Articles by Argile

Past a certain scope, pairing a facade renovation with external insulation stops being a commercial opportunity and becomes a duty. Article R. 173-4 of the French construction and housing code treats a renovation touching at least 50% of a wall, excluding openings, as major works, and that classification forces you to insulate. Here is the threshold, the exemptions, and the two thermal resistances that do not say the same thing.

5 min read

In a large building, heating is never a "detail": it's a line item that weighs on your costs, your job-site timelines and client satisfaction. With forest wood chips, you can aim for a robust solution built to run for a long time, provided you size the output, storage and feed system correctly. You gain peace of mind by planning fuel logistics, delivery access and maintenance right from the quote stage.

5 min read

When the job site switches into winter mode, your installation can quickly fail you at the worst moment, and that's where you save time by planning ahead. Between antifreeze protection and a condensate pan heater, the idea is simple: secure the drainage and avoid failures that cost you another callout. By choosing the right solution and taking care with installation, you deliver a reliable system, even when temperatures drop.

5 min read

On a brick vaulted floor, you're often working within tight margins between respecting the original building, available headroom and thermal performance. The right approach is to first assess the condition of the vaults and their bearings, then choose insulation compatible with moisture and loads, without sealing off the masonry. With a clear method, you secure the job and gain comfort, without a bad surprise at handover.

5 min read

Ten centimetres of substrate deliver in the order of 0.10 to 0.15 m²·K/W, while a refurbished flat roof has to reach 4.5 m²·K/W in the coldest French climate zone. The planted build-up therefore accounts for a few per cent of the requirement: it replaces no insulation at all. Its value lies elsewhere, in the summer behaviour of the membrane and in the retention of everyday rainfall.

4 min read

When a client complains about a room that stays muggy despite the installation, it's often a sizing issue. With a few simple measurements and two or three good field habits, you can quote the right capacity, avoid overspending, and secure comfort in summer as well as mid-season. That saves time at the quote stage, and lets you sleep easy after commissioning.

5 min read

A solar shading overhang is not a façade accessory, it is a near-shading obstruction that assessment methods already know how to score. The French 3CL near-shading factor drops to 0.6 from 1 m of projection and to 0.4 beyond 3 m, and the projection that genuinely shades a 2.15 m opening at the summer solstice depends on latitude, from 1.09 m in Plymouth to 1.37 m in Edinburgh. What follows is what you measure on the survey, what you write on the quote, and what your liability cover answers for at the fixings.

6 min read

Sizing a communal solar DHW installation does not start from the available roof but from the hot water volume consumed in the leanest month. The SOCOL 2021 sheet sets the store volume on that minimum monthly consumption, then derives the collector area through a ratio running from 40 to 100 litres per square metre depending on the third of the country concerned.

5 min read

The low-temperature boiler as a product category left the market on 26 September 2015: Regulation 813/2013 set a seasonal space heating efficiency floor of 86% for fuel boilers up to 70 kW, which no non-condensing appliance reaches. One exception survives, the type B1 boiler on a shared natural-draught flue. What still matters on a retrofit is the water regime and the output of the existing emitters.

5 min read

A single French text puts numbers on indoor CO2, and it does not target housing: the order of 27 December 2022, which frames the measurement in premises open to the public. It sets the thresholds, but it also sets what the instrument must be worth, and that part is what product sheets leave out. In a dwelling no CO2 threshold applies, the obligation is still a flow rate.

5 min read

When heating runs in an empty room, you lose kWh without seeing it. By controlling heat output based on actual occupancy, you improve comfort while cutting waste, especially in hallways, offices, bathrooms or rental homes. On site, the challenge is simple: choose the right location, set the delays and wire it up cleanly so it works day to day, not just on handover day.

5 min read

Before starting a renovation, you have everything to gain by checking the state of the wastewater treatment system on site. A well-run inspection avoids bad surprises during earthworks, connections or a sale, and lets you quote accurately from the outset. By clarifying non-compliance points from the start, you protect your schedule and your client relationship.

5 min read