Winter insulation materials… is your home prepared for winter?
Winter insulation materials are on everyone’s mind; these crisp and chilly mornings are a sure sign that the blazing heatwave of summer is over, and the dreaded task of defrosting the car every morning is drawing near. This time of year generally triggers a mass panic about where to buy winter insulation materials in order to prepare for winter, and we’re here to alleviate these stresses.
What is the solution to preparing homes for winter?
The answer to the above question is simply another question: is your home adequately insulated? If not, we’ve got everything you need. Below is an infographic all about heat loss in the home, and how external wall insulation can help.
Why choose EWI for your home?
- Warmer in the winter
- Cooler in the summer
- Reduced damp
- Reduced noise
- Minimise energy bills
- Extends the life of the property
- Saves internal space
Install external wall insulation before Winter really sets in…
The best time to install external wall insulation is at this time of year, where the air temperatures are dropping but not yet freezing. EWI materials need to be used at the correct temperatures; this varies between manufacturers, but EWI Pro specify that most of their materials should be used between 5°C and 25°C. Autumn is therefore ideal for those last-minute preparations, and the good thing is that external wall insulation should only take a couple of weeks to install.
Insulating your home in the Winter? Use the right materials…
If you do happen to get to winter and discover that your insulation just isn’t enough, then it’s not too late! We have a range of winter insulation materials for installers to use during the winter months.
Winter Adhesive
Time to crack out the old Winter Adhesive. If you’re installing EPS insulation during the winter months then the Winter Adhesive is the perfect solution. It’s essentially the same as the EWI-220 EPS adhesive but it dries far quicker and is designed to be used even down to zero degrees. The Winter Adhesive is actually a bit of a lifesaver during colder climates, because it alleviates any worries about adhesive failure and resulting insulation falling off the wall.
Mineral Render
Mineral Render is a dry-mix render, so it’s in its nature to be more fast-drying. Mineral Render is intended for use in harsher climates, so it’s ideal for winter installations. It’s a thin coat render and is highly breathable, so you still get the same benefits of our other thin coat renders, the only downside is that because it’s a dry-mix it does require painting afterwards with a Silicone Paint.
Render Accelerator
If the idea of the Mineral Render really doesn’t appeal and a through-coloured render is what you want, then the Render Accelerator is the perfect solution. All you have to do is mix 200ml of the render accelerator into a 25kg tub of one of our thin coat renders, and it will speed up the drying times of the render.
The reason for render failure during colder temperatures is that it takes longer to dry and therefore water ingress becomes a problem. The accelerator completely reduces all of these worries, allowing you to install any EWI Pro thin coat render during the winter months.
Why is a fresh coat of render the best thing to have for winter?
Winter in the UK generally means miserable rain, wind and frost. Cycles of freezing and thawing can be seriously detrimental to building structures, especially if your home has an old, cracking sand and cement render. All it takes for a sand and cement render to fail is this process of freezing and thawing.
Water is easily drawn into cracks within the render before repeatedly freezing and thawing. This weakens the render and eventually, the sand and cement will fail and crumble away, leaving your wall exposed and unprotected against the elements. Worse yet is when water becomes trapped behind the non-breathable sand and cement render, moving through the walls to create damp patches internally.
A fresh coat of render installed before the temperatures really start to drop can save so much hassle. We recommend choosing a Silicone-based render, because they are extremely hydrophobic but also incredibly breathable; this means that water will not be absorbed into the render but any water vapour from inside the house can easily pass through. Silicone renders are also highly flexible, so cracking is very unlikely.
Looking for a trusted installer?
We know how hard it can be to find a responsible and reliable installer to carry out your renovation project, that’s why we have installers up and down the country who have been ‘EWI Pro approved.’ Fill out the contact form below and we will be in touch!
