Articles by Argile

On a ground floor, the right choice is often decided on site, not on paper. From below, you save time if the crawl space or basement is accessible. From above, you secure the finished floor level and the thermal bridges, provided you anticipate thresholds, doors, and services.

5 min read

On a facade, colour isn’t just a style choice. It’s also a concrete lever to limit overheating, improve summer comfort, and cut down on complaints about rooms that get too hot — without touching the insulation. As a tradesperson, you can guide your clients toward a colour choice suited to the climate, the orientation, and the job site’s constraints, with a result that’s visible right away.

5 min read

With a tight budget, your clients mainly expect quick wins, visible on their bills, without getting lost in ten different work items. Your value lies in making a simple diagnosis, treating first the points that leak the most kWh, then planning the rest in coherent stages. You secure comfort and performance, without overpromising or oversizing.

5 min read

On a timber roof, the threshold that drives the costing is the thermal resistance added: 6 m²·K/W on the slope, 7 in a cold loft, 4.5 on a flat roof. The thickness that gets you there depends entirely on the conductivity of the insulant chosen, from 18 to 32 cm for the same 6 or 7. On a steel structure, conductivity jumps from 0.15 to 50 W/(m·K) and the treatment of fixings becomes the item that decides real performance.

5 min read

When you treat a wall, it's not only the insulation thickness that matters. How the surface exchanges heat through radiation can change how a room feels, limit cold-wall effects and improve comfort without adding to the job. Understanding this parameter and its effect on finishes helps you make safer choices, explain things better to the client, and avoid vague promises about the expected 'gain.'

5 min read

When you're estimating heat loss on a project, pitch changes the picture. For the same ground-level footprint, the actual exposed surface area increases, and your measurements, choice of insulation and quantities need to follow. By getting the right factor from the outset, you protect the quote and avoid discrepancies at the end of the job.

6 min read

On site, the real challenge is comfort that holds up over time, not just a fast temperature rise. When you work with wall mass, everyday use and sequential use don't call for the same material choices or the same settings. Handled well, this lever helps you smooth out variations, avoid overheating, and deliver a result that's felt from the first few days.

6 min read

On a half-timbered house, you play a fine balancing act between comfort, moisture and respect for the building. Your insulation and heating choices must let the walls breathe, otherwise problems show up fast, and your client sees it… and feels it. With a simple method and the right materials, you gain performance without erasing the character.

5 min read

A flat roof insulated from outside is priced against two thresholds that are not the same: the French existing-buildings rules ask for R ≥ 3.3 m².K/W, the BAR-EN-105 energy certificate sheet asks for 4.5. And if the works touch at least 50% of the covering, the duty to insulate is triggered on its own. Here are the thresholds, the exemptions, and the detail points to survey before you price.

5 min read

Unified degree days have an official calculation method, and it is not the one most spreadsheets use. It splits into three cases depending on where 18 °C falls between the day's minimum and maximum, and the mid-season case does not reduce to a simple gap from the mean: the simplified formula counts zero where the official method counts a whole degree day. Here are the three formulas, the trap in the reading hours, and what 18 °C actually means.

5 min read

When a client complains about odours, dust or humidity, you need to decide quickly between air treatment and ventilating the home. The two can work together, but they don't address the same causes, or in the same rooms. Asking the right questions at the site visit saves you time, and lets you propose a solution that holds up over the long run.

5 min read

On a renovation quote, the right figure in the right place can make all the difference. Understanding how a home's consumption translates into the equivalent used by calculation methods helps you explain your choices, size correctly, and avoid endless discussions. In short, you keep control of the announced performance, and of the client's trust.

5 min read