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MK-AUSBAU Renovation of older houses Enquiry

Renovation work in the Heinsberg district

Renovating older houses in Hückelhoven

From the colliery housing in Ratheim to the nineteen seventies family house in Baal: houses in Hückelhoven take a great deal, as long as the work is done in the right order. We first find out what is inside the wall, then we build.

Send an enquiry Call us directly+49 (0) 2452 8607038
Brick house during renovation with an open facade and a working site set up around it
Title photographAn existing house with the facade and extension open
Survey
Moisture, build up, junctions
Sequence
Dry and airtight first
Execution
Drylining, insulation, finishes
Area
Hückelhoven and the Heinsberg district

01Wall build up

What is inside an old wall

Hardly any wall is what the render suggests. Cavity masonry, an inner face lined at some later date, a heavy fill above a timber joisted floor: every layer helps decide which renovation actually pays.

  • External render and joint

    Visual check

    Cracks, rising damp and open joints decide whether insulation can stay dry at all.

  • Outer leaf

    usually 11.5 cm

    Where a second leaf exists, a cavity usually sits behind it. It is the cheapest place to insulate in the whole house.

  • Cavity

    usually 4 to 8 cm

    Before anything is blown in we use an endoscope and a core sample to check that the cavity is clear, dry and continuous.

  • Loadbearing leaf

    24 to 38 cm

    Solid brick, hollow block and slag block behave in completely different ways once moisture reaches them.

  • Internal plaster and lining

    1.5 to 12 cm

    This is where sound insulation is decided, and where the airtight layer sits that nobody may cut open later.

  • Junction and reveal

    Detail point

    Window reveals, joist bearings and the plinth are where mould shows up first in an older house.

Exposed old wall with peeling render and visible brickwork
PhotographAn opened wall, render and brick

NoteThese thicknesses are typical values for the local building stock. Only opening up on site shows what your house really has.

02Survey

The survey comes before the quotation

A quotation for renovating an older house is not written over the phone. We look at the house, open it up in a few places and measure, before anyone talks about materials.

What we check

  • Measure moisture in the plinth, cellar wall and internal corners
  • Open the wall build up in one inconspicuous place
  • Inspect the cavity with an endoscope and check for fill
  • Assess the roof, the top floor ceiling and the cellar ceiling
  • Check windows, reveals and roller shutter boxes
  • Raise any suspicion of hazardous material in old fit outs

Insulating an older house without a survey only moves the problem inwards.

Describe your project

Tradesman checking with a spirit level whether an internal wall is plumb
PhotographTaking measurements on the existing wall

03Sequence

The order of work decides the price

In an older house it is rarely the single measure that costs the money, it is the wrong order. We work from the cause towards the surface and never the other way round.

  1. Get it dry

    Before anything else

    As long as water arrives from outside or from below, insulation is money lost. Plinth, joint and junction first, everything else afterwards.

  2. Sort the heat losses

    A planning step

    The top floor ceiling, the roof and the cellar ceiling almost always return more per euro than the facade. We work the house through before we build.

  3. Make the airtight layer

    Before insulating

    The airtight layer is planned once and built once. Every later cable pushed through it is an open building site.

  4. Insulate

    The core measure

    Blown insulation in the cavity, between the rafters in the roof, under the cellar ceiling. The build up follows the survey, not the catalogue.

  5. Fit out inside

    After the envelope

    Drylining, wall linings and suspended ceilings bring sound insulation and level surfaces into a house that has almost none.

  6. Close the surfaces

    At the end

    Jointing, painting, floors and internal doors come last, so that nothing finished has to be opened up again.

NoteNot every house needs all six steps. We tell you what can be left out before the quotation.

04Services

What we carry out in older houses

MK AUSBAU is a specialist firm for interior fit out and renovation. In an older house these trades interlock, which is why they come from one hand.

  • Drylining

    Level surfaces

    Wall linings, partitions, suspended ceilings and roof slopes, planned by stud spacing and boarding rather than by eye.

  • Insulation

    Less heating energy

    Blown insulation in cavity masonry, between rafters, the top floor ceiling and the cellar ceiling. From straw to glass wool, matched to the component.

  • Internal insulation

    A dry construction

    Where the facade has to stay as it is, with an eye on the dew point, the reveal and the joist bearing.

  • Airtightness

    A sealed envelope

    Vapour control layers, taped junctions and leaks at penetrations, so that the construction stays dry.

  • Sound insulation

    Quiet rooms

    Timber joisted floors, partitions and flanking paths. Mass and decoupling rather than one layer of wool.

  • Jointing and painting

    A clean finish

    Finish levels Q1 to Q4 depending on light and expectation, then paint and final coating.

  • Floor coverings

    A sound floor

    Vinyl, laminate, parquet and design floors on a substrate that has been checked and levelled first.

  • Internal doors

    Openings that fit

    Frames and door leaves in existing openings, which are rarely square and rarely the same height.

Send an enquiry

NoteWhere another trade has to act, for heating, electrics or structural work, we say so early and name the interface.

05Moisture

Moisture, dew point and airtightness

Almost every defect in an older house is a moisture defect in the end. Warm room air travels outwards, cools inside the construction and drops out as water where nobody is looking.

A vapour barrier fitted wrongly does more harm than none at all.

Outside Existing wall Insulation layer Inside Dew point Temperature curve
Schematic drawing. Where the temperature falls below the dew point, water forms inside the construction.

What matters

  • Cold internal corners behind furniture and in window reveals
  • Leaking junctions at joist bearings and roller shutter boxes
  • Cavities in the masonry that are filled or damp
  • Vapour control layers pierced at cables and sockets
  • Internal insulation fitted without regard for the dew point

Measure

Moisture in the component, surface temperature and room climate are recorded before any build up is decided.

Calculate

The planned build up is checked for condensation. Only then is material ordered.

Build

The airtight layer is made continuous and taped at every junction, not only across the open area.

NoteWe work with tested system build ups and with the manufacturers own data sheets.

06Funding

Planning so funding stays possible

Public programmes exist for energy related renovation. The funding body always decides on an award, never the tradesman. What we do is make sure the work and its order fit the requirements.

NRW.BANK

State programmes for building renovation and modernisation in North Rhine Westphalia.

KfW

Federal programmes for efficiency measures and for single measures on the building envelope.

BAFA

Grants for single measures and for energy consultancy.

Energy consultancy

Most programmes require a qualified planner. We tell you when one is needed and work to that planning.

Describe your project

NoteWe do not advise on funding itself and we promise no grant. What we supply is the workmanship and the evidence that funding requires.

07The firm

The firm

MK AUSBAU is a trade business from Heinsberg. Maxim Kelm started out in drylining in 2016, and today the firm covers interior fit out and renovation.

The route from drylining into renovation is no accident. Anyone who has built walls and ceilings inside existing buildings for years soon sees why a surface cracks, why a room stays noisy and why one corner keeps getting damp.

We say early what is worth doing and what is not. A measure that achieves little in your particular house does not go into the quotation, however easy it would be to sell.

An older house is usually still lived in while we work. Dust protection, protected walkways and one named contact are part of the job rather than a favour.

Principles

  • A survey before a quotation
  • One contact for the whole site
  • Tested system build ups rather than experiments
  • An honest no when a measure achieves nothing

Key facts

Since
2016
Based in
Heinsberg
Area
Heinsberg district and Lower Rhine

08Work

Work on existing fabric

Photographs of the trades that interlock in the renovation of an older house.

  • Fig. 01 Masonry Joints and junctions
  • Fig. 02 Plastered surfaces Internal, existing fabric
  • Fig. 03 Insulation Mineral wool between studs
  • Fig. 04 Drylining Boarding and fixing
  • Fig. 05 Roof structure Rafters and collar beams
  • Fig. 06 Interiors Condition before fit out
  • Fig. 07 Floors Substrate in existing fabric
  • Fig. 08 Window junction Joint and reveal

NoteThe photographs show the work described and do not depict any particular commission.

09Area

Hückelhoven and the Heinsberg district

Hückelhoven was a mining town, and its housing still shows it. Settlements from the days of the Sophia Jacoba colliery, family houses of the nineteen fifties to seventies and older farmsteads in the outlying districts: three ways of building, three different routes through a renovation.

Describe your project

Districts and neighbours

  • Hückelhoven
  • Ratheim
  • Baal
  • Doveren
  • Hilfarth
  • Brachelen
  • Millich
  • Kleingladbach
  • Rurich
  • Schaufenberg
  • Altmyhl

Beyond that

  • Erkelenz
  • Wassenberg
  • Heinsberg
  • Geilenkirchen
  • Linnich

Beyond Hückelhoven we work throughout the Heinsberg district and along the Lower Rhine. For larger projects we travel further.

NoteShort distances are an advantage in older buildings. Being able to drive over once more means deciding at the open component rather than on the phone.

10Questions

Common questions

What owners most often want to know before a renovation.

Where does the renovation of an older house begin?

With the survey. We look at the house, measure the moisture, open up the build up in a few places and assess the roof, the ceilings and the cellar. Only then is a quotation written that holds.

Is cavity insulation worth it in my house?

Only if the masonry has two leaves, the cavity is clear and dry and the joints are sound. We check that on site with an endoscope and a core sample. If it does not suit, we say so plainly.

What gives the most for every euro invested?

In most houses in this area the top floor ceiling, then the roof and the cellar ceiling. The facade costs more and often comes later. Which order applies to your house is decided by the survey.

Do I have to move out during the work?

Usually not. We work in sections, protect walkways and furniture and extract the dust. For major work on the roof or a ceiling we agree in advance which rooms are out of use and for how long.

Why does airtightness matter so much?

Because warm room air travels out through every gap and leaves water inside the construction. An airtight layer protects the insulation and the timber. It only works where it is continuous.

Do you take on single trades as well?

Yes. Many jobs are one ceiling, one wall lining or insulation to the top floor ceiling. The survey is still worth it, so that a single measure does not stand in the way later on.

Can you say what a renovation will cost?

Seriously, only after the survey. The effort depends on what sits behind the render and on how the junctions look. We price items you can check rather than one lump sum.

Do you work in the outlying districts of Hückelhoven?

Yes, in Ratheim, Baal, Doveren, Hilfarth, Brachelen and the other districts just as in the town centre. The Heinsberg district and the Lower Rhine are the area we cover.

11Enquiry

Describe your project

Tell us briefly which house it is about and what bothers you. We will get back to you and say whether a visit on site makes sense.

Address
Am Diebsweg 17, 52525 Heinsberg
Area covered
Hückelhoven, Ratheim, Baal

This helps us at first glance

  • The year built and the district
  • What bothers you: cold, damp or noise
  • What you plan and by when
  • Two or three photographs of the component
  • Whether funding is planned
Your enquiry
You can also reach us directly on +49 (0) 2452 8607038