Installing External Wall Insulation - Is it a DIY Job?

[@Ampersand00]

Love that you showed that simple error around the window - a real confident pro will admit they're not infallible!

[@markgamester]

But the water that will leak into the window comes out of the underneath of the original cill that he has capped over....the capping has to tuck under the original cill in my mind.

[@bikerchrisukk]

@@markgamester To my mind, there's only a channel with opening windows and this one was a fixed pane. Makes me wonder what happens with opening windows, though saying that the openers that I've seen get rid of the water on top of the sill. better to let it drip off that than dribble down the wall, especially as it has a drip on it, to get the water away from the building

[@markgamester]

@@bikerchrisukk All windows leak past the glass and have drainage, whether they are fixed panes or openers, you are right that openers drain on top of the cill, but majority of aluminium windows the fixed frame (fixed panes) drains through the cill and drains at the front underneath.

[@davidc8982]

@@markgamester I wondered what do you do when replacing the windows in future. Does the insulation need cut away to do so?

[@bikerchrisukk]

@@markgamester Ah, never fitted them so didn't know about ali' frames, handy to know 👍

[@nicolaebulgaru]

Not many people understand that building is such a highly technical endeavor, even when humble materials are used but more so with new products. This is really educational. Thanks.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

Plenty of developers seem to forget that now too. Cheapest labour possible, no checks during construction until it’s too late.

[@lucianbrighi]

Buna ziua. Faceți și dvs așa ceva?

[@nicolaebulgaru]

@@lucianbrighi pana acum nu. dar ma bate un gand.

[@lisah6184]

Builders seem to forget it too. 😅😅😅

[@stevefairbanks835]

After looking at new builds around here , highly technical they are not. Highly technical would be precise tolerances, that’s not the Uk building trade

[@TheComputec]

Big Thank you to Roger and the other people involved in this. Free educational videos like this make the world a better place. I appreciate all the little tidbits of info especially things like the circular polystyrene disks and the explanation as to why those elements are not to be ignored. Not only informative but also entertaining watching skilled people doing jobs properly. Brilliant stuff guys !!!

[@SkillBuilder]

Thanks, we get some stick from people who think these are just adverts but we try to put generic information in them.

[@ghollidge]

@@SkillBuilder you don't.

[@terryhoath1983]

@@SkillBuilder I spend half my time in Slovakia. I am here now and the Winters are a lot colder than in Britain. Moja milovaná (My beloved) has just had external cladding put on the very thick but non-cavity walls of this 1938 house. The house was built with double glazing (a typical 6" air gap), common in Slovakia even then. We are already, even in November and early December, experiencing the benefits of the exterior insulation. Being a traditional Slovak house, the windows, although allowing a lot of light into the house, they are not the biggest windows in the World. Something that we HAVE noticed is a reduction in light penetration because the insulation creates a tunnel effect. Have you considered the possibility of angling the top and sides, or at least the sides, of the insulation around the windows to reduce light loss. It becomes an architectural feature. Here is something that may amuse you. All plumbing fittings in Slovakia are in Imperial ! Last year we purchased a 6/4" (1.5 inch) steel pipe for a spike well. Copper pipe and garden hoses and all the fitments are sold as 3/8" 1/2" or 3/4" or 4/4" etc. Peculiarly, the length of pipe is in metres. We have 50 metres of 3/4" garden hose pipe with a 3/4" spray gun. We have Tesco here. They sell pumps for garden wells. I have NEVER seen a well pump (or any pump) for sale in Tesco in Britain ! It is a different life here.

[@leopoldpoppenberger8692]

War against humanity’: Netherlands to shut down 3,000 farms kzbin.info/www/bejne/bX60XoZ5bsegppY La Marseillaise, sung by Mireille Mathieu. American English subtitles.

[@dmarc8125]

@@terryhoath1983 Not Inch but Zoll, almost the same but a little different, same in Croatia ... 1 zoll = 2.624 cm = 1.033 inch ... Cheers

[@MAMDAVEM]

DIY'er here, yesterday I just finished doing an external insulation job on my rear bathroom extension, roughly twice the area you have shown with two windows using the EWI system. I have been very impressed with the EWI products and the help they give on doing the job. For me the cost was about £800 so I recon I saved myself quite a bit of money as it is quite labour intensive when you take into consideration all the stages. Your video was great and I wish I had seen it before doing the job. My learning was; .- It does take quite a long time to do given all the stages, particularly if the weather is not on your side. - I used EPS board below the insulation tray and I wish I had put it one before puting on the tray - I didn't use the protective film on th e windows and it meant I had a quite a bit of clean up to do on the window frames. I would use this in future. - As a DIY'er who has done some plastering before I was surprised how messy the job can be, so I would recommend putting down a protective sheet on the ground - It is surprising how thin the final render coat is (mines was a 1.5mm grit) and it is really easy to put on too much. I also used a plastic plasterers trowel as a float and now recognise this was the wrong tool - Putting on the final siliconerender coat on top of the insulation is surprisingly noisy, my watch kept telling me that it was too loud (over 100dB) so folks may want to protect their hearing when they do this. - I undertand that if you are doing more than 15% of the area of a wall then it is subject to building regulations?

[@ajialex13]

Informative, thank you. I am planning to do the insulation myself and rendering by a professional.

[@MAMDAVEM]

@user-ep3iv1pc8k yep or £10k+ to pay someone to do it.

[@Yassar-20]

Hi, was it a Cavity wall bathroom you insulated? I have been put off people to avoid the bathroom as it will cause damp issues

[@MAMDAVEM]

@@Yassar-20 It was a solid block block wall. However insulation does not cause damp. Damp is caused by either poor ventilation or by warm moist air hitting a cold surface causing condensation. Insulating a wall will keep the wall warm and help reduce condensation. But the key to preventing damp in a bathroom is good ventilation.

[@dirtibertfirst]

There is nothing quite like watching a talented professional with years of experience doing their stuff. All interests in insulation aside, this was a joy to watch.

[@andymorgan462]

I’ve been in construction 36 years & would like to say your vids are great

[@SkillBuilder]

Thanks Andy that is good to know

[@creight1]

Props to you Robert, especially nice to see humility and enthusiasm when it comes to learning new techniques and materials. Construction is continuously improving, especially when it comes to insulation. Keep it up, I'm loving learning alongside you.

[@SkillBuilder]

I appreciate that!

[@spex357]

I've been fitting EWI since 1982 and am now disabled as i cant do much with my arms or hands. Endless drilling and endless pressured trowel work is bad news for tendons.

[@OCTOmgnt]

Well said... cheers from the US!

[@Tom-zy6ke]

Excellent presentation as always from a knowledgeable and experienced craftsman. What I do find shocking is the amount of plastic based foam that's finding its way into buildings and the rasping of the insulation blocks you demonstrated clearly released so much microplastic into the environment that it's easy to see why it's becoming such a problem. In 2022 microplastics were found in human blood for the first time, it was found in the blood of 80% of people in the study and if its in your blood its in every organ in your body.

[@showme360]

Yep I notice this too, so we will being planning to cover the area to protect it and us whilst containing the plastic dust!

[@davidthegolfer]

Roger, Ihave watched a few of your videos. You are such an impressive guy. Anyone would be proud and reassured to use you to work on their home. I’m past the age of doing this stuff, I just pay now but I find your advice and skill amazing to watch. Thank you for what you do. Best wishes.

[@mauricedevitt2553]

This man is a true Craftsman and clearly loves & knows his trade.

[@ewistore]

It was great to work alongside you on this project!

[@khankrum1]

I am a Pensioner living in Bulgaria and you have just saved me a lot of money that I can ill afford! Many thanks

[@Lee.Willcox]

Roger, it's not quite 2 hours, a day since you uploaded this video and YOU HAVE 25k+ VIEWS. WOW, wonderful. Love your vids and my house is coming along nicely mate. 18 months since I purchased the dump and I only have the hall, stairs and landing to finish plus the bathroom (next summer). I have done it all on my own with great help from you Mr !!!

[@SkillBuilder]

Hi Lee That is good to know, it just shows what can be done.

[@scottfisher131]

I like to see skilled people at work, particularly people in construction. Well done Roger. I have 100% faith in your work.

[@SkillBuilder]

Thanks Scott. I can tell you I don't have a 100% faith in anything I do. I do my best but sometimes, as shown in the video, I get things wrong. I will, however, put them right rather than stop answering the phone.

[@rayneville5081]

Hi can you give me a quote please

[@ilijadjujic5911]

We had it done to our house when it was still owned by the housing association, it made a massive difference to our energy bills. Luckily when we bought the house off of them we never got charged any money as it was a few years after it was done Definitely recommend it to anyone who owns a house with solid walls

[@markharmon4963]

Thank you for your testimonial Ilija.

[@JoseStev]

How have you got on with mould? I just wonder about moisture with these sorts of things

[@ilijadjujic5911]

@@JoseStev we've been fine until this winter, there has been a little bit in places where the air doesn't flow such as behind wardrobes. It probably hasn't helped with the heating not being on as much due to us having no mains gas in the village so everything is on electric for us. But going by the other 8 years or so we haven't had a problem

[@aro-rat]

This is an excellent demonstration, hard work and I can see why the costs are high as you take scaffolding into account too. Well done to both, in fact three of you.

[@samuelboyd972]

Seems a very labour intense operation,not overlooking the extremely hight priced materials,not convinced about ths benifits if ANY.

[@snorttroll4379]

@@samuelboyd972 what is a better way? some sort of silicone bead around the perimeter of the plates, then anchor it and cover with solar panels?

[@robertkustos2931]

Excellent video Roger. There isn't many people that admit a mistake like you did with the window cill . Thanks for the vid. From 🇬🇧

[@davidmorris8267]

I went on the EWI Pro installers course a few weeks back. Excellent days training with Paul and his team...would highly recommend. I'm only intending doing my own house but the course was well worth it. Great real world video Roger thank you!

[@EWIPro]

Thank you so much for the great feedback on our training!

[@davidmorris8267]

I found it really informative being a complete novice. I fit bathrooms and kitchens fir a living so know how to use tools but always been scared of the plasterers trowel and hawk. Yeah I dropped a bit on the floor but I'm super confident after that day

[@paulc3749]

i’m a plasterer, and often get asked if i do these external insulation render systems which i don’t. There’s a lot more to sticking that insulation on the walls than i realised,

[@mickpospiech1363]

I did this for 6 years. Slightly differently. Below the plinth, we used a 75mm HD eps. Around the reveals we fixed 20mm eps to prevent cold bridging. After fitting the expanding foam, we would cover it with silicone. Also we applied 2no base coats fixing the mesh into the first coat. Not finding fault with yours, just describing an alternative way.

[@eastcorkcheeses6448]

I was surprised as well that they didn't use thin eps around the reveals ,

[@markharmon4963]

Good evening Mick. I am Mark from California. Have those homes been improved since you added the insulation? Does it take a while to heat those walls before you feel the warmth?

[@markcomptube]

@@eastcorkcheeses6448 I commented on this, apparently the internal reveals have insulated plasterboard

[@mickpospiech1363]

@ east Cork cheeses No point insulating the face of the brickwork and leaving the reveals exposed, dry lined or not.

[@mickpospiech1363]

Hi Mark, even before we had finished the top coat, our customers commented on how warmer the house had become. This was after only a few days.

[@EWIPro]

It was great working together and getting Paul involved, great video and explanation Roger!

[@SkillBuilder]

Glad you enjoyed it, we will do more soon

[@pinkelephants1421]

Absolutely fabulous to see someone paying a good amount of attention to health and safety issues, irrespective of whether or not it's a professional or amateur job. The sheer number of people who DON'T either use the (correct) safety kit or more often than not, not at all, is just staggering. Anything from face mask and eye goggles to the [right] chainsaw operating wear can make the difference from having a few minutes of minor inconvenience to don this stuff to a lifetime of diminished physical capacity in one form or another; hospitals see this all the time. I once was walking down an alleyway via a turnstile gate into a local authority housing estate. The Council had contractors chopping down a large tree just beyond the turnstile gate. One of the chainsaw operators had laid a [switched on] chainsaw on the tree stump in front of me & turned away. Being aware of just how potentially dangerous this was, I politey asked him to either move it or turn the chainsaw off. The verbal abuse I received isn't fit to print here. All it would've taken for serious & potentially life threatening injuries would be if the chainsaw motor's vibrations had caused it to move along the stump & fall off as either myself or the tree gang moved past. Ultimately safety matters much more than most people think. So well done for treating this issue with the seriousness it deserves. You're a long time with (insert long laundry list of potential injuries here).

[@rollovaughan]

I think you were being a busy body. Sorry. When a chainsaw has its throttle opened and the clutch engaged the chain will go at 17meters a second which will cut through bone with ease. A ticking over chainsaw poses no threat whatsoever ever. The inconvenience of starting an already warm saw with a modern automatic choke can be a pain for the operator though. So now you know. Let the guys do their job. If, as you say they were contracted by the council then they were not naive to dangers of tree felling. A ticking over saw isn’t one of them I’m afraid.

[@pinkelephants1421]

@@rollovaughan I fail to see how being safety conscious for myself and that of others is being a 'busy body' as you so quaintly phrased it; I had to walk within 3" of that chainsaw chain. A family friend for whom we were catering their wedding died in a horrific chainsaw accident the day before the wedding despite being a well qualified & highly experienced forrester. We decided to donate the wedding breakfast for the wake instead. So you can understand why I am particularly safety conscious regarding chainsaws. I've also encountered patients who've NOT taken appropriate safety precautions whilst engaging in a whole host of activities, some of which have been left with serious lifelong physical impairments. Additionally, there was ABSOLUTELY no excuse for the torrent of foul language & abuse I received & they were darn lucky I didn't report the incident to the Council. Council's tend to take a very dim view of both safety breaches & verbal abuse of both their own staff & the general public for good reasons; it exposes them to prosecution & terrible publicity. I just hope [you] never end up being one of those patients I mentioned. A few moments of laziness can REALLY f**k up a life.

[@spex357]

I'm an expert on EWI by lived experience since 1982 here in the UK and in the Channel and Europe, and you will find my name on the 2004 white paper on the Industry because I kick started it after working on the new Met Office build in Exeter in 2000 and getting the job stopped by the visiting *Fire Officer, as the Insulation if set on fire ejected flaming globules and we don't like them do we. Firstly it doesn't warm your house up and if you live in a South facing house the opposite is blatantly obvious, as any free heat from the Sun has been barred from entry. I've fitted EWI on Victorian South facing terraced housing who had never used their boilers before, but they had too as soon as the EWI was fitted. It is great for sound reduction and drafts removal, and will save you money if you can afford to put the heating on. If you have no money the loss of the warmth from the Sun makes the house feel like a morgue very quickly. If your wall is flat you need a perfect bead of mortar or you'll be beating the hell out of it in places were there is too much stuff. Sanding it down is a mugs game and you should have control of the dust as many jobs don't allow it. Load a standard ten inch trowel with damp material and offer the bottom section up to the side of the board on a long section so the material is facing inwards and the trowel is stood up. The material should be sliding down the trowel, angle the trowel inwards with some pressure as this will keep the outside edge clean and stop thermal bridging, a half inch clean area around the perimeter is the effect we are looking for, and drag the trowel down the board whilst angling it to keep the material flowing. To finish run the trowel around the inside of the bead to tidy it up. A lifting trowel as used in this video is for lifting material out of a bucket and is crap at beading as can be seen @5:44 as this doesn't look like a bead, it looks like a mess that might cause thermal bridging around the edges of each board. The left mess has far more material than anywhere else which is not what is needed on a flat wall. Can it be done as a diy job, I've heard many bosses say any monkey can do it, so yes. The material needs to be damp or your arms will fall off by nine o'clock and that alone is a problem for the untrained. These materials are hard to remove from other surfaces and I can normally guess the quality of the job by starting at the local shop and following the trail of footprints. Protect anything you don't want to be ruined. pay much attention to the weather, black boards get very hot, wind can affect all layers as well as humidity and frost. It will wash off ten days later if the "set" was affected by frost or heavy rain. Have some clean water close by for all layers. Make sure the mesh coat has gone off before applying the top coat or the grain will bury itself. All tools need to be stainless steel or Plastic, Clean the edge of your plastic rubbing trowel frequently or it will leave blobs everywhere. Rub, wipe the edge, rub, wipe....., A smooth flat wall is the aim. Clean everything before it goes off. Much like footballers this is a short career industry as it is heavy on Tendons and joints all day, damage to tendons is for life. It's long lasting if done correctly, many of my jobs are still intact thirty years later. If it looks a mess it will do for ages. As exterior Insulation stops the Sun from warming the walls up mould can be a problem indoors quite quickly with warm breath on cold walls, and more so if all the drafts have been closed up. Things like boiler flues and sink wastes need extending before you start, at no point should you cover the flue and it's not a diy item to replace. *Fire officer Back in 2000 I mentioned to the site manager that the Insulation wasn't safe and he ignored me due to the class system. Luckily at the time any big new build was visited by the local Fire officer so a few weeks later I could beckon him up onto the scaffold. A few minutes later the job was stopped until the insulation fitted had been removed and swapped for something that didn't burn. Shortly after the Industry became self regulated and the chance of a worker beckoning the Chief fire officer was removed, which is partly why Grenfell happened. Could I have stopped Grenfell, the smell of something flammable is enough to trigger my senses, I think not. Anyone who knew anything about it was swapped out for a cheaper version during Mr Blair. You don't need expensive managers for cheap migrant workers.

[@stephenmowbray9745]

Indeed. this is only class B because of the external render coat. Mechanical damage and thermal movement soon exposes the highly combustible EPS core which is class E. Bristol city council currently removing this crud from their housing stock following a fire.

[@declanmeehan1009]

Very long and informative answer. I would have to argue with you - that any new cavity blockwork house with inuslated cavity will stop solar gain from outside. Solar gain comes from windows in a new house. The only houses that beneift from solar gain through external walls - are those which are poorly insulated! If you are living in an old house with external retro fit insulation AND heated regularly AND has a heat recovery system - i dont see how mould is an issue. Your exterior masonry walls should warm up and stay reactively warm due to the external insulation

[@spex357]

​@@declanmeehan1009 I see no point in arguing about it, you learn more with discussion. I am aware that solid walls are affected by the climate more than insulated walls. Its a given. It's how you cope with that. No one is making money from the Sun warming your house up. Those in solid wall tower blocks have been the happiest with EWI by far, because there is resident heat internally every day from all the bodies and cooking etc, and the ewi has cut the draughts, and cut wind noise. A couple in a detached solid wall house with EWI have very little resident heat, and replace/ pay for that heat or the house is chilled, because the Sun in the main has been blocked from entry all of a sudden. Many of them by comparison raged in the street the next morning and wanted the EWI taken off. The poor heat the room they are sat in with supplementary heat, the rest are now cold and often mouldy because the draughts have gone. They don't like bills. They wouldn't use any "system", because energy is far too expensive for them. Gas boilers sit unused. I've worked on rather a lot of private design houses and .Gov buildings, here and abroad, with ewi and iwi, and systems of heat recovery from ground, air, pond, river, stream and canal, and even muck. Super thick insulation, triple glazed, and a roof more than a foot thick. Some had an indoor heated swimming pool. They can all afford to run the systems to capture the heat, very little comes in from the Sun. The main thing they notice with EWI and Iwi is noise reduction. Designed well insulated housing is great to live in if you can afford it. I'd recommend it for everyone.

[@naschahoof7934]

Hi. I see your comment is old now but you seem experienced. I have a South or South East facing home. Its a no fines poured concrete house in Wales. The front has already been externally insulated but the rear hasn't. The rear has render and pebble dash bit it's cracking and coming in places around the window and door. I am suffering with a bit of mold inside on the rear more than the front. Is it worth me insulating the rear? I'm not sure why it wasn't done when the front was. Perhaps because it's South facing?

[@declanmeehan1009]

​@spex357 Brother - i meant to reply much sooner. Perhaps argue is too strong a word, maybe more a lively debate. I appreciate both your comments, and this entire video (cheers Roger). KZbin really is a great place to learn and discuss complicated subjects when people comes to the conversation with good humour and respect. Thanks again!

[@user-wj4et6gh5n]

This guy was great to watch and learn from. I'm not putting insulation outside my house but enjoyed this a lot.

[@davidrimmer1986]

@SkillBuilder Roger - You didn't insulate around the window reveal so there will be a so called "cold bridge" around the window. This will result in a cold area inside the window and the potential formation of condensation inside.

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes, it isn't perfect but it is better than nothing

[@nadnerb33]

@@SkillBuilder what would the ideal solution be? I assume new, smaller, windows?

[@frfr335]

@@nadnerb33 The standard detail is to bond thinner strips on the jambs & head and THEN put your corner beads & mesh on to connect the two faces together. I really don't understand why this wasn't done here, there was enough width on the frames.

[@slimjim2526]

I’ve go a big project for some EWI on a 120 year old house with solid 9” walls , I am going to add to the new replacement windows a 50mm add-on piece so I can return the external insulation to the reveal and hopefully stop a bit of thermal bridge

[@dbat3291]

I attended the EWI Pro course earlier this year with the view, as a DIYer, to insulate my house. Paul was very good at delivering and answered all questions, including vents and under gutters. The hands on was good experience, as with Roger, It wasn't until a second go at scrapping back for the 'floating' that I realised how hard you have to press.

[@SkillBuilder]

Thanks for sharing! It is useful to learn about other people's experiences

[@EWIPro]

Thank you so much for the great feedback, we'll be sure to let Paul know!

[@Lee.Willcox]

Paul is a star 🤩 21:20 as you both get to work having listened to his very dignified, respectful, diplomatic (This is how you do it Roger) advice, you both nailed it. No nails used in the making of this video! 🤭🤔🤫😆

[@EWIPro]

We have to agree, Paul is an absolute star!

[@Lee.Willcox]

@@EWIPro 👍Pay rise 🤔🤭 I am sure you look after him brilliantly. Well done all of you. We do have professionals available, I have been beginning to worry, but you are still out there ! Wishing you all the best and a Merry Christmas, we all need that too ! 🤩🤗

[@EWIPro]

@@Lee.Willcox Have a great Christmas too!

[@dickiedubs3137]

It's good to see someone installing insulation properly. There are so many bodgers in the insulation industry

[@rymoe6299]

I had my solid wall property done in January. Absolutely amazing!!!! I extended all the services, new triple glazing brought to front of openings extended insulated windows sills!. Gas boiler now running at 55c and house never drop below 18c!!!!!

[@wdeng8263]

I read comments first before I watched the video. After watching, learned a lot. Millions of thanks

[@SkillBuilder]

Glad it helped

[@brusselssprouts560]

Very inciteful. I am not in the building trades, but am an ex Housing Officer with an HNC in Housing Studies, and also a retired IT professional, so this sort of technology and best practice fascinates me. It was very well presented too. Thank you very much.

[@davidgarofalo3800]

Hi Roger I’d like you to do a vid on how to insulate, internally, a non cavity wall. Reading up on this vapour is a big issue. Lots of differing opinions. Be good to hear your advice. The ins and outs. Love thé content keep up the great work. Thanks

[@dgmclar]

Warmboarded my whole house from interior, never had an issue but I open the windows for a while every day and don’t dry clothes in the house, house also has open fireplace for air circulation

[@jonnysegway7866]

Try kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4q3k4CfZ6-anM0

[@mg-uh7mi]

Use insulated plasterboard, on treated timber battens 38x38mm with dpc tape usually behind battens fixed to solid wall. If you are concerned about vapour issues and mould I would recommend using a reputable firm for the insulated plasterboard with integrated vapour check like kingspan, and ask them to give you a u-value calculation for the build up you are using along with a condensation risk analysis. Hopefully it will pass the test and reduce any risk of mould.

[@atanasdimitrov8496]

Who is Robert?

[@davidgarofalo3800]

@@atanasdimitrov8496 haha shit

[@buildingplasteringdivision7535]

Ewi store are the best on ewi products I have been using these products for several years and have never had any problems

[@EWIPro]

Thank you for the great feedback!

[@alexvassilev9586]

Hi mate, just a little practical advice. Whenever you apply the adhesive to the back of the sheet to make the frame, leave a small gap, say 5-10cm, so that when you push the sheet against the wall, there is no air pocket behind it. Air pockets make it more difficult to adjust and align the insulation. As you push it in, there is no way for the air to escape and the sheet pops back out. In addition, if I were you, I would have waited for the adhesive to set before drilling and anchoring the sheets. Cheers 🍺🍺🍺

[@SkillBuilder]

The adhesive was set by the time we did the rest of the job which included rasping the face.

[@lancashirebob3]

That looks absolutely superb. An old knackered wall given a modern hi tec look.

[@SkillBuilder]

My thoughts exactly

[@fishgeek]

I’m currently doing my own house about 200m2 of it, easy stuff to work with and I’ll be sharing on my channel soon. Great vid Roger , only missing bit was adding on the window seal extender.

[@SkillBuilder]

We are waiting for the window sill extender to be delivered

[@JHJOwen]

No idea why I’ve ended up seeing this video but I thoroughly enjoyed Rogers calm and engaging teaching. Great video! Well done camera op.

[@mrbarrington-smythe9033]

What an informative video. Thanks. But I noticed you didn't fix any insulation to the window reveals. I'd be concerned about cold bridging there. Also would be interested to see how you finished off at the top neatly. Also how would you cope if you had soffits that stuck out less distance than the thickness of the wall insulation?

[@phi-net2437]

I could watch that guy floating a wall all day, dude is an expert in his craft and mesmerizing to watch lol

[@paultant6741]

Hi Roger. Was asked to do this on an outside studio approx 6 metres x 3.5 metres. Was very vary but did my homework and did the job to a high standard. If you have done a bit of plastering you will be able to do this. Very well explained video. Thanks for sharing.

[@thomasschafer7268]

One of the best Videos on YT. EVERYTHING CORRECT. Only the Dimension of insulation could be higher. 16-24 cm.👍👍👍🇩🇪

[@michaelomahony2106]

Rodger you can impart more information in twenty minutes than a college professor can in a week of lectures. Also your camera operator gets the angles right to show what you are trying to convey to us viewers

[@Kyle_Hubbard]

His videos have helped me fix the fuck ups of cowboys in the trade for my mum. I'm by far from an expert, I'm literally a complete novice. I've had to fix loads of things that they've not done properly, job permitting, I'm not trying to be a roofer haha. Sometimes you can splash the money and still have someone do a crap job. In any case. Watching some of his videos and following it step by step afterwards as well as reading the description/instructions of the products used has allowed me to do decent job. Slowly the jobs are becoming more clean and while probably never going to professional level it functions and looks alright.

[@necurrence1776]

I see some insulated buildings here in Eastern Europe with the top coat exfoliated and the mesh is showing after two years. I asked a builder why that. He said "cheap materials" , but these materials don't come cheap at all. After watching this video it came to me that the real cause might be the workers didn't scrape the top layer excess before texturing it. I plan to get my house insulated next year and I'll be sure to supervise this aspect. Thanks a great deal.

[@andrewhead6267]

It’s a great product. We have external insulation on the side and top walls of a traditional semi, replaced the cracked rough cast. While it does change the look of the building, not to my mind in negative way. With so many old houses in the UK, and the need to improve energy efficiency, we need to encourage people to have it done. In our case the old rough cast had to come off anyway, so the additional expense was justifiable. But if we had a solid functional traditional render I would have left it alone. Videos like this though help to demonstrate the benefits of using these external insulations when you have to do work to the external walls of a building. The government should encourage owners of older buildings to do these sort of jobs. How about a council tax reduction if you hit a set of energy efficiency targets with works to an older property?

[@pauldixon3677]

Great informative video Roger. My daughters house is having this done at the moment, so I am now well informed to pick up on any defects. Thank you and keep up the good work. Cheers

[@arturalanlozynski9057]

Great work as always Roger, I found your videos the most educational of all on YT. I have done quite few jobs like this myself and the results are astoninhing (both aesthetically and from energy efficiency point of view). The only detail I'd like to add for anyone wanting to have this done is that the mesh needs to overlap each run by at least 100mm for strength (I don't think you mentioned it during the process). Other than that - perfect job. Thanks

[@SkillBuilder]

yes it does overlap and it was mentioned in the filming but maybe got dropped in the edit

[@FERNweh101]

Enjoyed that. I have 150 year old,2 feet thick,rubble filled stone walls,like most of the houses in this area (lakes)

[@ianlaccohee7180]

That looks great. This may be a stupid question, but I’m sure you’ll put me right. How would you go about replacing the windows at a later date? Would some of the insulation need to be removed, then replaced? Thanks.

[@markgamester]

you would deglaze the window cut the frame and fold inwards, then the new window would have to be made smaller as to fit in from the outside, then trimmed.

[@deeeirl]

I thought you'd fit from the inside and fix up the inner reveals. No need to touch the outside then.

[@markgamester]

@@deeeirl looks to me like its dot and dab plasterboard on the inside so the internal reveal would be smaller than the external. In that case much easier fitting from the outside and not disturbing the internal reveals, otherwise you'll be replastering. Window would butt against plaster board so minimal making good on the inside.

[@falfield]

@@markgamester I agree - good practical points. But if Roger had put a return of a thinner layer of EPS into the external window reveals as is recommended to avoid cold bridging round the frame, you are then a bit more stuck when the window needs replacing.

[@ManosKlados]

I used to have my company back home and I'm certified installer by Knauf and Shwenk the last 25 years in external insulation. I did my house also back at 2003, and it was the best thing i did, instead of cavity wall insulation that can give you big and some times unresolved problems. Oh God, how much i miss to do this job again.

[@VVellieMan]

Did this to our solid wall 1920s house a year ago. Our heating energy usage has dropped by 55% in the subsequent year..!! Plus the house looks and feels a lot nicer. Not cheap but very well worth it.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Very good instructional video. Sadly my house is a too large project to do on my own, it would simply take too much time and also the mentioned day breaks in the rendering would be unavoidable that way. So that's why I leave it to the specialists. I will however do the walls which get an exterior cladding instead of rendering. The final silicone render is breathable as well? Breathability is needed to avoid the insulation getting soaking wet over time by moisture penetrating. As the wall is on the warm side, the dew point is somewhere in the insulation.

[@jakubjanisz2557]

Hi Roger, as always great video and instructions. I did my home a few years ago and I've put 20mm board on the side of the windows and I've put foam in between the board joints to stop heat and moisture leaking. In the future you might end up with board lines all over your new render. Thermal bridges are very important. I've also dug up the foundations around the house and insulated them with ESP boards and paint them with liquid rubber, better than injectionof DPC, this way you get warm frm tip to toe.

[@markrainford1219]

How does painting the surface stop rising damp?

[@damienhill6383]

Yes, have seen the pro's using expanding foam if there's any little gaps in the panels ...

[@jasongentle6446]

Did this method 30 years ago in west Germany now we are catching on to it 🤣👍👍🇬🇧

[@fenners1290]

We did this to our 1926 semi. Cost us about £7500 at £55sqm and we haven’t looked back since. Didn’t realise the amount of work involved and this is one of your best vids yet. Might have an extension to EWI soon 😂

[@hassansultan6567]

Did you have to obtain planning permission?

[@fenners1290]

@@hassansultan6567 no we didn’t luckily. Permitted development rights.

[@tmrw13]

Really good video, thank you. One thing I’ve been trained about is that you need to return the insulation into the window reveal, or install the window in the insulation plane, to avoid a thermal bridge. Noticed you didn’t do that here so would really appreciate your perspective

[@james.telfer]

How do you fix external installation to a pebbledash wall? Thick layer of adhesive to fill the gaps same as an uneven wall? Trying to remove the pebbledash is probably going to be a non starter. And what about rockwool as a more environmentally friendly insulation?

[@EWIPro]

Hiya, we offer a 'One Coat Dash Cover' - This covers any exterior pebbledash and prepares it for external render :)

[@izalman]

One of the best / informative videos on KZbin at present. I've an 1800 semi with 9" solid walls, done what I can with insulation / double glazing /draught proofing etc but getting to the point of diminishing returns / payback and have thought about external insulation. How much did that area cost. I've a big flat gable end that would take that system well. Just an observation, when you applied the 3 dabs of adhesive to the back of the panels, why not drill 3 small/pilot holes through where you're going to apply the adhesive, that way you won't miss the spot required for the mechanical fixing.

[@NickChristy]

Finally European building standards are slowing being adapted here! Been doing it for years with this. Although those thicknesses are the minimum you should be using.

[@Devenus20211]

Manchester is beginning to look very European.

[@shawnr771]

I am a plasterer by trade. You are absolutely correct about following the mixing instructions. Pot life will be greatly extended. I have never seen this style of foam board. We use expanded polystyrene or EPS foam. The fiberglass mesh looks similar. It seems the installation is similar. In 30 years I have never seen foam crack. One of my early mentors when teaching me to stick foam. Instructed me to stick the factory edge to the window. This makes a clean sharp corner to apply base and finish coats. I found having a 6 foot level is good for creating a flat surface Pressing one end and the moving the level in an arc pressing in across the joints to level them out works great for me.

[@SkillBuilder]

Thanks Shawn, all good advice there. The boards have carbon or graphite which makes them more effective insulators.

[@shawnr771]

@@SkillBuilder nice. Do you the R value for insulation?

[@moorlandslawncare5398]

would love to see you do a full property with lots of really difficult bits to show how to do it. My house for instance was built somewhere around 1900 and solid stone angled windowsills and bay windows etc

[@leeboss373]

Don’t you dare!

[@johnriggs4929]

Have you considered the alternative: insulating the inside of the external walls with insulated plasterboard such as Celotex Pl4025 or similar? There are pros and cons for insulating both ways, but insulating the inside surface at least means no scaffolding necessary, the exterior look is preserved (if it's worth preserving,) and when it's done, little of the heat you're paying for is wasted in heating up the brick structure. Admittedly in this example, with a 9" (solid) brick wall, there are issues with damp penetration as well as no insulation, but if that's not an issue for you, why not do the internal surface of the exterior wall/s on one room for a start, then see the difference?

[@asilver2889]

@@johnriggs4929 Hmm. Internal insulation means losing space, dealing with skirting, radiators, pipework, sockets, switches, architraves, window frames, etc, so not as easy in most houses. Plus, in solid wall properties, foam products will ruin the breathability of the wall and create risk of condensation between insulation and wall. Not all properties can have EWI, so internal is the only option. But if have the choice, go for EWI over IWI.

[@bluewanderer9903]

@@johnriggs4929a few times now I have been told to always/only insulate the cold side if I care about my health?

[@moorlandslawncare5398]

@@johnriggs4929 the main reason i wont do it internally is the rooms although they have high ceilings aren't particularly large.

[@leosedf]

Ewi store has amazing products and they are nice people I went there and met them, will do my house with their stuff.

[@petersort2192]

this looks a great produt and easy to do provided you follow the instructions could a compident DIY er fit this ? would like to see how you deal with down pipes and the like. Great stuff thanks

[@American-In-Mykolaiv]

Sure wish I had seen this four years ago - better late than never, though, although the house has been done for three years now, no cracks, nothing to complain about. Thanks for your expert series and your effort to educate - there's always some knowledge to be gained from your videos.

[@billienomates1606]

Wow that's a lot of work, impressive stuff. My head is spinning now.

[@jonnysegway7866]

Great job! How would you cater for the existing eves/guttering? What if the roof has vent holes - would they be covered up?

[@SkillBuilder]

You can taper the top but it really depends on each job. The training course deals with these points

[@King_Bob_The_Third]

That looks like the sheet version of what we had blown into our walls. Very interesting video, and thank you for sharing.

[@transientaardvark6231]

Wow, I never knew how easy this was - just source dozens of parts and materials and then simply follow the 937 intricate steps that take merely hours each. A quick job that anyone with decades of experience in the building trade could knock up in an afternoon. And I'm sure having to do it on 2 or 3 storeys would barely complicate it.

[@hydrotricine]

hahah thanks for the laughs😆

[@hanusiaschostak5100]

Really enjoyed watching the love put into this job & the perfection of the finished product!! Lovely 😻 🎉🎉🎉

[@michaelfraser5723]

There's a lot of mess and waste, and future necessary brick work is a serious problem. This is like adding polystyrene tiles to ceilings.

[@singlendhot8628]

This should be a mainstream tv show!

[@SkillBuilder]

Nobody watches t.v now

[@SteveRogers461]

I can't help but think this is all unnecessary and just another way for governments to screw us. I also think there will be epidemic of problems in 20 or 30 years from now when all these insulated buildings suffer massively from condensation between the original walls and these insulating skins. But it's another great video from Skillbuilder.

[@Pinkpanter.plastering]

Dead right mate

[@towerdave4836]

Explain how condensation will appear on the inside surface of the insulation. Surely condensation in a wall structure will tend to be on a colder surface. If the insulation was applied to the inner surface of the wall you will get condensation if the vapour barrier isn’t on the warm side of the insulation.

[@Olgertvanags]

Im from Latvia and we do that shit render up there all over, in 5 10 years alot of cracks . Nothing can beat traditional sand and cement render.🎉

[@Thishandleisavailabl.e]

@@Olgertvanagssand and cement cracks too. It’s not the render that’s the problem, it’s issues down the line after externally insulating a building that are being questioned. Anyway OCR is superior to sand and cement in my opinion.

[@grumpyspark2549]

Hi Roger, did rear of my own house 5 years ago. Didn't use adhesive, used foam gun. Still perfect. Also using foam allowed the jablite to go flush to wall with no air gaps, unlike using adhesive. Fixed all the boards and trim myself but got a professional to put on krend.

[@SkillBuilder]

Hi Grumpy I was thinking of using the foam gun and it would be worth looking at for sure. Maybe I will do some tests.

[@spex357]

@@SkillBuilder On a flat wall foam is ok, but if there is much deviation mortar is better. For the bead application a normal ten inch trowel is better as you can lay a perfect bead all the way around, load up the trowel and start with the bottom of the trowel and lay a bead on.

[@snorttroll4379]

what is a krend and what is jablite? and is it taht open cell yellow foam and how is xps foam for insulation?

[@stricardo1]

That was really great Roger. Perfect balance of information and execution. A lot of hard work went into the video and it really shows in the first class product.

[@MrWindermere123]

Can you glue those grey slabs on to pebbledash or should I knock off the pebbles/flints to get a smoother surface? Maybe the pebbles give a better bond that won't slip - a bit like the tread on a tyre? Also, many 1930s semis have a curved section of wall below the upstairs and downstairs front windows. How would you insulate that curve on the outside? I believe that curve was inspired by graceful ocean liners of that era!

[@SkillBuilder]

Leave the pebbles and apply a thick bed of adhesive as shown. The pebbledash is great for sticking these grey slabs onto. The curve is tricky but you can do it by building up the sections

[@Aaa-um4xj]

So informative, such an endearing knowledgeable presenter.

[@willeisinga2089]

And one more Remark. Dig a few cm in the Ground, 10 /20 cm and start under the Surface. Much better. With Soudabond you can Level at All Times. Fast and Easy. That's my experience of DIY Outside Insulation. Its Just Fun. Thank You.

[@SkillBuilder]

You need a different product for below ground.

[@willeisinga2089]

@@SkillBuilder EPS 100 will do. Most Wall Insulation is EPS 100.

[@amcc2531]

I watched the full video , what a superb job , you guys made it look easy.

[@itwillbenicewhenitsfinished]

Brilliant, thank you. Just right, not too quick or too slow plus explainations! With mistakes included - real life! Subscribed

[@henrymichaeldooley8483]

This man a real engineer great brain great video explains it very well.

Magic! Roger, thank you very much for your insight! I know making these videos are hard work and time, so thanks for your effort! I have learned a lot from you today! You are an absolute start! Have a great start into the new year! Adrian (from Austria)

[@SkillBuilder]

Much appreciated

[@seanoreilly6551]

Good tips, a thinner piece of insulation around the windows to stop cold bridging. Where the wall meets the roof (not in this example but for new extensions) if its a warm roof try to have the roof insulation meet with exterior insulation.

[@rogerbarton1790]

That was quite an eye-opener, I never realised it was so involved. Plenty of steps for the cowboy builder to omit!

[@Steve30x]

Here in Ireland the council hired multiple contractors to do retrofitting to our houses in this housing estate. They started the external insulation over a month ago BEFORE the new windows and doors were installed. I've wa5vhec the 3xterna, 8nsulation men and they didn't use any adhesive on the 8nsulation. In fact there's a gap behind the insulation because the walls are pebble dashed and they just slapped the insulation against the 2all over the pebble dash then drilled into the walls and hammered those wide nail 5hings into 5he insulation into the walls. They didn't use any expanding foam tape jn the seams either. They have t9lls of that mesh in my back garden with four days and it's rained hard on it for 5wo days. They took two and a half days to fo this small one bedroom semi d3tached house just for that foam stuff to be done. Then 8t was left ba4e for three weeks jntil the new windows were installed last week. Then they started plastering over the foam. But they 9nly have one wal, finished. The4es 9ne small wall they can't install 8nsulation on because my back door opens outwards and would hit the insulation so they have to wait for the doors to be installed. 13:21 they didn't cover 5he nails like that either. In fact some of the nail heads are sticking out and not hammered in fully but 5hey4e plastering over them anyway

[@deanchapple1]

I’m a plumbing engineer and did my own house with EWI. Super easy product to use.

[@conarobrien9434]

What differentiates a plumbing engineer from a plumber? is this another of these strange points like "Heating engineer"? My understanding was that engineering is a protected and licensed profession, requiring professional registration and specific academic qualifications? It seems that a lot of tradespeople, installers and engineering technicians are now being deemed engineers as a naming convention, although there are clearly defined scopes. As an electrician, my qualifications satisfy the requirement for registration with the IET as an engineering technician, as would any engineering trade qualified to Level 3 NVQ or equivalent, but that doesn't make me an electrical engineer. It makes me an electrical technician at best, if you ask me....I'm just a spark.

[@deanchapple1]

@@conarobrien9434 engineers engineer things. For example using specific heat capacity to design heating systems etc. There are plumbers which plumb I.E install bathrooms and repair kitchen taps etc. I should have been more specific, actually I am a heating engineer not a plumbing engineer.

[@skippers9277]

Thank you for the fire rating information. That was my first question.

[@andrewc-n5y]

great job! meticulous attention and action to the perfection!

[@jeanf.1263]

Excellent video, greetings from Brazil, you explain things very well.

[@floreaalexandru2524]

That's basically the right way to do it man,I'm glad to see this technology coming to UK as well. What you did there with the wet sponge after the first layer was very clever ,we use to do 2 layers so we get the smoothness and also the thickness of the "base layer " of about 4 to 6mm. If you can get it all in one layer it's brilliant,it usually only wants to stay in layers of 2 3mm max. What I think it will help you it's to use a wider tool for the base layer. There it's all about of how much you can put on the wall in the shortest time possible. The only other thing I'm not too sure about,I mean it's definitely effective but when you have a while 2 floor house it can turn into a 1 day job for a worker. The holes and the white patches. I don't know how hard it's the insulation but if you're using EPS rated one and the 80,it's enough just to make the holes and hammer then plastic nails in and you're good to go. They go in just enough that it will easily be covered by the base layer. I have also seen guys doing what you did but only drilling 2 3 mm I'm depth so when the plastic nail goes in its flush with the sterofoam board. Ps. I think the EPS (white one ) it's not fire rated so that can cause an issue . It's also cheeper and doesn't have any or very little oil and you don't need to scrape off that layer . Also the way you did it you usually use a string from one side to another ok the wall so you make it evenly as you scrape off the oil layer . The primer you said it's not a must it's actually very needed ,and usually comes in the same colour as the silicone coating , otherwise there is no way you can cover all the light areas of the base layer when your last silicon layer it's a darker colour. The primer literally it's paint with sand ,same color could as the silicone. Keep it up,good job bro !!!

[@annrenee3265]

What a labour! Amazing job~ good to see!

[@PenninaBall]

Very well explained and filmed videobut I might have missed something. If the frames aren't face drainage, any water that gets past the existing window gasket will escape from under the base of frame where it meets the cill (few mm gap running the full width) and follow the fall of the cill to be cast off past the pre existing brickwork, via its overhang. By lifting the foam to the height of the cill, wont any run off, leak down the existing wall, between it, and the inside face of the foam? Admittedly, without researching further, wouldn't any cover mold, need to fit under the existing cill?

[@swualls1288]

Got my tubs of ewipro in my back garden atm 😆 this video just came up on my feed. Overnight weather and rain has ruined one of my walls and the builders had to redo it. Winter is a pain whilst doing the final coat

[@ewistore]

Keep us updated on how your project goes!

[@dylanbrown5414]

Excellent video. Wish everyone was as thorough as you!

[@jedionboard1233]

Our local council are doing this to our house,,, they havent a clue about the process,,, im so glad ive seen your video, atleast we know what to expect to be done. Just one question,, how long does the top coat last before it needs re doing. You may of said, but my internet kept dropping out, cheers for a great video.

[@5084204]

I did it 25 years ago, as a very young DIYer in my parents' four-story home. A quarter of a century later, there are still no cracks and the house still looks decent. I am surprised you didn't put EPS around the window opening-it's a massive thermal bridge and to avoid the loss of the window lumen, you could use even 2cm eps. I like those cookies over the plastic mushrooms-that's something that wasn't around when I did it. I don't believe in raising damp - it's a simple capillary action - get rid of the water using for example French drain (Henry French - not France!!) and the problem will disappear. Obviously - go all around the property with insulation. Minus 20 outside, 15kW boiler - your 250 sq meters of house will be nice and toasty inside. I am very glad to see, that the well-known and widely used EU insulation technology has finally reached British shores. And before anyone starts shouting "Grenfell cladding fire!"- please - that was a very tragic parody of the technology - I could not understand how the completely encapsulated polystyrene could burn like that, more importantly - I have never heard of the outside insulation elevation fire in Poland - probably that is why the starter baton/support I used was an aluminium profile. Oh, and with the final render - there are techniques to even perfectly imitate the brickwork. I used 2.5mm stones and the mineral render - cheaper, but we were poor. Great clip - thank you!

[@ozlemd.4687]

Hi Rodger,very clear explanation, thank you. There will be cold bridges around the perimeter of the window. What is the reason not adding a thin layer of insulation that will overlap the insulation layer and brick?

[@MrMyszko]

Good job. One very important thing, though. This type of window has drainage channels routed inside the windowsill(secret drainage).In this case, the drainage holes are on the outer part of the sill , which you covered with insulation.

[@PhilLamb-yh8hc]

Hi Roger we have replaced windows recently that have had this done ,both jobs had damp,which we believe was caused by not replacing the window cills before the insulation was done.the drainage system on the window would drain behind the foam causing damp .

[@airwavepaul]

This project will be the same because the window is drained through the bottom of the cill ,, I did mention this to Roger regarding his video orangery 7

[@pauln7422]

Well done Roger, looks like one of those jobs that once you've done 2 or 3 times, it would be a lot easier and quicker. "Scrape it off to the thickness of the stones!"😅

[@MrEdwardCarpenter]

Great to see the process - what a lot of work though...and knowledge and skill!

[@KennethDelavergne]

Impressive, I really liked the product and relatively easy application! 😎