Poor external insulation detailing.

Ak84

Hi. So I had a lad out to quote for external insulatiion. Asked him lots of questions about the little details and was not too impressed by his answers.
The main query I had/have is the mass concrete soffit and fascia on this old dublin council house. The guy said they do not do anything with it.
Now I only know very little but surely this mass of concrete will be a huge cold bridge. Especially as it's at the top of the wall.
Would really appreciate the thoughts of the more qualified boardsie's.
And also how far below internal ground floor should insulation go? All the way to foundation? Or would 2 ft be enough. ?

DOCARCH

Ak84 wrote: »

Surely this mass of concrete will be a huge cold bridge.

Yes....your inclination is correct! To be fully effective, the insulation to the external wall should directly abut/connect with insulation to the roof. In the case of houses with concrete eaves, ideally the eves need to be removed/replaced to allow this connection. Not the easiest of jobs.

Ak84 wrote: »

And also how far below internal ground floor should insulation go? All the way to foundation? Or would 2 ft be enough. ?

Around 2ft/600mm is usually sufficient.

dusteeroads

External insulation in not always the best option for retro fitting. It is very expensive. Take the same budget you have for this task and look at internal dry lining and making the house air tight - and maybe demand controlled ventilation which 3 interventions together may cost about the same.

Ak84

dusteeroads wrote: »

External insulation in not always the best option for retro fitting. It is very expensive. Take the same budget you have for this task and look at internal dry lining and making the house air tight - and maybe demand controlled ventilation which 3 interventions together may cost about the same.

You make some good points Dustee but house has been redecorated inside already in anticipation of EWI. I think we need an installer who wants to do the best job possible.
And doesnt mind taking extra time (which I would pay for gladly) to do a proper job.

If anyone knows of one of these, please pm me details.

Calahonda52

dusteeroads wrote: »

External insulation in not always the best option for retro fitting. It is very expensive. Take the same budget you have for this task and look at internal dry lining and making the house air tight - and maybe demand controlled ventilation which 3 interventions together may cost about the same.

I see this a little differently.

What objectives [not objections] have you in mind here when you say its not the best option?
Do you see the IWI and AT work as one combined task or two separate tasks.
If going with IWI, what about mould, especially if the walls are solid concrete?

dusteeroads

Well in an existing urban environment EWI can spoil the contiguous character of a street scape - debatable I concede but to my eye I have seen nice 1930s street scapes ruined by this. The op mentions a solid concrete facia soffit so that probably ( don't know for sure ) requires serious structural intervention to remove a cold bridge.

I do see IWI , AT and DCV working in combination - yes.

I would avoid mold by adding no more that 50mm thickness / layer of insulation.
Google "Breaking the mould" by Joseph Little Architect about that.

Calahonda52

dusteeroads wrote: »

Well in an existing urban environment EWI can spoil the contiguous character of a street scape - debatable I concede but to my eye I have seen nice 1930s street scapes ruined by this. The op mentions a solid concrete facia soffit so that probably ( don't know for sure ) requires serious structural intervention to remove a cold bridge.

I do see IWI , AT and DCV working in combination - yes.

I would avoid mold by adding no more that 50mm thickness / layer of insulation.
Google "Breaking the mould" by Joseph Little Architect about that.

Thank you for your comments:
I asked :
Do you see the IWI and AT work as one combined task or two separate tasks?

I do see IWI , AT and DCV working in combination - yes.
does not answer the question
Based on this
http://www.josephlittlearchitects.com/articles

if you are limiting the insulation to 50 perhaps you should have said that.
What fixing methodology have you in mind?

dusteeroads

Yeah I thought about engaging with this this /\ ... but meh !

Calahonda52

dusteeroads wrote: »

Yeah I thought about engaging with this this /\ ... but meh !

I don't care less about whether you want to engage with this or not.

However what I do care about is the quality of information that is given in such threads where the OP has a very specific question.

If you have ideas re IWI/AT/Ventilation then spell them out.