VHF vs WDVS facade - 1970 old building concrete/brick

Hello everyone, I want to implement a VHF on an old building (1970 - basement concrete, ground floor 17.5 bricks). Most likely with a wooden substructure. I was thinking of wood fiber insulation like Gutex, Steico. The facade companies/carpenters offering the service recommend mineral wool. As an outer layer, I planned fiber cement panels, they are inexpensive and manufacturers give a 15-year warranty.... but there seem to be problems with Eternit roofs... Aluminum facade is hardly affordable. Wood is not low-maintenance. An alternative would be to realize an ETICS, but I have concerns about moisture with glued/plastered mineral wool. Is anyone here by chance happy with ETICS made of mineral wool for 20 years? Thanks and regards

Hello,

well, relatively happy. About 15 years ago I realized a curtain facade made of wood with stone wool as a DIY project. About 100m² of facade area with larch as shiplap cladding. 10cm squared timber mounted on partially soft-burnt bricks (270-year-old house) and 10cm stone wool in between. Above that, a facade membrane ([Dachunterspannfolie?]).

The facade has received zero maintenance since then, the larch has gracefully turned gray and still looks okay (when brand new the facade looked fantastic!)

The reveal of the windows (insulation) I made from space reasons with 5mm thick neoprene! Rodent protection at the bottom with perforated aluminum sheet.

There should still be pictures of it somewhere in the forum if they haven’t been deleted.

I would do it a bit more perfectly today (have it done). Back then it was just barely affordable for me with leftover or special order squared timber, larch as a barter ;-) and insulation as scrap (had to piece it anyway due to tricky facade).

Today I would do it (like a gable on the same house) vertically as floor/ceiling cladding instead of horizontal shiplap cladding. I would accentuate the ventilation more clearly and, if possible, use somewhat thicker insulation. I would install the facade membrane with more precision and possibly combine other measures (at that time I also simultaneously replaced a very old oil heating system with a condensing boiler + solar thermal + installed an extra solar storage tank). With that, my financial resources at the time were more than exhausted.

But in the end, my somewhat amateurishly cobbled-together facade still looks okay and works without any maintenance. I also assume that another 10 years won’t change anything essential about it, but that would be relatively irrelevant to me anyway since it’s sold as of [15.12].

just found the picture folder ;-)
Maybe it will help you with your decision.
The last picture with freshly painted door ...

Pig-like work in the height of summer with "full-body condom/suit" and mask.
Sweat and stone wool fibers, well, you can imagine how well that fits together :-(
Every 5m long board mostly alone! slid myself over an "Erika" to undercut
because of drip edge. Installation above impossible for me because of pronounced fear of heights and only possible through
support from family and friends (again, big thanks!)

Thank you very much for the pictures, that means to me that stone wool is a cost-optimized and proven insulating material and, if well sealed, lasts easily for a long time. A wooden facade has not been the primary choice so far. I live 2-3 km from the Rhine, have a wide west front/weather side, water comes unevenly, and a neighboring house shows what it looks like after several years. Zimmerman said, if then robinia, but that is quite scarce and expensive.

Thank you very much for the pictures, that means to me that stone wool is a cost-optimized and proven insulation material and, if well sealed, lasts long without problems.

right ...

Wood facade has not been the primary choice so far. I live 2-3 km from the Rhine, have a wide west-facing/weather side, water arrives unevenly and a neighboring house shows what it looks like after many years. Zimmerman said if then Robinia, but that is quite scarce and expensive.

but why are such important information to the forum (near the Rhine, weather side) initially withheld and then come to light "drop by drop"?

To all questioners today and in the future: Please always provide all relevant information immediately, preferably also with sketches and pictures (without further inquiries) We all only have cloudy crystal balls!

Yes, Robinia is a native plant, almost comparable to tropical wood of the resistance class. And yes, it is expensive. But visually even more beautiful than larch (my facade) As far as I know, there are hardly any long boards "in one piece" but almost always finger-jointed. Thermowood (cedar would be great!) would also be an option, by the way, it doesn’t really make it cheaper.

Show your facade (photo), please also with approx. dimensions! Then maybe there will be good ideas (no arm, no cookies!) And important: What is your budget! (at least your planned one ;))

This is now the west front view/entrance area with the problem construction site aka "thermal bridge" old canopy. The thing is reinforced and cutting it away and installing a new aluminum canopy is not easy and costs a lot. I have also long considered replacing the glass blocks with frosted glass or simply insulating over them, but then there would be no sunlight in the stairwell.

Total facade area approx. 200 m2, the house is 12.8 m long (west side is the long side) and 9 meters wide, has strip foundation (basement and no cellar).