Solid details

Tailored to fit

Lawtech Group

Client: Dartford Council and individual homeowners
Homes insulated so far: 130
Cost per property: £5,000 - £15,000 depending on size and options chosen

There’s no place like home - and that’s never truer than in the case of solid wall insulation. Older houses may have been subject to a variety of modifications over the years, which means that no two are alike.

This is something David Smith knows all too well. As business development manager for external wall insulation contractor Lawtech, he has been working with Dartford Council to treat homes on three estates dating from the 1950s and 1960s using solid wall insulation from SPSenvirowall.

“Every house will have a different pipework arrangement on the outside; it might have a satellite dish, or an extension or lean-to,” he says. “Because solid wall insulation is an external product, we have to interface and seal with each of these modifications. Unlike cavity wall insulation, it’s always a bespoke product.”

Lawtech was appointed in January 2015 when Dartford Council successfully bid for funding to insulate the borough’s hardest-to-treat properties under the Green Deal Communities. But because the scheme was aimed at homeowners rather than council properties, there are hundreds of clients as opposed to just one. As a result, Lawtech had to engage with and educate individual homeowners about solid wall insulation and its benefits.
To provide reliable cost information for residents, Lawtech identified 10 archetype properties. But once the homeowners signed up, each property was subject to a comprehensive survey before installation - a resource-intensive but necessary measure.

Individual approach

Even though each project is separate, it cannot be considered in isolation, Mr Smith warns.

It is advised that where access routes exist the gap between properties should be no smaller than 80cm, so if there is a gap of 90cm and the insulation for one property is 10cm, this could mean that the neighbours are unable to take advantage later on.

“You have to do due consultation. You can also look at the U-value calculation because there may be scope to reduce the insulation on that wall.”

So far, Lawtech has insulated 130 properties in Dartford and many more have signed up. “Once you get the early adopters on board, there’s a domino effect. Solid wall insulation makes such a drastic difference that when someone’s had the benefit, they will talk to other people about it,” explains Mr Smith.

There is no substitute for an individual approach here either. “Just installing insulation won’t reduce bills. People’s behaviour has an impact too, so it’s an educational process. The properties of that house will be different because it’s effectively got a tea cosy on. It won’t just be warmer, air movements will be different.

“The biggest lesson we’ve learned is about being open and transparent - that’s the key to managing resident expectations.”

Quality control

SERS Energy Solutions

Client: Hafod Housing Association, south-east Wales
Cost of project: £250,000
Number of properties: 100

Checking, checking and checking again is the key to a successful external wall insulation (EWI) project, according to Andrew Dunn, business development manager at SERS Energy Solutions.

The energy saving solutions company was recently contracted by housing association Hafod to apply insulation from SPSenvirowall to five blocks at Lynmouth Crescent in Rumney, to the east of Cardiff. The buildings had a traditional cavity wall construction, but the insulation that had previously been installed had failed.

As a result, the flats were cold and some were experiencing damp problems. “We needed to protect the building from wind-driven rain and to insulate it at the same time, so an insulated render system was chosen to improve both its resilience and the comfort for residents,” explains Mr Dunn.

For him, the most important element of the installation can be summed up in two words: quality assurance. “It’s about good housekeeping and communications between the client and key stakeholders - not just the contractor but the clerks of works and the client’s manager or agent - so everyone is aware of what they’re supposed to do.

“And you need to have a quality assurance process to supervise and sign off the work. That is absolutely key.”

Attention to detail

Installing EWI is an eight-stage process, so there is considerable room for error, especially when it is being applied to older properties. “If you don’t have an inspection regime at each stage, you could be covering up bad workmanship. It may look good but the problems come later,” Mr Dunn explains.

Under SERS’ quality assurance process, every stage must be signed off by someone from outside the installation team who has no direct interest in the work. Crucially, there is also a no-blame culture if errors are found. “There’s always a reason on any particular day why something’s more difficult to do. The building could be out of line and somebody’s trying to compensate as they install the render,” he says.

Such rigorous attention to detail has paid off. Since Lynmouth Crescent was finished in May 2015, Hafod has received positive feedback not only from residents but the wider community, says maintenance surveyor Philip Smith. “It’s been very successful. It’s made a tremendous difference to our tenants and they’ve been very happy with the quality. It looks very nice too, which is good for Hafod - everybody’s commented on it.”

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