"External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) being added to a house in Clane Co Kildare."
This case study is one of a series produced by www.wallinsulation.ie to illustrate different aspect of external Wall Insulation projects. In this case study we are focusing on the sequence of steps in an external wall insulation project.
Long before Clane became a part of Dublin’s inner commuter belt this house was built in the lovely Kildare countryside. This was one of the first modern housing developments in Clane, and for a very long time it was the only one.
Preparation for an External Insulation Project
On our first day on site we typically receive all the material required for that home. These materials would include insulation, render, adhesive, fixings and starter track and many other items. Each item has to be checked off and batch numbers recorded to ensure traceability. Since we are NSAI approved we need to have a quality system in place to prove that we use the correct material at every stage in the project.
The other items that we can start with are removing the window cills and the patent reveals. (Patent reveals are the flat plaster features that run out from the window frame out to just beyond the face of the wall). This is one of the two noisy stages in an External Wall Insulation project. Sometimes house alarms can be triggered by the vibrations from this work, so we may have to call you if we do not have the alarm codes!
Starter Track for External Insulation
The first constructive step in wrapping this home in external insulation was fitting the starter track. By ensuring 
that the starter track is level and true we ensure that the final insulated facade is also level and true! The starter track is always mounted at the level on the wall where the DPC is fitted. The DPC helps to drain any water out of the wall and the starter track becomes an extension of this.
Naturally since all the render finishes we deploy are fully waterproof there should not be any water ingress through the insulated facade. However we cannot rule out all possibilities of water seeping into the wall such as a water leak from inside the house or from the roof etc. Hence the need for the starter track to help guide any water away from inside the wall.
Building the new facade over the starter track
Once the starter track is in place we quickly built the insulating layer on the outside of the wall. Initially the insulation is attached with adhesive to the wall. This means we could quickly shape and apply the insulation to the wall. Later when the adhesive is dry we used mechanical fixings to ensure the insulation remained in place.
Fitting these mechanical fixings involves drilling holes 50 mm into the masonry wall. This is the second and (final noisy) stage in fitting external wall insulation. For this house it took a day of noisy drilling and since everyone was out at work, nobody was disturbed.
The finished product - a Kildare house with external insulation fitted
The final render was a smooth acrylic finish. This is by far the most popular in Ireland by a long shot. 
The cills we fitted matched the plinth in colour. We get our cills custom made in Dublin for each home, so we can also offer a full range of colours. The plinth was finished with an acrylic render over an extruded polystyrene insulation layer. The cills were custom made in pressed aluminium that has been powder coated to match the cills.
There are several designs of cills available and we are always happy to discuss your preferred choice with you.
Click here to return to examples of external insulation projects in the Dublin Area.
If you would liketo learn more about External Wall Insulation please contact us now to learn how your home can benefit..