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Recent Press Releases Excel Brings Viscocel to Hillhead: 28 March 2007
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24-hour House to Star on BBC A five-bedroom house, erected in just 24 hours using Excel Building Solutions’ TRADIS wall panels, floors cassettes and roof plates, is to star in a forthcoming BBC TV series, ‘Home Wasn’t Built in a Day’. Constructed by private developer, Urbane, in Bristol, the house construction was selected by the producers to demonstrate that a habitable, weathertight structure can realistically be constructed in a single day. Following the construction of this TRADIS shell, the house was then immediately ready for following trades to undertake the internal fit out and provide an external finish of lime render and clay roof tiles. Along with its suitability for ultra-fast construction, TRADIS was specified for this project because of its ability to deliver high levels of insulation and a healthy living environment, as well as being manufactured from recycled or sustainable materials. The 260 m2, two storey house was constructed using 170mm deep TRADIS wall panels, 250mm deep floor cassettes (creating the suspended ground floor) and 300mm deep roof plates, delivering U values of 0.27 W/m2K, 0.15 W/m2K and 0.18 W/m2K respectively. The predicted annual space and water heating cost for the house is just £269 and the predicted CO2 emissions will be a minimal 3.4 tonnes per year. The house achieved a five star SAP rating of 105. In addition to these high insulation levels (which favourably compare, for example, to the building regulations U value requirement for walls of 0.35 W/m2K), TRADIS structures employ EVT Technology. This ensures that any moisture or water vapour that gets into the structure actively migrates to the external side of the panel, where it is harmlessly expelled to the outside atmosphere, thereby preventing interstitial condensation. Because of the inherent strength of TRADIS structures the roof plates negate the need for cross ties and struts associated with traditional fink trussed roofs and produce clear runs of useable roof space. In this house design, the free space was used to create a ‘room-in-the-roof’ in the central area of the house and cathedral style roofs at each end of the upper floor, which were used to accommodate raised galleries off the bedrooms/living area below. Complementing the energy efficiency of the TRADIS panels, argon filled double glazing, a high efficiency boiler, efficient hot water storage and low energy light bulbs work to produce maximum SAP and NHER ratings. Natural paints and coatings for woodwork and lime render on the exterior walls contribute to minimal environmental impact. Using ‘spot’ foundations, where the building is supported on piers, also minimised the amount of concrete required for the foundations. |
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