Fabric first
Insulation, airtightness and glazing come first, because every other measure works better in a building that holds its heat. That is why insulation and render are the heart of our retrofit work, and why we keep them in-house.
Retrofit and decarbonisation
Commercial retrofit contractors with the insulation and render trades in-house
The Lynch Brother Group is a commercial retrofit contractor for owners, public bodies and businesses across Oxford and Oxfordshire. We upgrade existing buildings so they use less energy and cost less to run, from external wall insulation and render systems to heating, ventilation and lighting, in offices, schools and listed buildings. Tell us what the building must achieve: an EPC rating, a decarbonisation target or a lower bill. We will survey it and price the works.
What's included in a retrofit
Survey and baseline
A survey of the fabric and services, your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and energy data, and a plain account of where the building loses heat.
External wall insulation and render
Insulation fixed to the outside of the building and finished with a weatherproof render system, by our own teams, so the walls stop losing heat.
Roofs, floors and glazing
Roof and loft insulation, insulated floors and screeds, and new or secondary glazing where the survey shows the saving is worth the cost.
Airtightness and ventilation
Sealing the gaps a building breathes through, then giving it controlled ventilation so the air stays fresh without the heat going with it.
Heating, lighting and controls
Heat pumps, efficient lighting and controls that run the building as it is used, sized once the fabric is done.
Commissioning and handover
Every system tested and set up, the certificates and manuals in one pack, and the evidence your assessor needs for the new EPC.
Fabric first, then services, then proof
Heat, air and light
Once the fabric is right, the services are sized for the building it has become. Heat pumps, ventilation that recovers the heat from the air it extracts, efficient lighting and controls go in as one coordinated package, tested together and handed over working.
Standards and evidence
Retrofit is judged on results. We work to the standards your funder or assessor expects, including PAS 2038, the published specification for retrofitting non-domestic buildings. Where a client wants the deepest retrofit, we build to EnerPhit. At handover you get the evidence that supports the new EPC.
How we deliver a retrofit
A commercial retrofit touches every part of a building, and on most projects that means a long list of separate contractors. Ours is shorter. Screed, render and insulation are our own trades, so the external wall insulation, the render system and the floors are planned, priced and built by one team, to one programme, with one point of accountability.
Most retrofit happens in buildings that stay in use, in Oxford and across the county. Schools are done in the holidays and at weekends, offices floor by floor, and anything noisy in agreed windows. We plan the sequence with you and with the people who use the building, so the building keeps working while the works go on.
Much of this retrofit and decarbonisation work is procured through frameworks and public tenders. We work as a principal contractor for direct clients and as a package contractor within larger schemes, as we do in main contracting.
If you are new to retrofit, our article Energy efficiency retrofit: where to start sets out the order of work, and EnerPhit explained covers the standard for the deepest retrofits. Once the works are done, the same group can keep the building performing through property management and planned maintenance.
