Every building project has to start somewhere. Once the site is prepared, that ‘somewhere’ is usually the foundations and the ground floor.
The performance and quality achieved in a ground floor construction can set the tone for the rest of the build. We’ve come across plenty of projects where something has been done incorrectly in the floor build-up, and it hasn’t been rectified because nobody wants to delay the rest of the work through digging up a freshly-laid concrete slab.
To help with setting the right tone, the focus of this month’s newsletter is ground floors, and some of the advice and information we’ve published on our blog that you might not be aware of.
Of course, if you’re constructing a basement then your project starts below ground, with basement walls and floor. What questions have you got about basement construction and insulation that you’d like our help with? Email technical@polyfoamxps.com to let us know, and we’ll answer them in future months.
Focus on ground floor insulation
We can probably name all the different performance requirements that a ground floor has to meet, but can we say that we always give them due consideration? Do we select the best type of ground floor insulation to suit the specific requirements of our project?
Thermal performance is usually the focus, with materials often chosen to meet a required U-value. But what loads will be imposed on the floor? What compressive strength does the insulation need to provide? And is the proposed specification ensuring that the floor meets the moisture protection requirements of the Building Regulations?
Follow the links above to read and share our ground floor blog posts, then email us, or reach us via the LinkedIn button at the bottom of the newsletter, if you have any comments or questions.
Design Resources
A vast majority of the construction industry operates in very traditional ways, but are those methods and processes fit for the future? “We’ve always done it that way” can be a mantra for designers and contractors alike, and this fascinating article on the complexity of buildings asks why that is the case.
Challenges like climate change and resource availability mean that some change is inevitable (the BBC recently featured an interesting piece on waste in construction). Back in issue 5 of this newsletter, we featured the House Planning Help podcast, and one of their recent episodes looked at digitally manufactured houses – could this be the future of domestic construction?
There are other examples of where people in construction are looking at different solutions to address needs. One that caught our eye was a modular development, designed to the Passivhaus standard, to help the homeless. What new or innovative solutions are you looking at currently?
Getting More From Polyfoam XPS
If you’re short on time to read multiple blog posts on floor insulation, or if you prefer to get your learning from an accredited CPD session, then why not view our online seminar about ground floor insulation?
It’s just fifteen minutes long and answers any questions you’ve got about what extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation is, how it performs compared to other common insulation types, and what makes it the ideal choice for ground floor applications? Our presentation is accredited by the CPD Certification Service, and you can view it online here.
What Caught Our Eye This Month ?
Subscribe
Thanks for reading this issue of The Build Up by Polyfoam XPS. To receive the new issue every month SUBSCRIBE
