What’s the Best Value EWI System?

Many people choose to install external wall insulation in order to save them money in the long term, however, at present there’s a lack of funding and so the initial upfront cost of the installation can be daunting. We offer a range of EWI systems, all of which come in at different price points. In today’s post, we’re going to be discussing the best products to choose for the best value EWI system. Enjoy!

Choosing the Best Value Insulation Board

At its core, external wall insulation is about upgrading the thermal capabilities of your home. Within that, there are additional benefits that certain types of insulation can offer you. We offer a wide range of insulation materials, but the main three that customers go for are Mineral Wool, Wood Fibre and EPS insulation.

Mineral Wool, offers excellent fire performance. This insulation comes in at a higher price due to the fact that it is a more premium product, offering greater advantages for end users. In fact, the performance of Mineral Wool is so high that in certain situations it’s compulsory to use it (for example for fire breaks in high rise buildings). It’s also a great choice if you want to soundproof your home, as it has excellent acoustic insulating capabilities.

Second to this is Wood Fibre insulation. Again, this is a premium choice because it is so eco-friendly. Wood Fibre insulation is also extremely breathable, so it’s great for timber frame properties as the actual insulation board will work in complete harmony with the building fabric. Many people also choose Wood Fibre insulation for heritage restoration projects, as it’s a very natural and breathable building material.

Last but not least is EPS insulation (expanded polystyrene). This is our most popular insulation material and is the very first system that we brought out. EPS is without a doubt the best in terms of cost-effectiveness and value for money because while it comes in at a lower price the material itself will stand the test of time and actually make a noticeable difference to your property.

Cost Effective Adhesives and Basecoats

Because of the fact that Mineral Wool and Wood Fibre are heavier insulation boards, they require a much stronger adhesive – the EWI-225 Premium Basecoat. This comes in at a higher cost because it offers a higher level of performance with stronger adhesive capabilities. For safety reasons, choosing the correct adhesive is essential and will depend on the type of insulation that you go for, so it’s not something you can scrimp on.

When it comes to EPS insulation, however, the less adhesive strength is needed because as polystyrene insulation, it is by nature a much lighter material. Our EWI-220 EPS Basecoat Adhesive  is perfect for this material and costs less than the EWI-225,so the value of the EPS isn’t undermined by the priciness of the adhesive that is required for it.

In terms of making sure that your EWI system is the best value for money, we recommend always using a dual-purpose adhesive. What this means is that as well as being used for securing the insulation boards to the substrate, it also doubles up as a basecoat for the reinforcement layer. The EWI-220 and EWI-225 are both dual-purpose, so when using these as an adhesive and a basecoat you will find that less product goes to waste.

The Best Value Render

We offer a range of different renders, all of which come in at different levels of performance and therefore different price points.

Silicone Silicate render is without a doubt the best value render within our range, and it also happens to be the most popular. It’s a hybrid render, so it is essentially half silicone and half silicate – it offers most of the properties (namely breathability) of the silicone but at a much lower price.

To conclude, external wall insulation is never going to be cheap. However, it is possible to use quality materials that offer performance at a great price. So if this is something you’re after, we thoroughly recommend our EPS insulation and Silicone Silicate render system.