After one of the longest and coldest winters in living memory last year, many homeowners and property managers are asking how they can avoid living in a cold damp building this winter. And with energy costs rocketing, everyone wants to know how they can cut their heating bills.

Well now there is a genuinely cost effective solution – Baumit External Wall Insulation from CPI.  

External wall insulation (EWI) is gaining popularity in both new build and renovation projects. It works by wrapping the building in a blanket of insulation protected by a reinforced decorative render. As well as dramatically reducing heat loss through the wall, it provides a facelift to the entire building.

Retrofit projects can benefit from generous grants – the SEAI Better Energy Homes Scheme provides a €3,600 grant to homeowners and the SEAI Better Energy Workplaces Scheme offers grants of 35% to 80% to businesses.

Building materials supplier CPI Ltd of Lucan, Co Dublin is working in partnership with leading international supplier Baumit to bring the very best of European EWI expertise to Ireland.

As a pioneer in EWI systems for the last 40 years, Baumit supply over 20 million square metres annually in Germany, Austria and many other European countries. Their reference list includes the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Reichstag in Berlin, the Doge’s Palace in Venice and the Kremlin in Moscow. In 2009 the National Standards Authority of Ireland awarded Baumit with NSAI Agrément Certificate 09/0336 as confirmation of the system’s high quality and proven performance.

The Baumit EWI System offers the widest design choice available, including an extensive selection of textured renders in over 200 attractive colours, as well as brick slip finishes. Each component has been developed with the benefit of decades of experience for long lasting performance and proven durability.

Avoidance of thermal bridging is a critical issue in EWI projects and the fully integrated Baumit system includes an extensive range of components and standard details specifically designed to address the challenges of renovation projects, and to maximise the BER rating of the building.

CPI has a countrywide network of NSAI Certified Installers who are trained and approved to ensure that the EWI system delivers a cost effective solution that meets the specific needs of each project, assuring clients of the highest standards at all times.

For further information email ewi@cpi.ie or call 01-630 2730.

Case Study of ‘Mature Trees’ Zero Carbon House, Co Westmeath, Ireland

Baumit External Wall Insulation from CPI Ltd has been successfully installed on ’mature Trees’, Ireland’s first zero carbon emissions concrete house. This ground breaking project is being constructed by self-builder Michael O’Dowd in Co. Westmeath, with the support of the Irish Concrete Federation. As a leading member of the Federation, CPI was pleased to be involved in the supply of the Baumit EWI system to this project.

The house was designed to ‘passiv haus’ principles and a full concrete construction was selected to add significant thermal mass capacity, maximising solar gain while controlling peak temperatures. The use of external wall insulation was a key factor in achieving an overall provisional BER rating of A1, and a U value for the walls of 0.10 W/m²K. The insulation comprises 300mm of EPS 70 Platinum from Aerobord Ltd, boosted in local areas with Aerobord Spaceloft insulation.

Baumit products were used for the external insulation system, with a complete package of bonding mortar, reinforced base coat, supplementary mechanical fixings, beads and trims. The finish coat is Baumit Nanopor – the revolutionary decorative render with nano technology specially designed for excellent vapour permeability and improved self cleaning properties.

CPI is part of Grafton Group plc. Baumit is a European pioneer in external wall insulation with almost 40 years’ experience in Germany, Austria and many central and eastern European countries, supplying over 20 million square metres annually. Their reference list includes such prestige projects as Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Reichstag building in Berlin, the Doge’s Palace in Venice, the Kremlin in Moscow and Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

The Baumit EWI system is available from CPI and is installed through a national network of approved contractors. The system is approved under ETA certificates and NSAI Agrément Certificate 09/0336. For further details contact CPI on 01- 630 2730 or email ewi@cpi.ie.

For many years hydrated lime was added to cement mortars to achieve the required working properties. CPI can supply these lime/sand/cement mortars if required.

Nowadays air entraining plasticizers are readily available as the ideal means of achieving a consistent and workable mortar with excellent durability and these are used by CPI to produce our high performance sand/cement mortars.

In recent times claims have been made in the mortar industry that mortars containing lime have a higher yield.

As a producer of both these mortars we would refute these claims as factually incorrect. To clarify the matter, we have commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to conduct an independent investigation. Please click here to download the full BRE report.

Here are their results:

• Based on mix proportions by dry weight, a typical CPI EuroMix 1:6 class iii (M 2.5) sand/cement mortar has a wet density of 1620kg/m³.
• This compares to the wet density of a typical CPI EuroMix 1:1:6 class iii (M 2.5) lime/sand/cement mortar of 1700kg/m³.

So what does this mean in practice?

When both dry mortar products are mixed with water and when the air contents are similar, the yield shall be similar.

At CPI we offer our customers total solutions in dry masonry mortars. That means whether you require a sand/cement mix or a lime/sand/cement mix, the choice is yours!