External wall insulation primer in freezing weather

[StrongLegs]

Hi,

I wondered if anybody might know about the advisability of putting on the paint layers or external wall insulation in freezing weather?

I am having external wall insulation done and the documentation with the Johnstone's Stormshield silicon render primer says very clearly that it mustn't be applied if there are going to be sub-zero temperatures within 24 hours.

It also says that the plaster underneath must be completely dry before it's applied.

The builders have gone and painted the primer today, when the plasted didn't look quite dry to me, and it is going to be -2C overnight.

I rang the man in charge and he said it's fine because it's low humidity.

I looked again at the documentation and it does say that drying times vary with atmospheric conditions and that I should look at the safety data sheet for more specific details.

I read the safety data sheet and it says absolutely nothing about drying times in different atmospheric conditions. I'm a biomedical research scientist by training, so I have no trouble understanding it.

I rang the manufacturer and they gave me the number of their rep in my area and I rang and texted him but there is no reply. I'm keen to find out the right thing to do as they will press on with the next layer on Friday and I want to make sure we're not storing up trouble for later by pushing ahead too quickly.

I understand that the render is liable to flake off if it's not done right. The builder says it's under warranty, but I think the warranty will be void if the surface was not done under the conditions specified in the docs.

I wondered if anybody might know what I should do?

Thanks!

I honestly think you need a professional expert on this one. If you have to ask the builder to delay the job, or even remove the paint, you'll need the backing of a professional. The manufacturer seems to be the way to go, I'd chase up the rep.

Thank you very much. I managed to get hold of a technical manager at the company and he says it will be clear if the coating has failed because it will peel off within 48 hours. So we will know for certain before the next layer has to go on.

Thanks!

We've just had this done. Lots of delay due to the temperature. And then they did it a few weeks ago when it was mild and an unforecast rain shower meant the last wall didn't set and they had to redo it. It was obvious it hadn't set.