| CASE
STUDY |
The
Laurels, Felsted, Essex |
 |
|
“One of the reasons I used Perimeter Plus is that I
wanted to be able to see where the insulation was going and ensure
that the cavity was properly filled. I looked at the other blown-in
insulation products that were available and decided that I didn’t
want a system that required me to put the plasterboard on first and
then blow the insulation in through a hole. Another important
reason for choosing Perimeter Plus was that, with all the kilometres
of data wiring and 100mm diameter air supply and extraction pipes,
as well as all the normal plumbing and power services, using any
other product it would have been very difficult to achieve a
complete fill so as to optimise thermal and acoustic efficiency.”
“It is quite an amazing product, particularly for sound insulation,
you can hear the difference as soon as you walk into the
house,”
Stan Cassels
Self builder and owner of The Laurels
|
|
PRODUCTS USED |
|
Perimeter
Plus |
|
|
PROJECT |
|
The
Laurels (self build) |
|
|
CLIENT |
|
Stan
Cassels |
|
|
MAIN CONTRACTOR |
|
Miller
Pattison |
|
|
KNAUF INSULATION MANAGER |
|
Paul
Godfrey |
|
CHALLENGE
With an increasing amount of self builders turning to timber
frame construction, ensuring inspirational homes with the highest
standards of energy efficiency and sustainability is no easy
task.
The Laurels is a totally unique 200m2 timber frame
self build property in Felsted, Essex which had an objective of
insulating all faces of the home to a high standard. As well as
optimising thermal efficiency through minimising the risk of air
leakage or gaps, the home would also need to be acoustically
insulated and the material used would need to be amongst the most
sustainable options available.
The property contains a number of intricate sections, stud
depths ranging from 100mm to 200mm thick and several kilometres of
data wiring running through the house.
SOLUTION
Self builder and owner Stan Cassels turned to Knauf Insulation’s
brand new Perimeter
Plus Blow-in-Blanket System (BIBS) to provide the ideal
solution for this project.
Perimeter Plus
is a specialist high performance loose glass mineral wool designed
to be blown into timber frame walls from the inside of a house
under construction. The unique system is inherently sustainable as
it is made from a high content of recycled glass bottles and the
high density installation guarantees that all gaps and voids are
completely filled while the tightly packed material ensures no
settlement.
A thermal and acoustic barrier is assured thanks to the
product’s ability to compress around pipes, plumbing and electrical
wires, fixtures and fittings meaning that 100% of the area
available to insulate is filled and that excellent sound control is
ensured.
There is also visual assurance of a quality installation in
every area – as a comparison, inaccurately cut rigid foam boards
are susceptible to air gaps hidden by tape or partially filled with
expanding foam. Unlike blown cellulose systems, Perimeter Plus does
not require adhesives or moisture meaning that working even in a
cluttered internal environment does not present a problem plus
there is zero waste and no need to allow additional time for
clean-up.
In addition to these benefits it is also a highly cost-effective
solution and the flexibility of the product means that, as in the
case of The Laurels, it can be used to insulate all faces of the
home including external and internal walls, ceilings and pitched
roofs at rafter level. Already installed in over 2 million homes in
the USA the BIBS system is a tried and tested solution which now
offers new and optimised solutions for insulating timber frame
buildings in the UK.