Some
180 Marmox Thermoblocks have been supplied to a regional builder for the
construction of a high specification home near Harrogate, with their unique
combination of insulating and load-carrying properties being used to tackle
cold bridging where the two storeys above ground meet the basement structure
which contains a swimming pool and other recreation areas.
The
five bedroom property has been built by Dobson Construction with a beam and
block ground floor being supported off the in-situ concrete basement walls. The
partially filled external wall of dense concrete blockwork, with an outer leaf
of quarried stone, was then raised on the continuous course of Thermoblocks.
The
65mm x 215mm x 600mm Thermoblocks were supplied through a local stockist and
have been laid on a mortar bed with the special Marmox Multibond adhesive being
used to seal the stepped joints between the units.
The
Site Manager for Dobson Construction recounted: “The use of the Thermoblocks
was specified by our project architect to tackle the issue of perimeter heat
loss, around the perimeter of the basement and also at ground floor level, on
top of the concrete wall. Our bricklayers carried out the work, using the
Marmox adhesive and the installation went without any problems whatsoever.”
As a
loadbearing composite product Thermoblock has been developed to be incorporated
into various wall constructions as a horizontal layer, equivalent to a course
of bricks, in order to address a critical area of heat loss, thereby reducing
energy bills and making a significant contribution to SAP (Standard Assessment
Procedure) calculations.
Each
length of Thermoblock is comprised of ultra-high performance XPS insulation,
encapsulating miniature columns of concrete, while the top and bottom are
covered by alkali resistant glass-fibre mesh, retaining a surface of fibre
reinforced polymer concrete to facilitate bonding.
The
concrete columns have a very low conductivity so do not present thermal bridges
themselves, and when coupled with the highly insulating XPS insulation core, a
combined thermal conductivity of 0.47W/mK is achieved.
Crucially,
being able to employ a defined, very low thermal transmittance – derived by
thermal modelling or measurement – offers a far more advantageous result than
adopting the ‘default’ figure offered in SAP which can often result in
non-compliance with Part L.
