Fixings into external insulated wall

[ivixor]

Hi,

Having the house externally insulated with polystyrene (~200mm), which will then be rendered over.

Does anyone have any idea how I would fix anything substantial to the outside of this wall, should I want to later?

Ta

 

[nebjamin]

I have been toying with having the same done to my house (but with 60mm Phenolic). 200mm would pop out beyond my roofline

At the moment am holding off until I remortgage because of the cost (£24k)

The dudes that quoted/surveyed said that they would fix wooden blocks to the existing wall before insulating over in places I wanted to fix stuff (e.g. hanging baskets, lights, etc).

He also said that you can get special fixings that are like a long bolt that goes through the insulation and attaches to the wall. No idea what they're called though.

I guess it would be a good idea to think about what you might want and then get them to stick in wooden blocks now.

Out of interest, how much is it costing, what is the area being insulated, and did you get ECO funding (how much)?

I was offered 4k ECO funding, taking price down to 20k. Probably about 200m2 external wall area 4 bed detached.

ben

 

[ivixor]

Hi,

Mine does stick out beyond the roofline on the gable end, but they have put in some aluminium trim which looks ok. Under the soffits there's plenty of room left. I know what the finished result is as they have done dozens of identical council houses in the area.

It's costing 10k, with 70% of that paid for via the green deal. So that's 2k up front and 1k on completion. Its a smaller house than yours - standard 3 bed ex-council pebbledashed semi. Apparently E-ON or someone like that is paying the 70% and they have a certain budget for 'eco' stuff and once it's used up, that's it.

I am repainting the soffits/facias and replacing the guttering at the same time. They wanted 1k to redo the roofline because of asbestos soffits. Instead it's £100 for some general tarting up of the existing. I do have to overclad one of the facias as it's a bit rotten in one place (which is now fixed). Just replaced the front gutter today - a doddle. Just clip, clip, and that's it.

Good point with the wooden blocks - i dont have anything specific to fix to the house, just wondered how it would be done if needed.

 

[nebjamin]

That's really interesting!

TBH I was disappointed with our green deal ECO offer of 4k - I was expecting more.

What puzzles me is that you had an offer of 7k on a smaller house (read: generates less CO2).

I am currently paying £250 a month DD for gas and electricity - how do your bills stack up against that (because it's an indication of CO2 amount, and that's what they use to calculate the green deal ECO offer)?

I would be really interested (and grateful) to see your EPC (you can get it from here: https://www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressByPostcode.html). I'd like to compare it with mine to see if my ECO offer has been incorrectly calculated (the company was good, but a bit dippy).

Have you already had the insulation done? Does it make a difference? We just moved into this place from a 1997 3-bed semi and were shocked at how cold it is in comparison. And the bills

let me know if you are happy to share your EPC and I'll PM you my email address.

I expect the finished result looks a lot better than pebbledash? A lot of our render is falling off, which would also be a bonus in getting it done.

Ta,
Ben

 

[dann09]

You should transfer this thread to the plastering and rendering forum.
Ask for roy c or skimmers, they are both expert in external rendering.

My experience of external wood fixing blocks is that they will eventually rot, and create further difficulties.

 

[ivixor]

Don't know about the bills i'm afraid - wife handles that. I have noticed a greater level of complaining the higher I put the thermostat however!

That EPC reckons current E, potential C. PM me the address and I can send it over.

The house isn't that cold in the winter, but that's only because I work the heating system hard to make it stay that way! The rooms at the gable end get quite cold, especially the kitchen. We'll see if it makes a difference - it's going on right now, it's at the stage where it's just polystyrene, the renderering should be starting soon. It will look a lot better than the pebbledash, and should boost the value of the house - I reckon 'council pebbledash' knocks 20% off the average house price for the area.

It's a lot better than our previous house - a rented victorian semi with electric storage heating and single glazed windows, which was as cold as the grave.

 

[^woody^]

I can't think what "substantial" item you would want to fix to a house.

Anyway, any system guarantee will normally be voided if you break the render

 

[noseall]

I can't think what "substantial" item you would want to fix to a house.

Porch gallows?
Gates?
Overhead cable?
Window/door canopy?

I would say that having 200mm of polystyrene fitted externally to your house just about bug gers up any chance of fixing anything externally ever again.

 

[ivixor]

That's the sort of things I was thinking of. But if necessary, I'll just have to cut a square out of the insulation, fix wood to masonry, and then do something like fill in gaps with foam, and if necessary fix upvc panels to hide the damage.

 

[^woody^]

I can't think what "substantial" item you would want to fix to a house.

Porch gallows?
Gates?
Overhead cable?
Window/door canopy?

.

Non of which are essential.

They are all design options, and as the appearance is being changed irreparably now, then now is the time to think about them, and not tack some random things on at some future date

 

[ivixor]

Strange attitude - you seem put out that someone might want to attach things to their own house!

 

[noseall]

Non of which are essential.

They are all design options, and as the appearance is being changed irreparably now, then now is the time to think about them, and not tack some random things on at some future date

What a bizarre answer?

How can you predict how future owners of a home are going to behave?

 

[^woody^]

Non of which are essential.

They are all design options, and as the appearance is being changed irreparably now, then now is the time to think about them, and not tack some random things on at some future date

What a bizarre answer?

How can you predict how future owners of a home are going to behave?

Is this some sort of Changing Rooms or 60 minute makeover where the exterior of houses are changed every few years?

Exactly what would the OP want to stick on the walls? Not what could he could stick on but what he would actually want to do and which match the age and style of the house? The options are limited to say the least

How many people decide to stick something on the walls on a whim? How many even want to stick thinks on the walls anyway? Not many

It's not something that one wakes up one morning thinking "I would like to screw a substantial gallowed bracketed Tudor canopy on my 80's house today"

Think about it now, and then provide for it.

And we don't plan our lives worrying about what some future owner may or may not want to screw to the back of the house. Do we?

So come on OP, what substantial things are really and truly things that you may want to screw to the house walls in the coming years? Not a list from the pages of Argos garden products, but a realistic list of things that you want to do