A 1970s’ industrial office building has been brought up to date with the installation of new external wall insulation.
B/E Aerospace Incorporated is a leading manufacturer of aircraft passenger cabin products and supplies most of the world’s airlines. Its Killkeel facility in Northern Ireland manufactures seating for first class cabins and a newly-renovated building houses a learning and development suite and conference facilities.
The original building followed construction methods of the period, with a brickwork plinth up to window cill height and a blockwork structure with wall cladding up to the flat roof fascia. Limited insulation had been integrated and the building was difficult and expensive to heat in winter. The renovation plans called for the fascia height to be raised to improve the building’s exterior aesthetics. M Clarke & Sons Contracts of Co. Antrim was awarded the contract to apply the Weber.therm XM EWI system manufactured by Saint-Gobain Weber.
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After…
The lightweight EWI system incorporates thin-coat polymer renders with mesh cloth reinforcement to extend the life of buildings, achieving the twin aims of improving thermal performance and allowing remodelling and decoration of ‘tired’ facades. Those attributes were particularly valuable in the renovation programme for the B/E Aerospace building.
The insulation specified for the project was 80mm of expanded polystyrene that was mechanically fastened. A factory-batched mortar was applied to the insulation boards, then the meshcloth was bonded in with a further coat of the mortar to give a total 6mm thick application.
Appropriate flashing beads were installed above the brickwork plinth to give rain drop-off. The finish coat is a silicone based, decorative finish that is applied after the render is primed with an even coat of low viscosity primer. The water repellent finish coat is factory premixed and applied by hawk and float.
Nearly 400m² of external wall insulation has been applied to the B/E Aerospace building in a six-week operation. Thermal efficiency has been substantially improved and the owner expects to see an over-all reduction in energy costs. At the same time the building’s new appearance is now more in keeping with the high technology company that operates from the premises.
Meanwhile, a wider range of Saint-Gobain Weber products will be on show at the Ecobuild exhibition in London in March. The company’s stand will be divided into four working zones with the external wall insulation being demonstrated in the new build, renovation and education areas.
