Airey houses in West Norfolk are being restructured and clad with External Wall Insulation (EWI) by Saint-Gobain Weber to improve their thermal performance and aesthetics.? The properties are owned by Freebridge Community Housing who own and manage almost 7,000 homes in the region.
Freebridge runs a well planned maintenance strategy and for a number of years have been renovating and insulating their portfolio of Airey houses. Currently this programme is being managed by Foster Property Maintenance as main contractor with Network Weber recommended applicator Cornerstone as the specialist EWI applicator.
The Airey house features pre-cast, large format blocks as cladding hung on a reinforced concrete frame structure. These buildings offered a fast-build solution to post World War II housing needs but delivered little in the way of insulation and performance values.
Cornerstone have applied the BBA certified and Energy Saving Trust listed weber.therm XM (EWI) system which features 120mm of grey expanded polystyrene insulation boards fixed to the ply sheeting before the application of two layers of weber.rend LAC which encapsulates mesh cloth reinforcement. A primer coat is applied in preparation for the final finish of weber.sil TF150, a silicone-based, through coloured decorative finish which offers a highly weather resistant and vapour permeable surface.
A typical un-renovated Airey house construction is expected to have a U-value of 2.0 W/m2K.? Saint-Gobain Weber has calculated a very impressive U-value of 0.15 W/m2K with the application of 120mm weber.therm EPS to the insulated timber frame construction which will provide a greatly improved living environment for Freebridge's tenants.
Tom Eden, joint managing director of Cornerstone Limited, says:? "We have successfully installed Weber EWI systems to hundreds of Freebridge's non-traditional housing stock over a six year rolling programme.? The weber.therm XM system was chosen for its reliability and proven track record, together with the professional support and guidance provided by Weber's technical team throughout the term of the contract.? This system incorporates a premium grade EPS insulation board and a silicone coloured decorative final render coat to ensure the houses are finished looking clean, bright and completely rejuvenated. Both Fosters and Cornerstone have worked closely together to ensure the works have been completed to an outstanding standard whilst ensuring the tenants are left extremely happy and satisfied with their new house."
A further 100mm of insulation has been applied internally before plastering takes place. This combined 220mm of insulation, together with the external render and internal plaster, ensures superb thermal efficiency on buildings that were previously high cost thermal failures. The exterior aesthetics are greatly improved with the use of pale colours such as Double Cream, Warm Biscuit and Winter White and is responsible for changing the whole visual aspect of the street scene for the better.
