation have disappeared.

new and old at cinder bridge road

Intelligent/directional vapour control membranes:

These are great at improving air-tightness whilst also protecting the building’s construction. They typically work by allowing vapour to escape the construction when required. Alternatively they can control the way in which moisture can pass through a structure.

There is a risk with non-intelligent vapour membranes that moisture can be trapped inside the construction causing serious damage.

At Sycamore Hall we used an intelligent membrane with a simple internal wall insulation to dramatically improve our clients comfort whilst minimising risks. This was combined with a well-designed and installed MVHR system to deliver a comfortable and risk-free build

sycamore hall

Are you ready to improve the performance of your historic home?

As a practice we’re passionate about improving the comfort, safety and health of our clients by retrofitting their homes or businesses.

If you’d like to discuss how the principles in this article might apply to you and your project please get in touch with us today.

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