ᐅ Ventilated Facade: Advantages and Disadvantages? Pest Issues?
Created on: 12 May 2021 23:55
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HansDampf1311
We are currently searching for a provider for a single-family house and will decide on one in the next few weeks after receiving the remaining offers.
We have a favorite who is the only timber construction company offering a ventilated cladding system, either wood or plastered. We would choose plaster, but of course, we wondered why they are the only ones using this wall construction. The rest of the wall is similar to others, with gypsum board, wood panel, timber frame with insulation, wood fiberboard – only then with battens and cladding instead of plaster on the wood fiberboard.
What are the advantages or disadvantages of this type of facade, if any, aside from the design flexibility and better recyclability, especially regarding insulation, soundproofing, heat protection, and vapor permeability?
Another question we have is whether such facades cause problems with pests or even small mammals potentially nesting in the ventilation gap, or worse, burrowing into the (effectively “exposed”) insulation and making themselves comfortable there?
We have a favorite who is the only timber construction company offering a ventilated cladding system, either wood or plastered. We would choose plaster, but of course, we wondered why they are the only ones using this wall construction. The rest of the wall is similar to others, with gypsum board, wood panel, timber frame with insulation, wood fiberboard – only then with battens and cladding instead of plaster on the wood fiberboard.
What are the advantages or disadvantages of this type of facade, if any, aside from the design flexibility and better recyclability, especially regarding insulation, soundproofing, heat protection, and vapor permeability?
Another question we have is whether such facades cause problems with pests or even small mammals potentially nesting in the ventilation gap, or worse, burrowing into the (effectively “exposed”) insulation and making themselves comfortable there?
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HansDampf131113 May 2021 15:13rick2018 schrieb:
As @nordanney mentioned, forget about “breathable walls” – they don’t exist.
Ventilated facades are the best solution but also (significantly) more expensive.
The openings are usually closed with insect screens.
The facade can also be additionally insulated.
For cost reasons, this construction method is rarely used in single-family homes. That’s why I put “diffusion-open facade” in quotation marks, I thought as much.
How about durability/weather protection? It should help with moisture if air can circulate, and regarding heat protection (if that even plays a role for walls), the air gap should provide some benefit, right?
There are also small insects, or other pests like bees/wasps, and sealing against rodents is extremely difficult if not impossible. Is this a known issue with these facades, or shouldn’t we worry about it?
So in the end, this type of facade doesn’t really offer us major advantages? Since we’re planning to plaster, design flexibility is not a big factor, at least not at the moment. When we say significantly more expensive, are we talking about an additional cost of around 5,000, 10,000, or 20,000€ for a single-family home of about 140sqm (1,500 sq ft)?
A flat additional cost cannot be specified because it depends on factors such as size, type of fastening, materials, and so on. However, around 20,000 (currency) is a realistic estimate, with no upper limit.
The extra air layer significantly improves thermal insulation, but it also has effects in the opposite direction. The materials underneath are naturally better protected as well. In my experience, this does not affect our waterproof concrete at all.
Anything up to the size of a bee can be stopped with insect screens. Smaller insects are more difficult, but this is usually not a problem.
The extra air layer significantly improves thermal insulation, but it also has effects in the opposite direction. The materials underneath are naturally better protected as well. In my experience, this does not affect our waterproof concrete at all.
Anything up to the size of a bee can be stopped with insect screens. Smaller insects are more difficult, but this is usually not a problem.
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HansDampf131123 May 2021 14:18rick2018 schrieb:
It’s not possible to give a flat rate for the additional cost, as it depends on size, type of attachment, materials, and so on. But €20,000 (about $22,000) is a realistic estimate, with no upper limit.
The extra air cavity significantly improves thermal insulation, but also has the opposite effect under different conditions.
The materials underneath are naturally better protected as well. In my experience, this makes no difference for our waterproof concrete.
Insect screens can keep out everything down to the size of a bee. Smaller insects are more difficult to stop, but usually not a problem. Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been quite busy. From what I can tell, it’s a pretty simple construction: wood fiber insulation boards, with a timber joist structure on top creating a 40mm (1.5 inch) ventilation gap, followed by the wooden or rendered facade. What I like about this is that we can freely combine render and wood without any extra cost.
Compared to our second favorite option, this facade, wood-aluminum windows, aluminum roller shutters (or alternatively blinds with no price difference), safety glass fall protection for floor-to-ceiling windows, and almost unlimited color choice come at about €30,000 (about $33,000) extra. Is that reasonable or too much?
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Daniel-Sp23 May 2021 14:48How is anyone supposed to judge this?
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HansDampf131123 May 2021 15:13Daniel-Sp schrieb:
How is anyone supposed to judge this? Well, the forum title is "Experiences from Homeowners and Building Experts," and I thought a building expert might be able to estimate this. The house size is about 140-150 sqm (1507-1615 sq ft) over two floors. Apart from the points I mentioned, everything else is relatively comparable. But if a rough assessment isn’t possible, it would be better to say so directly instead of posting a passive-aggressive comment.
Schimi179123 May 2021 15:15HansDampf1311 schrieb:
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There are also small insects, or the difficulty of sealing out bees/wasps and similar creatures, as well as rodents, which is extremely hard to impossible. Is this a known issue with these types of facades, or is it something we don’t need to worry about?
...In two rental apartments I once lived in, this was an issue caused by mice. In one apartment, you could hear them, among other places, in the suspended ceiling, and in the other, they had even nested inside the roller shutter box.Similar topics