The holy grail of sustainable construction, namely reduced thermal conductivity with relatively small and simple changes to construction methods at little or no extra cost, is in sight, says Paul Joyner, director of sustainable building solutions at Travis Perkins.
The discussion around sustainability has, for too long, been centred on the job that renewable technologies can do in bringing both new build and our ageing housing stock into the low carbon future.
However, there is an increasing body of opinion that building fabric, and the role that it can play in making homes more sustainable, has been overlooked. I’ll go further: my own view is that we need to take a fabric first approach before any renewables are ‘bolted’ on to a property; and specialist subcontractors installing insulation, walls and ceilings have a vital role to play.
A fabric first approach is vital if we are to make a real dent in our carbon reduction targets and getting builders on board is the first step. Fabric first provides a simple solution because, by making just small changes to the products and the construction methods used, it is possible to achieve what too many have wrongly regarded as the holy grail of sustainable construction, namely significantly reduced thermal conductivity with relatively small and simple changes to construction methods at little or no extra build cost.
Why is a fabric first approach best? Firstly, because the building fabric will always remain in place, require minimal maintenance and offer a lifetime of performance. The correct order of procedure should be to get the fabric right first and then maximise the performance of renewable technologies if a choice is made to deploy them.
Secondly, buildings should not just be green; they should be better quality homes. A fabric first approach does both of these things.
However, there is also a need for builders, subcontractors and merchants to push the boundaries and aim higher. With a little help and advice most builders should be able to achieve a Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 house with a fabric first approach. In my experience, a few further tweaks to the type of products specified and Code Level 4 is attainable if builders are given the right advice. My argument is that we need to be aiming higher, by using the right fabric approach plus renewables, all the way to Code Level 6.
Of course, not all builders have the ability or want to create a Passivhaus, but aiming for Code Level 4 or 5 in all buildings is better than building only a few homes to Passivhaus standards.
For this reason, Sustainable Building Solutions, a division of Travis Perkins plc, set up to provide help, support and expert technical assistance to the construction industry, has produced a set of standard construction drawings for new-build and retrofit with the objective of being an information resource and advice service to customers with the ultimate aim of maximising the fabric’s contribution to SAP.
All of the drawings have been completed with the BRE and are LABC-registered. Anyone using these drawings, and crucially all the products specified within the details,
will find passing the SAP testing much easier, for three key reasons.
Firstly, using these drawings reduces the need to use default SAP figures. Secondly, these drawings make some very simple, but significant, changes to standard build methods which mean the fabric can be used to its maximum capability. Finally, the drawings have been independently tested and verified by BRE, LABC and the HBF.
My view is that if a house is built well and with the right products it will last for hundreds of years. Bolting technology onto an unprepared shell won’t make much of a difference. If sustainable buildings are to become a way of life we need to start with fabric first.
Lacoste, the iconic French sportswear brand, opened its largest store in the world inLondonduring the summer. The 600 sq m three-floor flagship store onBrompton Road, near Harrods, features trough finished ceilings with QIC bead finishes to allow smoke extraction.
Bespoke Drywall installed 400 sq m of ceilings and 500 sq m of drywall using Speedline metal frame and Gyproc plasterboard supplied by CPD. Bespoke’s seven week package required careful co-ordination with other trades to ensure that the works were completed on schedule and to the highest standard.
A programme critical pinch point centred on the ground and first floor ceilings where the ceiling void acted as a plenum to circulate air around the store. The striking straight line ceiling design also carried the product lighting within the higher level element of the ceiling coffers.
Main contractor for the fit out was DG Professional Interiors and the architect was DesignLSM.
A new façade system has been adopted on a housing development in south London for the Family Mosaic housing association. London-based Drytech Façades has used an energy efficient and space saving concept to achieve high performance standards in the façade. Adrian JG Marsh reports.
Technical performance is all important for social landlords as part of their drive to achieve the targets set by the Code for Sustainable Homes and tackle fuel poverty for tenants who are less able to compete in the open market.
Family Mosaic’sHarper Squarescheme is a seven-storey development in the Elephant and Castle area of Southwark,London. A series of five individual buildings linked with shared stairwells will include 75 apartments. Walls in the new complex demand exceptional U-value of 0.15W/m2K so that it meets the thermal performance proposed as standard for new-build in the 2016 Building Regulations.
In October 2011 Drytech Façades was appointed to carry out a £1.4 million 3,200 m2 façades package which included coloured glazed terracotta rainscreen and Marley Eternit pre-finished cladding board. Drytech also took on responsibility for installing windows.
“The architect was looking for a very low U-value which traditionally we would have achieved with a standard metal framing and then built up the insulation on the outside of the studs,” said Richard Horobin, operations director at Drytech Façades.
In conventional systems, the insulation is applied externally and so adds to the thickness of the walls, decreasing the amount of lettable or usable space. Horobin’s team proposed using the new Knauf ThermaFrame solution which places the insulation in the frame itself so that it is sandwiched between the gypsum-based sheathing board and the internal plasterboard, solving the problem of usable space.
Drytech Façades worked with Knauf Façades to put forward alternative designs to the original SFS design because an alternative solution using structural insulated panels had already been considered and rejected because of its higher overall build cost.
The first indicative specification employed 195mm Knauf ThermaFrame stud, with a 95mm internal Z bar together with Knauf ThermaFrame insulation, Knauf Windliner and two layers of Knauf ThermaFrame Liner VC taped and jointed internally (split between the internal Z bar).
Once the main contractors, Lovell Partnerships, had approved the indicative design, Drytech and Knauf worked with the project architect and engineers over eight weeks to produce detailed drawings for the five blocks.
Works were planned to maximise productivity and ensure that critical deadlines were met. The façade design also reduced on-site activity as metal sections were prepared off-site and delivered in a predetermined sequence.
Richard Horrobin said: “We’ve found that the Knauf ThermaFrame meets the U-value required without the need for any additional external insulation, which can sometimes interfere with the support work required for the finishes or cause condensation.
“The system can also accommodate wind loadings of more than 1.0kN/m2 and would carry the deadload of the terracotta rainscreen. The new system also has 90 minute fire resistance that would otherwise mean we would have had to install dense products such as mineral wool insulation or cement particle board.”
Drytech has handed over the façades package and the whole scheme is due to be completed this year. Its sister company secured the drywall installation package.
Positive progress is being made in construction site waste: the amount being recycled into new product by gypsum manufacturers has risen from 18% in 2007 to 30% in 2011. UK plasterboard manufacturers are now spearheading a new awareness campaign in conjunction with the Plasterboard Sustainability Partnership (PSP) to highlight how much contractors can save if they return plasterboard waste for recycling rather than send it to landfill.
Speaking on behalf of its manufacturer members, the Gypsum Products Development Association (GPDA) says some companies may not realise that recycling has economic, as well as environmental, benefits.
GPDA secretary Crispin Dunn-Meynell explains: “Disposal to general landfill is no longer permitted and gypsum waste is only accepted at non-hazardous single cell landfill. Sending one skip of waste plasterboard to landfill costs you up to £2,000. By using one of our members’ plasterboard waste collection schemes, or a gypsum recycling centre, you can save £500 on each skip.”
Although reducing waste is one of the plasterboard industry’s key targets, the PSP recognises that some waste will be produced on site, however carefully material is specified and used. This waste needs careful management to ensure the highest standards of safety, legal compliance and environmental performance are upheld.
GPDA members have invested both directly and through third parties to provide routes for segregated, clean plasterboard waste to be delivered to reprocessing stations. Crispin Dunn-Meynell comments: “Our members’ ‘take-back’ schemes offer contractors a convenient plasterboard waste disposal solution that’s both environmentally-friendly and cost effective, and that’s an important message for the industry to communicate.”
By recycling waste plasterboard contractors can demonstrate high standards of environmental responsibility and at the same time as reducing their landfill disposal costs.
For more information please visit www.plasterboardpartnership.org
Innovative plaster products from Knauf Drywall have simplified and accelerated the development of a purpose-built £3 million plus entertainment complex for Cofton Holiday Park, the award-winning four star holiday park near Dawlish, Devon. The new complex will cater for up to 2,000 people and features indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a country bar, function room, amusement arcade, gym and soft play area.
The new facility is a major investment for the family-owned holiday park that will extend its season through offering facilities that are not affected by the weather and will also support its drive for five star status.
Knauf Airless Spray Plaster in particular was invaluable for plastering the ceilings in the country bar and for the first floor family room, both of which have areas over 500m2 and are 3m high. Peter Alderson, Director of main contractors Devon Contractors, said that the product offered significant benefits in terms of both finish and time.
“The original specification called for the ceilings to be taped and jointed, but we were concerned that sunlight from large glazed screens on both levels would show up imperfections and tape lines commonly associated with the tape and jointing method,” he explained. “The alternative would have been to skim the ceilings which would have been difficult without day joints due to the expansive areas and costly in terms of time and money because scaffold would have been required. We found the spray plaster which was applied from a tower platform to be the perfect solution, not only is the application quick, the finish is excellent and allows the continuation the following day without the use of day joints leaving a perfectly flat ceiling.”
The Knauf Airless plaster also simplified achieving the ambitious and imaginative ceiling and bulkhead designs developed by ARA Architects, according to Kevin Smith, director of CAP (Ceilings & Partitions).
“The bulkheads are complex forms, being curved and featuring lighting troughs and ellipses among other shapes, so it would be difficult to achieve a good finish using traditional skim plaster,” he said. “The Knauf Airless plaster is not only easy to apply but has other advantages – it is pre mixed, has a low water content of just 28%, so it dries more quickly. It also dries white, so it requires less paint for the decorative finish.”
Knauf Airless plaster is one of the four products in Knauf Drywall’s range of Readymix Plasters that are specifically designed for fast-track construction programmes and can significantly cut on-site timescales while improving health and safety with no mess, fewer movements and no water required.
Less prone to chips and cracks than traditional plaster, they offer an excellent quality finish and are supplied pre-mixed to the correct consistency for spray application, no direct water supply is required on site and wastage is less than 1%. Up to 1,000m2 per week can be finished by a three man gang, and surfaces can be emulsioned within 24 to 48 hours, so the plaster can be applied by the same teams applying the paint finishes.
The range also meets the increased need to demonstrate sustainability: reduced waste, in terms of material on site – less than 1%; packaging (being recyclable plastic) and, more particularly, water on site. Furthermore, any waste material requires little or no waste stream management; and transport requirements are reduced with one 25kg bag covering up to 20m² of wall.
The holiday park’s new swimming pools also feature Knauf Aquapanel Interior and Knauf Aquapanel Interior skim coat for the walls and ceilings. “This is ideal for this application because the product is impervious to water, doesn’t grow mould or delaminate so you won’t get any problems two years down the road,” commented Mr Smith.
Robust and easy to install, Knauf Aquapanel Interior eradicates the costly effects of tile failures in bathrooms and other wet areas. The glass fibre reinforced cement board is completely unaffected by water and maintains its strength even when fully immersed. The ideal complement to ceramic, mosaic or natural stone tiles, Knauf Aquapanel Interior is easy to install and can be cut using the “score and snap” technique, so it does not require any special cutting tools or pre-drilling.
Elsewhere in the new clubhouse and family rooms Knauf’s standard 12.5mm wallboard was installed, with Knauf Fireshield being uses to provide compartmentalisation for the corridors and exits. In total, the project involved 3000m2 of Knauf plasterboard, 300m2 of Knauf Aquapanel Interior, 400m2 of Fireshield and 2000m2 Knauf Airless plaster.
External Wall Insulation (EWI) and Multi Purpose Render, manufactured by Saint-Gobain Weber, the leading UK formulator of innovative, high performance materials and systems for the construction industry, has been specified for the new Kildare Community College in County Kildare, Ireland.
The new school provides secondary school facilities for 1,000 students and is one of six new schools which will provide places for over 4,700 pupils through the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) school project. The scheme has been developed by the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) with Macquarie Partnerships for Ireland (MPFI), located in Dublin who specialise in the development of high quality social and public infrastructure projects.
Designed by Fergal Kelly at A & D Wejchert & Partners Architects, Dublin, the new Kildare Community College has been created from the amalgamation of two schools, St Joseph’s Academy and Kildare Vocational School. The new two-storey school has been designed to ensure the best possible sustainable venue in terms of education, organisation, operation and extended use for the community. The project was successfully managed by John Sisk & Son, a worldwide construction contractor which was founded in Cork over 150 years ago.
Saint-Gobain Weber render and external wall insulation systems have been applied to more than 3000m² of the building using three attractive colours specified to enhance the modern lines of the structure. Award winning and BBA accredited weber.therm XM EWI system was specified for 200m² of the college with a further 3000m² of wall surface prepared with weber.rend MPR over the construction substrate. The weber.therm XM EWI system included 200mm thick expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation thermally improving the structure to create a warm and comfortable learning environment. Both render systems used were finished with weber.plast TF150 an acrylic-based, decorative finish which has a fine texture and provides high weather resistance. Three colours have been used at Kildare Community College – white, yellow and pale red – chosen to heighten the bright, modern exterior of these impressive buildings.
Of the six education facilities included in this most recent PPP contract, five have benefitted from the application of Saint-Gobain Weber’s EWI and render systems. All Saint-Gobain Weber products used in these projects have been manufactured locally at the Saint-Gobain Weber factory in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, reducing transportation costs and the carbon footprint impact.
More information about Saint-Gobain Weber’s EWI and render products is available from www.netweber.co.uk
A construction firm and a roofing company have been fined for their part in a fall at a Lincoln retail park.
Taylor Pearson Construction Limited was the principal contractor building a new retail unit at The Carlton Centre on Outer Circle Road. The company sub-contracted roof cladding work to Roofwise (Bourne) Limited, which in turn engaged a sub-contract labour team of its own.
On 24 May 2011, the cladding team were installing gutter sections along one side of the roof. As one of the team, a 53-year-old self-employed roofer from Sheffield, who has asked not to be named, attempted to fix the last section of gutter he fell, striking the handrail of a scissor lift before hitting the ground more than eight metres below.
He suffered a fractured pelvis, shattered heel and broken thumb. He spent several weeks in hospital and had to have several metal plates inserted to his fractures.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that roof edge protection and safety netting had been installed to the majority of the roof, but an indented corner had been left unprotected. It was in this area that the fall occurred.
After the hearing (22 August) at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, HSE inspector Tony Mitchell said: “This incident was wholly preventable. Both defendants clearly identified the risk of a fall and the precautions that were needed, but had not fully followed this through on site. Several opportunities to identify and remedy this deficiency had been missed.
“The injured worker is lucky to be alive. There is no room for complacency when it comes to work at height.”
Taylor Pearson Construction Limited, of Church Road, Martin Dales, Woodhall Spa, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 in relation to the fall. The firm was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,710.
Roofwise (Bourne) Limited of North Street, Bourne, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £3,000 with £1,710 in costs.
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14 plastering and drylining trainees secure places in SkillBuild national final
Hot on the heels of their success at the regional heats of SkillBuild – the UK’s largest multi-trade competition – 14 Plastering and Drylining trainees have qualified as finalists to compete in the SkillBuild 2012 UK Final in Preston this month.
After 14 successful regional heats across the country, CITB-ConstructionSkills will be staging the SkillBuild 2012 UK Final for the country’s top-scoring finalists across a range of categories including plastering, bricklaying, joinery, painting & decorating and carpentry. Finalists from each category will battle it out in the three day final to find the UK’s top trainee in each trade.
Mike Bialyj, employer services director for CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: “SkillBuild encourages excellence, helps to raise standards in training and is an exciting way to showcase the outstanding talent coming into the construction industry.”
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