Anne Thorne Architects – Site Diary Week 05

Wood-fibre insulation is being installed to party walls. A lime-hemp plaster is being used to adhere the boards to the walls which have been given a scratch coat and levelled / repaired where needed.

This rear layer of plaster is part of the air-tight layer.

It is important that there are no air gaps between or behind the insulation boards to protect against the formation of  condensation in air pockets.

The lime plasters (with no cement) take longer to dry out, which has to be considered in the programme of the works – a total of 5 weeks. So we need to ensure that there is plenty of ventilation in the building whilst the works are going on to aid the drying out process.

The Leca (expanded lightweight clay aggregate) has been delivered to site – this will be used to fill the chimneys after they’ve been swept next week.

Concrete floor was beginning to be poured as I was on site, and once complete, all the structural works will be complete. The roofer is currently on site, and the plumber will be on site next week to work with the roofer to install the supports for the solar thermal panels that face south on the rear roof slope.

Frustratingly, we’ve been told by the manufacturer that the window delivery date has been delayed by 1 week, which is very frustrating – alot of detailing relays on the window installation in terms of air-tightness and external insulation installation. This puts alot of pressure on the final fews weeks of the programme to finish on target.