Retrofitting

Here is an interesting article about retrofitting RBV walls to a house in NSW's Northern Beaches.

I hadn't actually considered RBV to be a construction method suited to retrofitting an existing building, but in this house it seems to be a reasonable straight-forward and cost effective solution.

The article describes how:

• the existing building frame can be used, reducing the amount of demolition of the existing building
  
• the existing footings can generally be used (subject to appraisal by a structural engineer)
• cement render finish with a white set plaster top-coat was used on the inside walls, as it is important to maximise the interaction of the thermal mass with the room interior
• the set plaster top-coat looks exactly like the existing plasterboard linings when painted, ensuring that the renovation is not out of character with the original (unlike Harmony 9)

Below is a great detail showing the relationship between the existing stud wall and new brickwork: