External entry/exit stages on ETICS, experiences

Hello dear home builders,

we have built a new building with ETICS. The exit steps to the terrace and front door are personal contributions. Currently, it looks like in the photo, the insulation boards are glued to the exterior wall and go up to the door frame. The statement back then from the construction manager of the developer was "Cut out the insulation boards so that the step fits in and then insert it - that’s how it would be done everywhere."

Now we absolutely cannot imagine that a merely glued (soft) insulation board is supposed to permanently support a several-kilogram heavy (hard) stone slab along with constant foot traffic without breaking off or suffering other damage.

For support, we have now embedded granite beams on the front side in front of the dimple sheet. On the back side (door frame side), however, I have no further idea what could be done there so that the insulation remains durable and does not break off due to the load.

Is there perhaps anyone among us who has had a similar case and found a solution – or how would you handle it in such a situation?

There are various options, depending on what kind of projection you want. Either similar to a windowsill, but preferably with brackets (e.g. Sto step bracket PH) and installation BEFORE insulation and plaster. For this, practically every system provider has the corresponding processing guidelines (all available online). Or also, for example, granite steps that are glued onto the insulation (I hope XPS – but I only see that kind of polystyrene bead insulation) or an XPS wedge. If there really is "soft" insulation of another type, you have a problem. A very big one that causes a lot of work because you have to reopen a lot. How is the sealing planned?

Hello,

this can be prevented by angles that protrude from the outside over the insulation. For this purpose, a sufficiently deep and solid concrete foundation must be installed in the ground in front of the insulation. Tread plates can be mounted on these angles.

However, the space here is not sufficient in height, so the insulation must be cut accordingly. The sealing to the building must not be damaged in the process. Afterwards, the cut surface and the transition to the exterior plaster must be resealed to prevent plaster damage, ideally up to the window frame.

Alternatives, as mentioned by , depend on the ground structure. After that, the area around the angle must be carefully resealed; this concerns the building sealing.

It’s not rocket science, but involves work and costs (removing terrace slabs and granite blocks, digging out, cutting insulation, and concreting the base or installing angles). Drainage also needs to be clarified; water must be able to drain away in front of the window.

Best regards

we built a new building with ETICS. The exit steps to the terrace and front door are self-performed work.

Sorry, I have to quote Wolfgang Petry: that is madness!
No one in their right mind would take exactly such absolute top building defect positions out of the package of details to be provided by the contractor.

How is the sealing planned?

Exactly for that reason.

First of all, many thanks to all of you for the opinions and suggestions. Somehow, I always had the impression that the insulation boards on the back side go directly down to the edge of the base slab. Thanks to you, I just rummaged through the photo archive again and found out that there is still a step underneath. That means the insulation board on the back side is supported about halfway on the base slab and is not just glued on the side. That relieves me a little now that the board is probably supported on the back after all. Nevertheless, the problem of a load on the "soft" insulation board remains.

Either similar to a windowsill ... Or also e.g. granite steps,

We ended up with granite steps, which are already ready.

... which is glued onto the insulation (I hope on XPS – but I only see Styrofoam bead insulation) or an XPS wedge. If there really is "soft" insulation of another kind, you have a problem. A very big one that causes a lot of work, because you have to take a lot apart again.

Unfortunately, it does not look like XPS (those are the hard ones, right?). According to my current research, it should be some STO base insulation boards. I have to look into that again... I haven’t quite understood the XPS wedge yet.

How is the waterproofing planned?

Admittedly, we weren’t that far yet. I wanted to first look for a possible solution at all.

... can be caught by brackets that overlap the insulation from the outside. For this, an appropriately deep and massive concrete foundation must be installed in front of the insulation in the ground. Tread plates can be mounted on these brackets.

I hadn’t thought of something like that at all... What kind of brackets are these? I couldn’t quickly find any that could withstand such a load (granite slabs).

Drainage also needs to be clarified; the water must be able to run off in front of the window.

The idea was to mount the tread steps with a slight slope towards the outside.

Sorry, I have to quote Wolfgang Petry: that’s madness! Nobody in their right mind would remove exactly such absolute top construction defect positions from the package of details to be provided by the builder.

I agree with you, but we didn’t remove anything. In hindsight, I rather think it was deliberately arranged like that by the developer. It only came up at the end through us when it was finished. You have zero idea about such things beforehand unless you are an expert (we had experts). Most things you only learn during construction or painfully after completion.

I agree with you, but we didn’t remove anything there. In hindsight, I think it was deliberately orchestrated by the developer. It only came up at the end because of us when it was already finished. You have zero clue about such things beforehand unless you’re an expert (we had experts). Most of it you only learn during construction or painfully after completion.

Oh, so no "own contribution" in the intentional sense, but merely a construction service gap caused by not questioning what that little word "bauseits" means in the plan drawing. That means you as builders are now the ones left to fix your procurement failure. But wouldn’t it be the general contractor’s responsibility to provide that during planning, or does the drawing actually show a "nothing exposed, connection by improvisation or audience joker, counting rhyme or coin toss" as intended?