Thermal insulation in Berlin from a single source

For an external thermal insulation composite system including scaffolding, insulation board, reinforcement and finishing render, the guide figures are 150 to 250 euros per square metre of facade. Stucco mouldings, numerous window reveals, balconies and hard to reach courtyard positions push the price up, while large uninterrupted surfaces bring it down. Roof and basement ceiling are considerably cheaper, the top floor ceiling starts at around 30 euros per square metre. A binding price is only possible after the site survey.

Insulation of the building envelope is subsidised at 15 percent through the BEG individual measures programme. Carrying out the measure as part of an individual renovation roadmap adds 5 percentage points, bringing it to 20 percent. For applications from 21 July 2026 onwards, however, this iSFP bonus only applies from 30,000 euros of eligible costs. Eligible costs are 30,000 euros per residential unit, or 60,000 euros with a renovation roadmap. The order matters: the application must be filed before the contract is awarded. As of August 2026; we verify the conditions again before every order.

There is no general obligation to insulate a facade. What does remain is the retrofit obligation for the top floor ceiling or the roof above it: anyone who buys, inherits or is gifted an owner-occupied house with up to two flats must bring this element to a heat transfer coefficient of no more than 0.24 W/(m²K) within two years of the land register entry. The insulation of exposed heating and hot water pipes in unheated rooms also remains mandatory. The building modernisation act of July 2026 left these obligations unchanged.

For a listed building, external insulation of the street facade is as a rule ruled out. In conservation areas under the social preservation statute, external insulation requires a permit because it counts as a structural alteration and the districts look at the rent burden after modernisation. We check both before quoting. If the street facade is not an option, what remains in practice is the courtyard and gable facade, the roof, the top floor ceiling and the basement ceiling. We do not carry out internal insulation; in that case we refer you to our energy consulting with an individual renovation roadmap.

Insulating the external wall affects the common property, so a resolution by the owners association is required. We supply the basis for it: site survey, fixed price, cost per residential unit, expected grant and construction schedule in a form you can take straight into the owners meeting. For let units we additionally set out which share of the cost, after deducting the grant, can be passed on at all.

The sequence that has proven itself is: basement ceiling first, then the top floor ceiling or the roof, and the facade last. The first two measures cost little, need no scaffolding and pay back fastest. The facade delivers the largest saving but is the most expensive measure and the one requiring the most permits. If the roof covering or a facade repaint is due anyway, the order reverses, because the scaffolding then only has to be erected once.

For a Berlin apartment building with around 600 square metres of facade we allow roughly four to eight weeks from the erection of the scaffolding, depending on weather, drying times of the render layers and the extent of the connecting work. Basement ceiling and top floor ceiling are usually finished in two to five working days. The flats remain habitable throughout.

Properly executed external insulation reduces the risk of mould, because the inner surface of the external wall becomes warmer and moisture no longer condenses there. Problems arise when thermal bridges at balcony slabs, window reveals or roller shutter boxes are left uninsulated, or when the building becomes considerably more airtight without ventilation habits adapting. We therefore plan the connection details and, for very airtight envelopes, discuss ventilation with heat recovery.