New offsite research highlights time saving opportunities for housebuilders

Kingspan Insulation has published a new whitepaper with research from leading consultants, Currie & Brown, showing that structural insulated panels (SIPs) can cut housebuilding timescales by up to 26% when compared with masonry approaches, providing overall cost savings of as much as 7%.

The research programme compared the Kingspan TEK Building System of SIPs (comprising OSB/3 faced panels with a rigid insulation core) with masonry constructions across three modelled case study buildings:

• a two-storey detached dwelling;
• a two-and-a-half-storey detached dwelling (with a room in the roof); and
• a four-storey apartment block comprising 32 units.

In each case, the Kingspan TEK and masonry constructions were designed to achieve equivalent thermal performance. Currie & Brown engaged with industry experts to undertake a cost analysis of each construction, including typical project costs and programme lengths.

The results showed that by using the Kingspan TEK Building System, the overall programme length for both detached dwellings could be reduced by 26% (8 weeks)whilst the programme length for the apartment block was cut by a full 12 weeks. This fast-track approach was made possible due to the modular construction of the SIPs and the fact that once windows and doors are installed and a breather membrane applied to the outer face of the panels, the building shell is weathertight. This means follow-on trades can be expected to get to work several weeks earlier.

The analysis further showed that whilst the cost of materials was higher for the SIPs constructions, the reduced programme length allowed significant savings to be reached in preliminaries such as plant, security, scaffolding and services. As a result, savings of 7% (£15,100 and £16,300)could be reached on the two-storey and two-and-a-half-storey properties respectively, whilst overall costs of the SIP construction on the apartment block was just 0.8% higher than with the masonry construction.

In addition to these potential savings, the report also highlights that the reduced time taken to watertight properties with the Kingspan TEK Building System could help to avoid delays due to adverse weather. The compressed programme length also means developers can free up funds faster and should be able to reduce associated interest costs.

To find out more, download the Cost of Speed of Construction whitepaper: http://www.kingspantek.co.uk/costofspeed