Breeze Block houses

[Chris]

Hi, as a newcomer to the whole house buying business I've noticed a property at a good price but of breeze block construction. Is there anything special one ought to be aware of when considering such a property, please?

Chris

[darren]

Hi chris,im hoping to move to france myself in january and hopefully i will be building my own house eventually.From my experience as an english builder i can offer you the following advise,as you are probably aware the vast majority of english houses are two skinned with a cavity inbetween to add warmth and prevent damp.If your breeze block house is single skin as i believe a lot of french properties are, then it will probably be rendered outside with a waterproof coating.As long as the render is of sound condition there should be no problems with the breezeblock construction.My advise would be to have a good look at the external walls for any signs of cracking and check internally for any signs of damp on the plaster.P.S. my house will be rendered blockwork as this is the cheapest way to build.

[Just Katie]

Yes Chris, I agree with Darren.  The UK has one of the most hostile climates in the world for buildings.  Hence the the belt and bracers within our construction techniques.

[Chris]

Thank you, both of you - very helpful and practical advice.

Chris

[Gluestick]

Only one downside.

Most good French houses for a few years past (probably 20-30) have used honeycombed terracota bricks: these are known by various names dependent on region and manufacturer.

Their advantage is they are naturally insulating.

Indeed, our house was re-built from Torshe (Wattle and Daub) circa 40 years ago, using double terracota briques.

Energy costs in France are very high: a majority use oil-fired heating.

Breeze block houses are notoriously difficult to effectively insulate; probably, the only effective method is to create false walls inside from plaque de platre, with insulation in the resulting airgap.

There are other methods: some manufacturers will tell you about the wonders of their thin-skin render. However, the physical laws of thermo-dynamics are of course immutable and in order to obtain a reasonable U factor, a pretty thick coat of granular render is essential.

One newish German system uses insulating panels, pre-formed and pre-finished which are attached to the outside; however, these add considerable thickness, are very costly and create deep external window bays. French window appertures with their virtually standard cills, lintels and etc give problems.

However, this does create various problems including loss of internal space, deep window bays and of course, cost and time.

One of the advantages of cavity walls is the airgap providing natural levels of insulation and the opportunity to retro-fit blown granular insulation.

Take this all into account in youir pricing strategy.

For reference, heating oil was circa 30 centimes/litre only four years ago. This year it could well hit 70-80 by Winter!