Exposed wood wool and plywood

[leucothea]

This is about one meter above the ground. The upper part has been nicely re-rendered but some of the internals are exposed the bottom—you can see wood wool, plywood, breathable membrane &c. Is it bad practice to have this exposed in the long term?

The lower meter down to the pavement is being done next year (it was blocked by the scaffolding this year).

 

[Cubist]

Provided the new render and the circled area is properly protected and shielded from frost and heavy or driven rain there should not be any significant damage. I guess the people responsible will be back in the Spring to finish the job and correct any issues that may arise in the meantime? What did they tell you before leaving the site?

 

[Kearn]

This is internal? Then I wouldn’t worry, unless you’re as watertight as we are currently

There’s a lot of membranes and foil in there for a breathable approach?

 

[leucothea]

Sorry, I really didn’t describe this well!

The render covers a timber-framed section sitting on top of stone. The stone you can see to the right will be left exposed but next year they plan to render the stone down to the road to the left.

The unusual thing is the lead flashing which sits on top of the stone and runs along that part of the house to the left.

Above the flashing, you can see the various layers sitting on top of the frame: drilled plywood for structural reasons, breathable membrane, batons, wood wool and then render.

My concern is that this flashing element will allow moist air up into these layers and ultimately result in the wood wool, batons and plywood rotting. Should it be sealed?

Next year, it might be possible to dispense with this element and run the render smoothly down to the ground.

Those foil panels were part of the frost protection scheme after rendering and are not being used anywhere in the house!

 

[Cubist]

Looks to me that the contractor has deliberately left this section to allow the later addition of some kind of caulking to close the gap between the render and the lead-work. That corner will be an interesting challenge and I'd be interested to see how its proposed to close it.

 

[leucothea]

Well, I think they are planning to leave the gap and my reason for posting is the suspicion that this is not the right thing to do!

 

[Cubist]

If we are talking about the very narrow gap between the edge of the render and the lead-work immediately below, this can only be for two possible reasons. These being that 'after' the render has cured and hardened sufficiently, to allow insertion of a caulk of some kind or, for the extant shaping of the render to operate as a 'drip or run-off' for rainwater from the wall.

For the large open section in the corner where the insulation boards are visible then again the contractor must wait for the render to cure and harden to a point that it will adequately support the material(s) he/she may use to properly close that section and perhaps continue the render coat to lower sections of the wall.

 

[Janela]

Isn't there a risk of stone martins etc making use of this access point over the winter?

 

[Cubist]

Isn't there a risk of stone martins etc making use of this access point over the winter?

Pine Martens maybe but mostly in Scotland. Some reckon that Stone Martens haven't been seen in the UK since the last Ice Age.

 

[Stevers]

Isn't there a risk of stone martins etc making use of this access point over the winter?

My money's on House Martins, but I think they'd feel a bit vulnerable down there.

 

[Cubist]

My money's on House Martins, but I think they'd feel a bit vulnerable down there.

House Martins much more likely than either Pine or Stone Martens but unlikely to take up residence until next Spring/Summer - hopefully the contractor will be back to finish the job before then.