Meeting of architects Beeck & Hermans
In which cases do you use Aluthermo® thin insulation?
Very often we have very beautiful old roof constructions, roofs like here with original rafters, very often also with original boarding.
And then we definitely want to leave them visible for aesthetic reasons, because that gives the attic a lot of character, and we then opt for thin insulation on the outside.
And that’s where we decided on the thin insulation, so as not to raise the roof structure too much, because otherwise we would have a lot of problems with connections around dormers, stepped gables, gables. So we also want to limit the thickness of the roof structure and still insulate from the outside.
What is the great advantage of thin insulation for roofs ?
An additional advantage of Aluthermo®is that you can actually keep the wave form in the roof and not create a rigid, modern roof.
Which Aluthermo® insulation products do you use ?
Until recently, you only had the Quattro. For example, we were still working with the Quattro in this building. In the meantime, there are actually new products with a recognised R-value. This is more convincing for the building owners. And sometimes we also look at the acoustics to decide what is the best exterior insulation.
It is often difficult to convince builders to use thinner insulation because it is ingrained in people’s minds – insulation has to be thick, and everyone knows the applications of mineral rock- or glass wool. With the new types of insulation from Aluthermo, there are also recognised R-values. So that is definitely more convincing. And in any case, the people we work for are people who have bought a building with a lot of charm, so they often ask us to leave the roof structure visible. And sometimes you can serve them with that, but you have to be able to convince them of the pros and cons.
A final advantage for Aluthermo® insulation?
What I would add is that in the summer it also has a great quality because it effectively blocks the heat more. And that’s quite a problem in the current summers.
Anyway, we regularly measure the temperature and relative humidity in our old buildings to keep an eye on the climate inside. That’s less important in itself, but we did it mainly for our own interest, to see what this roof insulation gives compared to a standard insulated roof. What is actually very noticeable is that it stays much cooler in the summer than with the traditionally insulated roof.
The most convincing thing is that we have insulated our own office this way, which means that people are a bit quicker to be convinced. So if the architect did it this way, it must be okay.