We want to extend our gratitude to Flavia Bertram of Selce (www.selce.org.uk) for inviting us to participate in a demonstration workshop on installing an External Wall Insulation (EWI) or Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) system. We also thank Alex Woodcraft for his contributions to the green roof project (www.ecoalex.com). The event took place on Sunday, June 21, at the Besson Street Community Garden, located at Besson Street, London SE14 5AE.
The day began beautifully, with the sun shining over the lovely community garden in South East London. We were provided with timber panels, and along with my assistant, we successfully attached them to create a mock wall for the EWI demonstration. The materials we used included 40mm Steico Universal Dry (tongue and groove) panels (1880mm x 600mm), wood fibre cut into smaller sizes, SecilTek Isovit lime adhesive and base coat, glass fibre mesh, and trowels—all generously donated by the wonderful team at Mike Wye insulation supplier (www.mikewye.co.uk).
We had a good turnout of 15 to 20 homeowners from South East London, all eager and full of questions. Little did they know that while we answered their queries, they would also be hands-on participants in the construction of the mock wood fibre wall! We initially built the wall to demonstrate how it is constructed without adhesive, then took it apart to start fresh, this time using adhesive with the first wood fibre panel. I genuinely believe that every homeowner participated in building this wall, from applying the adhesive onto the wood fibre boards to attaching the boards to the mock wall and embedding the fibreglass mesh onto the boards.
I hope that everyone who attended left with a better understanding of how they can improve the insulation in their homes. If you are a homeowner seeking advice on insulating your home, please feel free to contact Flavia Bertram at www.selce.org.uk.