CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Another request for help/information I'm afraid.

I have both family and friends with Spanish property, some holiday some permanent residence, all on the Costa Blanca. After the current winter of rain and cold they are complaining of damp in/on walls and condensation in most areas of their homes.

I am right in saying that new builds are without damp courses, and the external walls are single skin (not cavity) and largely built with hollow type blocks made of ceramic/terracotta material? It seems that there is no positive insulation in either floors, walls or ceilings; is this normal?

Also one family, in the hinterland of El Campello/Busot, are still on 'builders' electricity supply after 3 years (they have all their certification), and the authority are saying that they cannot be connected to the permanent supply because the overhead cable supply is being converted to underground cables; at the Government's direction.

Thanks for any help or info, regards Superskib

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

I'd say yes, that sounds pretty much how they're built to me??? They do tend to use double glazed sealed units in the windows tho. Spanish houses seem to be built with the summer heat in mind rather than the cold wet winters

Jo xxx

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

The latest building regulations insist on foam insulation of walls and roof.

We built a new house 6 years ago and have cavity walls with 10cm of sprayed on foam insulation on the inside of the outer wall. The roof is made from polystyrene panels in lieu of foam.

All windows are double glazed but I don't know if this is a requirement.

I think solar powered water heating is now mandatory on new builds but you don't see too many new builds at the moment!

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

No, thats not how they should be built.
There is a breeze block exterior, obviously screeded normally, then there is a layer of (normally) polystyrene insulation block, and then there is a second wall of ladrillos (narrower bricks), followed by concrete finish

I believe its law now for new builds to have the facilities for solar panels

If they are having damp problems then it may be an idea to coat the exterior in one of the clear sealants such as sika seal, which may help. Guttering may also be an aid if not already fitted

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Our house doesn't have a damp problem but it takes a lot of heating. eg. on cold nights if I leave the CH on constant when we go to bed and set the thermo to 15C it is frequently coming on and off all night to maintain the temperature. I do the same in the UK and it rarely comes on until around 5am. OH reckons it is the concrete floors and tiles. Both houses have DG.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

I think you are right there. If we had carpets it would be warmer. We have an electric blanket at night which keeps us cosy, but with all the insulation its still cold

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Ohhh Matron.:blink:

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

any reaction to the use of DPC in Spain (damp roof course0?

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

If you mean Damp Proof Course, I've never seen it used by any Spanish builder. Nor have I seen it in any buildings.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

All new builds have to comply with the CTE Seccion HS 1 - Proteccion frente a la humedad
http://www.coactfe.org/Extras/WEB_CTE/HS1.pdf
in which it is specified how impermeability of walls and floors is to be achieved. There is more than one method but includes DPMs and DPCs.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Normally in a reasonably well built (if this isn't an oxymoron;-)) Spanish house, there is a damp proof membrane in the 'cimentaciones' (foundations) and one on any flat roof. And a bitumen coating under roof tiles. Also in recent builds there is usually 'espuma' (foam) between the outer wall and the inner 'tabique' wall.
It's this inner skin which is made of really thin hollow bricks. Water gets in around window frames etc because the usual guards against bridging between walls aren't normally relevant in such a hot, relatively dry country. Ha Ha.
Also on older buildings, or poorly constructed buildings they may not use this espuma and even may make the walls between houses only one brick thick. So, If your neighbour is away, any of your warm humid rooms will have terrible condensation and mould on the chilly walls.
IMNSHO The problem with putting damp proof paint on the outside of walls is that when the good weather comes your building won't be able to 'breathe'. Effectively, a house with little protection from damp getting in...needs to let it out again!
The current trend for using plastic paints doesn't help.
Also (my opinion) yeso is better than cement for this ability to take up, wick off and dry out this unusual amount of water without cracking. So, If you have the choice if re-rendering.....

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Actually, a "tabique" is a partition wall (normally between 2 rooms).

The wall you refer to is a "camra" wall or "camra de aire". (my spelling may not be accurate here).

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Actually, if you're going to correct others you should ensure accuracy in your own facts ;)
It's a "tabique" not a tabigue.
A "cámara de aire" is just a cavity (an air space)....not a cavity wall.
A cavity wall is una pared de doble hoja con cámara de aire...
You can form a cavity wall out of tabiques (un tabique de doble hoja or doble tabique) to improve its insulating (thermal or acoustic) properties or just to provide a space in which to run services etc.
The main thing is that a tabique is a non-loadbearing wall (carrying only its self-weight) and so, as angiescarr said, the inner skin of a cavity wall (be it external or party) could be a tabique, if it's non-loadbearing.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

... yep, OK.

We, in the industry, simply call them camara walls (ask my 'master builder').

The name 'tabiques' are only used to refer to partition walls.

... I'm sure your terminology is more accurate but simply not used in everyday speech.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yep. Sorry Snikpoh and previous poster. To correct myself, (and I am pedantic..even with myself;-))
The type of blocks I buy for constructing my 'inner skin' walls are the same they use for 'tabiques'. which are interior walls. So when I go to the local builders merchant. That's what I ask for. I'm not a builder. Just a crazy middle aged woman who has run out of money for too big a project. In the words of no going back "This wasn't the way it was meant to be". But its an exciting learning experience!
BTW on a local build I've seen really montrous tabiques. Like 2 foot by a foot and a half (sorry I'm in my 50s). Any of you 'real' builders out there know what they are called, and where I can get them from. I've done the downstairs tabiques with English style full bricks. But I want to go faster and have less necessity for sound and thermal insulation upstairs.
Maybe I should post this as a separate thread but we do seem to have the builders watching in here:-)

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Sounds like you're referring to ceramic "ladrillos huecos" which come in all shapes and sizes. Some pix here http://www.paredesdeladrillo.com/rep....asp?id_rep=14
Is that what you mean?

The LH7 is 240x115x70mm and is the usual one for interior partition walls but they also come in 90 and 110mm width. Which one you go for depends on the height of your wall and your bricklaying skills lol.
There are even bigger ones, as you can see (gran formato) but personally I wouldn't use them in this context...

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yep Thanks for that.
I think Gran formato was what i was talking about. But why not use them in this context? & then what context are they for?

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Because IMHO their slenderness ratio is too great to be using in a freestanding wall. Most of the strength of a masonry wall comes from the bonds between courses and with a really big, slender element you have v little in the way of bond compared to size...just my opinion!

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

This is what I have in addition to the polystyrene blocks of insulation, as a second outer wall to my house. Is this not normal then? Surely houses aren't built now with just the breeze block outer wall?

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Sorry Mitzy, not sure what you're saying you have?
The vast majority of new builds here in the south are now RC frames with masonry infill walls, which can be single skin or double skin. It matters not as long as the thermal insulation values stack up to comply with building regs. Termoarcilla blocks are very popular at the moment...

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

I described it at the head of the thread

Thermal block (breeze block like) exterior wall. Then 2.5 inch polystyrene sheets up against that. Then ladrillos about 3" thick. Thats my outside walls. Inside walls, some are breeze block type, and others are ladrillo

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Being in your fifties is no excuse for not measuring in metric, even the UK changed in the early seventies. :rofl::rofl:

You and all Mitzy.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yes ..... but there again I don't care! :D
The whole of bloody europe changed to €, but it didn't stop us ignoring it :)

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yes what you have is one way of complying with the building regs, but not the only way. As I said, there are many, including single skin walls, as long as the thermal resistance figures etc stack up it matters not how you get to it. And the prescribed values differ throughout Spain because of the widely differing climatic conditions.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Hillybilly, are there similar thermal rules for windows?

In the UK I believe there are rules which limit the area of glass relative to floor area - are there any similar rules in Spain?

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yes there are rules like that.

For example, a bedroom must have windows (the glass area I presume) which equate to 10% of the floor area.


FYI - I think some time ago the building regs (for Valencia anyway) were put in the free beer.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

I can see that but I was looking at the situation where you have too much glass not too little.

Even double glazed windows are probably less efficient that foamed walls so is there a limit to how much glass you can have.

I raised the question because I read an article about a house in the UK that had most walls made of glass and they had major problems getting permission to build like that because of the thermal inefficiency compared to conventional methods.

Re: CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS IN SPAIN
 

Yes, in calculating the thermal resistivity of a building you have to take into account the values for and areas of windows too...every surface that is in contact with the external world!
There is also a "reverse" calculation that has to be done to work out the "factor solar"...the heat absorption of a building through its windows and skylights etc. Again the allowable figures vary according to which climatic zone you're in.