Deep Retrofit
What does a Deep Retrofit involve?
- The Deep Retrofit of a home or commercial building is a complete overhaul of the existing fabric of the building. The correct materials and fitting are crucial to ensuring a healthy building for both the occupants and the building structure itself.
- The most common works are as follows: External wall insulation, roof insulation, floor insulation, window upgrades with the inclusion of airtightness when replacing the windows and mechanical ventilation.
- The next step is to look at an efficient renewable heating system to support the transition away from fossil fuels. The typical heating system installed on a Deep Retrofit Pilot Project is an air-source heat pump.
- Mechanical ventilation to maintain good indoor air quality.
- Other renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels battery storage solutions will help you achieve a truly Nett Zero Building which we have developed with some of our partners.
Specific Details Retrofit
After extensive research we selected rockwool for our external insulation because it is breathable, fire-proof and a good insulation material to use on existing walls with their uneven surfaces.
All existing walls contain moisture from years of rain and internal vapour pressure in the home. When the wall has insulation added to it the moisture needs to be able to ‘breathe’ through the insulation to dry out to avoid any moisture problems. Rockwool is very ‘breathable’ and it allows any moisture in the wall to pass through it. The render is also breathable, but water proof, allowing the moisture to pass easily to the outside air.
Rockwool is the only external insulation product on the market that is inherently fire resistant. When other insulation materials are used for external insulation they still have to use rockwool to achieve the fire rating at party walls and floors and around boiler flues.
Rockwool has a good environmental rating and is 97% recyclable.
The special type of rockwool we use has a soft rear face which compresses to fill any roughness of the existing wall, such as a dash finish, to ensure there are no air gaps behind the insulation. This improves its insulating performance by preventing any convection heat loss in any air gaps that would otherwise be left.
Plinth
We install as standard a special plinth detail to all homes, using a rigid insulation board of extruded polystyrene which is tough, durable and does not absorb moisture. This plinth is rendered, a minimum of 150 mm high, and recessed to form a ‘drip’ with the main plane of insulation on the wall. The plinth is a traditional detail and protects the insulation from mechanical damage.
Sills
We install a new pre-formed powder coated aluminium sill to extend the sill to cover the thickness of the external insulation and render. These sills do not rust, require no maintenance and are waterproof. Each sill is individually measured and specially made for each window to ensure a perfect watertight finish. There are a number of colour choices available for the powder coated sill.
Pipe Work
All external pipe work is removed, extended and returned into existing connections so no ground works are required. This is necessary to allow the external insulation system to completely cover the wall. All cast iron pipes will be replaced by Ecofix with PVC pipework as cast iron cracks very easily when it is removed.
Reveals
All window and door reveal render is removed (where necessary) and insulated with a high performance insulation board to whatever thickness is possible given the window detail. This reduces the amount of cold bridging and heat loss in these areas.
ESB & GAS
All ESB and Gas meter boxes will be worked around with a finished detail as we are prohibited from moving them by the utility companies. All work near any ESB overhead wiring is done in accordance with the ESB’s Method Statement and approved detail.
Retrofit Project
External Wall Insulation
External Wall Insulation is the best solution for achieving a warmer environment for the majority of homes. We are focused on providing the best products, service and standard of finish in external wall insulation.
Our external insulation system includes mechanically fixing mineral fibre insulation, rockwool or EPS, to the external wall to achieve a higher U-value which exceeds the Home Energy Saving scheme standard. A modern silicate epoxy waterproof render system is applied to the insulation system. The system providers recommend basecoat depth level of 6-8mm with fiberglass mesh embedded into base coat. When the base coat is dry a bonding agent is applied and then the final finish coat is applied. The finished render is self-coloured.
Commercial Buildings – Projects
Residential Buildings – Projects
Air Tightness
Airtightness is the fundamental building property that impacts infiltration and exfiltration (the uncontrolled inward and outward leakage of outdoor air through cracks, interstices or other unintentional openings of a building, caused by pressure effects of the wind and/or stack effect).
Methods Ecofix use to achieve airtightness:
- Blower Proof
- Airtight taping and membranes.
- Sand and cement to walls as a tradiontal method.
Blowerproof Liquid is a spray used to achieve airtightness. It can be easily applied through the use of an ailess paintspray machine to any floor-to-wall, wall-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall connections, entire wall surfaces as well as vertical and horizontal joints.
Drying time varies between 24 to 48 hrs (indicative only) depending on local conditions.
Internal Plastering
- Boarding
- Metal Partitions
- MF Ceilings
- Skim Coating
External Plastering
- Spray on (K-Mix, Kilsaran, Webber)
- Sand and Cement Finish
- Silicone Finish
External Cladding
- Stone Cladding
- Brick Slips
- Development Walls
Attic Insulation
Attic Insulation is a simple, effective method of insulating your home. Up to 30% of your home’s heat is lost through the roof. Attic insulation solves this. And can be done in less than a day.
To desired spefication depending on the UValue which is desired to achieve.
Window Protection
Omniguard products by Blowerproof can be used as means of protection for PVC or aluminium framed windows or doors.
This is a water based, spray-on product that allows for easy and fast removal by peeling. It is a durable film that provides protection from damage against construction works such as plastering, sandblasting, etc.
