Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Image: Ten Degrees, HTA Design

 

Construction Leadership Council and Supply Chain Sustainability School Unveil Bold Plan to Revolutionise UK Housing with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

20 September 2024, London, UK – The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the Supply Chain Sustainability School have today published a groundbreaking report aimed at addressing the housing crisis through Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). The report lays out key policy recommendations designed to accelerate the adoption of MMC and deliver high-quality, affordable homes at scale.

The report’s development was led by the CLC Housing Working Group’s Smart Construction Sub-Group, which includes representatives from:

  • Housing providers
  • Architects
  • Local authorities
  • MMC suppliers and manufacturers
  • Trade and professional bodies
  • Homes England
  • The Greater London Authority (GLA)
  • The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

 

The report proposes a series of long-term policy goals for the Labour Government to consider, including the creation of a dedicated MMC Taskforce. This taskforce, once convened, would be responsible for developing a comprehensive MMC strategy within six months. The strategy would focus on:

  • Improving productivity in housing construction
  • Enhancing speed of delivery and reducing outturn costs
  • Lowering embodied carbon in construction materials and processes
  • Maximising societal benefits through local employment and skills development

 

Addressing the Housing and Skills Crisis

The report identifies MMC as a key solution to the UK’s housing shortage, proposing that the adoption of MMC could counter the current 225,000-person skills gap in construction. With the ability to rapidly scale up housing delivery to meet demand for 300,000 – 500,000 homes annually, MMC offers a pathway to reversing decades of stagnation in the sector, which has seen construction productivity lag behind most other UK industries.

Global Lessons and High-Level Targets

Drawing on international case studies from countries including Australia, China and Japan, the report emphasises the need for high-level, published MMC targets that link both quantity and quality outcomes. It calls on the UK Government to implement clear, achievable goals that provide the construction industry with the certainty it needs to invest in MMC innovation and growth.

The report also supports the National Housing Federation’s call for new towns and settlements to include a mix of housing tenures, with MMC prioritised for its ability to rapidly deliver high-quality, sustainable homes.

A Clear Call to Action

The CLC is urging the Government to adopt their recommendations, particularly the creation of the MMC Taskforce, as a matter of urgency. By doing so, the UK can tackle its housing shortage, address the construction skills crisis, and deliver environmentally sustainable housing at scale.

Rory Bergin, Partner at Sustainable Futures said: “To meet the Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029, we need to double housing output and remove barriers that limit productivity. MMC is a key part of this strategy, and the sector has invested heavily in it. Now is the time to build on that progress, modernise housing delivery, and release the benefits of increased productivity, sustainability, and quality.”

Access the full report here.

 

 

The production of low carbon, plant-based insulating blocks by agricultural workers from farm materials could help to support rural economies and tackle labour shortages, experts believe.

A major new study will test if the materials, for use in local construction, could lead to a “Harvest to House” system of building.

The University of Exeter-led study will show if small-scale farmers could diversify into making sustainable building materials for use on their own farms, or for construction in the local area. This could also benefit their own businesses, communities and the environment.

Arable farm workers in the region will be involved in the small-scale trial of a manufacturing process.

Researchers will explore the human, environmental, and infrastructural barriers and opportunities for production through working with farmers and farm workers.

Diversification may be useful to tackle the rural labour shortage which already threatens the viability of

many farms. This project will investigate how diversification into building material production might complement, rather than conflict with, food production.

The project is led by Dr Caroline Nye and Professor Matt Lobley from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Rural Policy Research in partnership with Local Works Studio

The project, “Ag.Lab: Off-Season Farm Production of Building Materials”, grant was awarded from the £3.3 million Ecological Citizen(s) Network+, established in 2023 by UKRI’S Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Researchers will interview farm and agricultural workers so they can discover challenges faced and identify opportunities for future uses of the system or building materials.

Dr Nye said:

“The needs of rural communities are often overlooked in policy decisions and rural poverty is exacerbated by low pay, insecure employment, unaffordable housing and poor public transport infrastructure. Participation and employment in a pioneering, environmentally sensitive new industry, centred in the countryside, could foster a closer engagement of deprived rural communities with the land and bring benefits of a distributed local economy.

“Producing building materials could offer stability to local farm workers who need employment out of season, allowing them to remain in the local area; benefits to the farmer of experienced, consistent, higher skilled workers and repeat ‘returners’ to seasonal work; and stability to farmers who need to find other markets or make more from a crop. This would hopefully translate into more competitive pay for farm workers.

“We hope this project will be a beacon for a new potential cohort of workers – the growing number of young people from non-agricultural backgrounds attracted to the promise of land-based ecological citizenship.”

 

The results of the project will be showcased via a podcast series and with a local network of farmers.

Researchers will make a short animated, visual ‘manual’ of the pilot manufacturing system, in an accessible and easy to digest format that can be readily shared and referred to by time-pressed farmers and workers, as well as people outside agriculture.

The project is part of the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+, led by The Royal College of Art, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York and Wrexham Glyndŵr University, as well as a range of partners from industry, charities, culture and civil society.

Researchers at ETH Zurich pioneered a new robotic additive manufacturing method to foster sustainable construction through “impact printing.”

Researchers at ETH Zurich have done a new robotic additive manufacturing method to foster sustainable construction through “impact printing.” This new, innovative process utilizes earth-based materials such as clay and excavated earth-very inexpensive, abundant, and environmentally friendly-alternatives to traditional cement-based building methods.

The impact printing overcomes the labor-intensive and costly nature of the current earth-based construction techniques by adopting construction robots shooting material from above, developing walls gradually upon impact. Such materials bond together, often with just a few additives, to form a strong, stable structure, without the need to stop and wait for the material to solidify, as is the case in concrete 3D printing.

The impact printing method can deposit dense materials at huge velocities, say up to 10 meters a second for strong bonding between the layers. It does not seem entirely dependent on additives, as with typical layer-based 3D printing. That way, it will allow a more stable and efficient construction process.

ETH Zurich researchers designed a custom printing tool that could be outfitted on various robotic platforms, including offsite production systems and autonomous legged excavators, for construction in everything from vertically constrained urban areas to remote, natural areas. Indeed, the robotic system has already been used to build walls as high as 3 meters-or nearly 10 feet-to demonstrate its ability to undertake major building projects.

ETH Zurich’s team developed the method from scratch, using only circular, low-carbon materials to keep environmental impact as low as possible. The earth-based mixture used in construction consists basically of local, sustainable materials with only a few additives.

In collaboration with Eberhard Unternehmungen, one of the leading companies working on circular construction methods, the researchers want to be able to extend this technology even more into other materials and applications in the future. Impact printing can revolutionize the building industry as it holds the potential for speeding up processes, being ‘greener’, and making the process less expensive when constructing a structure with a minimal environmental footprint.

Colin Hughes, Group Manager at WMC

Wrexham Mineral Cables (WMC), a leading UK cable manufacturer, is calling for the establishment of a new fire-resistant cable standard to improve building safety and potentially save lives.

 

WMC’s call to action comes as the industry reflects on the 1,700-page Grenfell Inquiry report, which sets out how ‘decades of failure’ across government and the construction sector led to Grenfell Tower becoming a site of tragic loss of life.

The report makes 58 recommendations, including the establishment of a new construction regulator responsible for developing suitable methods for testing fire resistance in materials and products used in construction.

WMC says the industry reform must include a new standard that enables architects and specifiers to identify true fire survival cables, which are proven to perform to safety standards in real-world scenarios. The company warns the current regulatory framework allows for inferior cables to be used in safety-critical applications, putting lives and property at risk.

Currently, specifiers are presented with a choice between polymeric ‘soft skin’ cables and mineral insulated copper clad (MICC) cables. Due to the existing testing regime, both cable types are classed as fire-resistant, creating a misleading impression of equivalence. However, MICC cables have consistently demonstrated superior performance and are proven to perform to measurably higher safety standards in ‘real fire’ scenarios.

Colin Hughes, Group Manager at WMC, explains:

  • “Fire-resistant cables are integral to maintaining a building’s critical electrical systems during a fire. For example, emergency lighting, sprinkler systems, emergency generators, smoke dampers and shutters, and fire alarms. If these systems fail, the consequences can be catastrophic.
  • “Current testing standards create an unclear picture of cable performance; they treat polymeric and MICC cables as equivalent, despite their vastly different fire-survival capabilities. It’s all too easy for manufacturers to claim that products meet a required standard, even though the test methods themselves are not representative of ‘true fire’ scenarios.

“As the Grenfell report has made clear, everyone involved in construction is responsible for keeping people safe. However, architects and specifiers must be equipped to make informed choices. We need a new standard that allows specifiers to identify true fire survival cables – and potentially help save lives.”

WMC has long advocated for stricter testing standards and better fire-resistant cable specifications. In 2023, WMC published a white paper outlining how cables directly impact building safety. The paper advocates for the introduction of a higher classification of fire survival cable, which can continue to power critical circuits in the event of a fire.

Colin Hughes adds:

“Last year, the UK Government introduced stricter building regulations in England as part of new secondary legislation to implement the Building Safety Act. Unfortunately, recent events in London, such as fires at a residential block in Dagenham and at the historic Somerset House, serve as reminders that buildings of all types remain at a high risk of fire.

“This is why we continue to call on the government and industry to take action and improve building safety with the introduction of a new standard that subjects all fire-resistant cables, regardless of size or construction, to true fire scenario tests.”


CLICK HERE TO Download WMC’s white paper:

Expecting the unexpected:

specifying safety-critical circuit cables for fire survival

 


 

RINNAI HYBRID HEAT PUMP SYSTEM PROVIDES PRACTICAL, ECONOMIC,

AND TECHNICAL SOLUTION AT LUXURY COMPLEX IN THE CITY OF LONDON

Rinnai Low-GWP 50kW Heat Pump, bespoke thermal stores, Plate Heat Exchangers and ten cascaded I2HY20 Hydrogen- ready continuous flow water heaters specified at new development in the heart of Farringdon district of London.

On this site Rinnai’s Hybrid water heating H2 array of Low-GWP 50kW heat pump plus bespoke thermal water stores, with optimised coil transfer to maximize heat pump performance, have been combined with ten cascaded Hydrogen blends ready (I2HY20 certified) continuous flow water heaters. The systems were delivered in one complete consignment, ready for installation at a new multi-million-pound development in the Farringdon district near the City of London. The expansive complex will comprise of a new luxury hotel, prestigious & contemporary office space plus affordable housing units.

The multi-purpose use of the site meant that only a fit-for-purpose design would satisfy the practicalities and nuances of space, demand, and energy usage in ensuring hot water requirements are met and exceeded 24/7.

The site was originally a Victorian-era schoolhouse for poor children. It was a ‘Ragged School’ – the term ‘ragged school’ was used by the London City Mission as early as 1840 to describe the establishment of schools, ‘formed exclusively for children raggedly clothed’. From around 1845 until 1881, the London ‘Ragged’ schools gave rudimentary education to about 300,000 children who were the poorest of the poor – orphans, waifs, and strays.

The expansive retrofit site will pay respect to this heritage with many of the original features retained in the 150+ bedroom luxury hotel, almost 20,000 sq ft of opulent capital city office space and nine new-build affordable residential units. The hotel group already has one other unit in London with two others planned.

Comments Darren Woodward for Rinnai,

’The site is very complex and still has many original features from the Victorian era – meaning that a full and comprehensive site survey with capital expenditure, operational expenditure and carbon modelling was conducted. We paid special attention to the practical requirements of the site which included 150 luxury bedrooms that needed constant hot water on demand, but we also needed to meet the site’s decarbonisation credentials. The overall system design meant that a truly hybrid system employing a heat pump, plate heat exchangers, bespoke thermal stores plus Hydrogen-ready hot water heating units was supplied in one complete consignment.

“We believe that a solution like this is the way forward on the bigger retrofit sites in London and all other UK cities. Once we had the data for capital expenditure, operational expenditure, and carbon modelling we were able to demonstrate to the clients a value proposition of a delivered-to-site-in-one-package. This site has proven that Hybrids can create a practical, economic, and technical feasible solution whereby all technologies and appliances work efficiently in terms of operational costs and lowering the carbon footprint without impacting overall system performance.

Or CLICK HERE for more information on the RINNAI product range

 


RINNAI OFFERS CLEAR PATHWAYS TO LOWER CARBON AND DECARBONISATION

PLUS CUSTOMER COST REDUCTIONS FOR COMMERCIAL, DOMESTIC

AND OFF-GRID HEATING & HOT WATER DELIVERY 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT H3

 

  • Rinnai’s range of decarbonising products – H1/H2/H3 – consists of hot water heating units in gas/BioLPG/DME, hydrogen ready units, electric instantaneous hot water heaters, electric storage cylinders and buffer vessels, a comprehensive range of heat pumps, solar, hydrogen-ready or natural gas in any configuration of hybrid formats for either residential or commercial applications. Rinnai’s H1/2/3 range of products and systems offer contractors, consultants and end users a range of efficient, robust and affordable low carbon/decarbonising appliances which create practical, economic and technically feasible solutions.
  • Rinnai is a world leading manufacturer of hot water heaters and produces over two million units a year, operating on each of the five continents. The brand has gained an established reputation for producing products that offer high performance, cost efficiency and extended working lives.
  • Rinnai products are UKCA certified, A-rated water efficiency, accessed through multiple fuel options and are available for purchase 24/7, 365 days a year. Any unit can be delivered to any UK site within 24 hours.
  • Rinnai offer carbon and cost comparison services that will calculate financial and carbon savings made when investing in a Rinnai system. Rinnai also provide a system design service that will suggest an appropriate system for the property in question.
  • Rinnai offer comprehensive training courses and technical support in all aspects of the water heating industry including detailed CPD’s.
  • The Rinnai range covers all forms of fuels and appliances currently available – electric, gas, hydrogen, BioLPG, DME solar thermal, low GWP heat pumps and electric water heaters More information can be found on Rinnai’s website and its “Help Me Choose” webpage.

CLICK HERE for the Rinnai Website

Or email engineer@rinnaiUK.com 

 

TURN KNOWLEDGE INTO POWER

WITH UPONOR’S NEW CPD ON HEAT NETWORKS

 
GF Building Flow Solutions (formerly Uponor) has launched a new CIBSE accredited CPD: ‘Minimise the heat and energy losses of heat networks’, developed for building services engineers looking to broaden their knowledge. The hour long, face-to-face session looks at the importance of community and district heating networks, the relevant legislation, and advises how to optimise their performance through the use of efficient, pre-insulated pipe systems.

 

The comprehensive CPD will cover the types of heat networks, their role in reaching net zero, the relevant codes of practice and offer valuable insight into the funding available. The CPD will go on to look at system structures for sustainable heating and cooling, from outside to inside the building, the main issues to consider when it comes to system design and the benefits of pre-insulated pipework.

 

Sam Barker, Head of Commercial at GF Building Flow Solutions said:

“Decarbonising how we heat homes and buildings through methods such as heat networks is critical for meeting net zero goals. However, they have to perform as intended and making an informed decision when it comes to the specification of pipework is a factor in their success. Attendees should leave this CPD with a greater understanding of heat networks and how, through careful pipe selection, they can enable low temperature operation and minimise heat loss.”

 

GF Building Flow Solutions, a division of GF, is a leading global provider of sustainable and innovative solutions, making water flow in buildings. The division, stemming from the 2023 acquisition of Uponor by GF, provides safe solutions for hot and cold water supply and control, noise-reducing wastewater systems, as well as energy-efficient heating and cooling. Its focus is to enable its customers in the residential and commercial space to be more productive and sustainable, while ensuring comfort, health and efficiency. GF Building Flow Solutions has sales companies in 30 countries and production sites in 13 locations across Europe and the Americas.


 

CLICK HERE

To register interest and book the new CPD

 or call a member of the team on 01923 381212

 

 


 

 

The country’s largest housebuilder has decided to withdraw a series of planning applications due to concerns about the Government’s plan to include a 50% affordable housing requirement for green belt sites under an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

In a consultation launched last month, the Government revealed a list of proposed changes to the NPPF, which included the 50% affordable homes reform, alongside the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets, the inclusion of ‘grey belt’ land and the requirement for councils to conduct green belt reviews where they are not meeting their housing targets.

The policy changes are angled at achieving the Government’s target of building 1.5m new homes by 2029.

However, Philip Barnes, Group Land Director at Barratt Developments, warned that the affordable housing policy would deter developers from building on green belt land.

In a blog post published last week (28 August), he said that Barratt has pulled three “in-flight” planning applications being prepared on draft allocated sites “because the spectre of 50% renders the scheme unviable due to the unacceptably reduced (or removed) land value for the landowner”.

According to Barnes, existing green belt sites in a draft local plan allocated for housing “will not be able to provide 50% affordable housing”.

He added: “Even a Reg 18 plan will have been viability tested against a lower affordable housing percentage, so a change to the 50% affordable ‘ask’ will upend the whole plan.

Barnes, who said he has discussed the changes with “peers, public and private sector planners, land agents, lawyers, land promoters and landowners”, also raised questions about the consultation’s land value proposals.

“Everyone seems to be in full agreement – namely that the proposed disruption to the land market is likely to cause many in-flight schemes to be abandoned and stymie many other upcoming projects,” he said.

“Why? Because many landowners aren’t going to sell their land in such a policy environment.”

Barnes added that the 50% affordable homes requirement would hobble the new measures concerning ‘grey belt’ sites, which the Government defines as previously developed land within the green belt or green belt parcels that contribute minimally to the five primary green belt purposes.

 “Grey Belt summary = fantastic policy, at long last focusing new land releases in the most sustainable locations.

“But delivery challenges unless there is a realistic approach to the land market.”

Barnes also raised concerns about the consultation’s proposals regarding setting a national benchmark land value.

The document does not settle on specific figures, but suggests introducing benchmark land values for the purposes of viability-testing local plans and planning applications.

“The consultation document assumes that the existing use value of agricultural land is c.£20-25,000 per hectare or £8000-£10,000 per acre.

“So, if we assume the Government is aiming at x10 agricultural value they are expecting landowners to sell land for £100,000 per acre.

“Other than on larger sites, 100k will not happen in many places and I won’t spend time justifying that statement, with reference to the obvious issues such as capital gains tax, revenue vs capital, and long-term perspectives.

The NPPF consultation began on 30 July and closes to responses on 24 September.

Source: Local Government Lawyer

Image: UK Hempcrete

It really doesn’t look like much, but hempcrete is the green building material that’s got eco-savvy homeowners and architects excited by its potential to be a sustainable alternative to environmentally expensive bricks and concrete.

It is made using a carefully calibrated mixture of hemp shiv – the dried inner core of the hemp plant – mixed with lime and water.

But although hempcrete seems like a very modern building material, it has a history stretching back over 1,500 years.

Hemp plaster from the sixth century still lines the walls of the UNESCO-designated Ellora Caves in India, and hemp mortar has been discovered in ancient Merovingian bridge abutments in France – which is fitting, as France was at the forefront of the 1980s drive to modernise hempcrete and introduce it to a new generation.

Back then, wet hempcrete was cast onsite, as concrete is today, but the challenge of getting the mixture right made it a tricky product for laypeople to use. Too much of any of the three ingredients could make the material runny and weak, while not enough could cause crumbling.

Its drying time also posed problems. In fair conditions, cast hempcrete can take between four and six weeks to cure. But a cold damp winter could slow the process to at least six months, restricting its mass use across northern Europe.

Impeccable environmental credentials

Despite the challenges, hempcrete’s undeniable environmental credentials have meant it was a case of when, rather than if, it would muscle its way into the mainstream building trade.

Image: UKHempcrete

Liam Donohoe, chief operating officer at UK Hempcrete – a Derbyshire-based company designing and supplying materials to building projects using hempcrete – tells Euronews Culture that sustainability plays a part in every area of the product’s development.

“Hemp, unlike conventional crops, doesn’t require a lot of fertilisers or pesticides to protect it as it grows. The type of fibrous hemp usually used in construction is a tall plant that grows quickly and so can be cropped and planted quite close together, naturally suppressing weeds,” he says.

“I’m not saying it takes no energy to produce hempcrete, it does. But when you compare it to man-made insulation and wall infills, it has an unlimited life span and the primary ingredient is a renewable crop that costs a lot less energy and carbon to produce.”

Research and development changed everything

Experiments in France and at Belgium’s University of Leuven in the early 2000s saw researchers begin tackling the barriers preventing hempcrete from realising its full potential as a mainstream building product.

The eureka moment was the development of the hempcrete block or ‘green brick’, which took the specialist skill and guesswork out of using the material.

The lightweight fibrous block opened up a new world of possibilities for the material without diminishing any of its eco-credentials. It is free from volatile organic compounds (VOC) and indefinitely retains its acoustic, moisture absorption and thermal conductivity properties – in sharp contrast to synthetic insulation that decompresses over time to become less effective.

It is now a consistent, lightweight and reliable product that can be easily transported to sites and used by jobbing builders without extensive training.

Hempcrete versus concrete

Despite its versatility, experts are quick to dismiss comparisons between hempcrete and concrete. Concrete is a reinforced, structural building material that can support its own weight, while hempcrete is used around a frame of wood, steel or concrete. Think of it as insulation that doesn’t cost the Earth.

“When hempcrete is made into blocks, it’s strong enough to support itself, so can be used to build multi-storey buildings. There are a number of examples in the Netherlands, South Africa and France, so it’s not that you can’t build high or strong structures with it, but you need to use it around a frame,” Donohoe says.

“Researchers are working on developing a structural application for hempcrete, but that currently means usually tweaking the recipe. The sweet spot is finding something that’s very consistent, that goes onto the building site just like any other building product, without compromising too much on the carbon inputs to the recipe by using ingredients that are less sustainably produced.”

Hempcrete’s time has come

Hempcrete is proving itself to be well-suited to the radically different way many lives are lived in the post-Covid world and the desire to do more to ensure the survival of the planet.

“In the recent past people would commute to their heated offices, do a day’s work and return home to put the heating on for an hour or two in the evening,” Donohoe says.

“We don’t live like that now. Increasingly a lot of us want a nice stable healthy environment at home, because that’s where many live and work.

“Synthetic insulations, such as polyurethane and fibreglass, form a barrier between heat and cold, but they heat-up and cool down very quickly. By contrast, natural materials, such as earth, or hempcrete, are a little slower initially to heat up, but they retain their heat a lot longer – a process called ‘decrement delay’. This process suits today’s world, where people are at home a lot longer, and the heating is on more frequently during the colder months,” he adds.

Europe is setting the pace in hempcrete use

Image: IsoHemp

The major players in the hempcrete world hail from Europe. In the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Italy, hempcrete is routinely used to retrofit old buildings and form the core of new builds.

One of the biggest producers is Belgian company Isohemp. The Fernelmont-based business has been trading since 2011 and operates in five countries.

It produces more than a million hempcrete blocks a year and claims that the projects it has worked on have saved 18,000 tonnes of C02 from the environment – that’s equivalent to the emissions produced by a patrol car circumnavigating the planet 32,000 times.

Although the UK is a few steps behind the pack, the gap is closing fast. UK Hempcrete knows of 300 to 400 houses in the UK that have been built with hempcrete and sees a bright future for the product.

“The future of hempcrete will be in prefabrication using modular methods of construction. We already have timber-framed houses largely assembled in factories, brought to the site and constructed there. There’s no reason why hempcrete houses can’t be similarly prefabricated,” Donohue says.

“In Britain, companies are building conventional family homes with hempcrete that look just like estate homes anywhere in the country, but with vastly superior eco-performance benefits.

“A focus for us is retrofitting pre-1940s housing stock. We are working with community housing cooperatives around the country who have old houses that are cold and leaky. The biggest opportunity is developing that market alongside the growing newbuild market.”

But perhaps the full potential of hemp and hempcrete has yet to be realised. BMW currently use a weight-saving hemp polymer in the door panels of its i3 electric car, while in southern Italian earthquake zones hempcrete is used as a flexible building material that can cope with Earth movement, rather than rigid, brittle concrete.

The future of hempcrete as a green building material looks assured. But with researchers working on ever more innovative ways to use it, perhaps we’ve only seen a tantalising glimpse of the difference it can make.

New research confirms UK reclaimed clay and bricks can cut carbon emissions in cement and concrete

 

Using waste clay and brick in cement production could reduce the material’s embodied carbon by up to 30 per cent and boost UK construction’s circular economy, according to a new report.

A two-year study led by the Mineral Products Association (MPA) with funding from Innovate UK has demonstrated that UK reclaimed clays and finely ground brick powder can be used as calcined clays in cement and concrete manufacturing to deliver lower emissions compared to the market-leading CEM I cement.

The findings also confirmed that calcined clays from these sources have the potential to divert 1.4 million tonnes of material from potential waste streams if the materials were adopted by the UK construction industry.

Clay is a naturally abundant material in the UK and can offer an alternative to industrial by-products such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and fly-ash which have been traditionally used to lower the embodied carbon of cement. UK production of both materials is reducing as the power and steel industries decarbonise.

In other parts of the world, calcined clays are used as a secondary cementitious material but until now they have not been officially tested in the UK.

Two heating methods were trialled to prepare the clay for use in cement and concrete: commonly used rotary kilns, and the more innovative ‘flash heating’. Both methods have been shown to produce high-quality calcined clays, and with no significant difference between techniques.

The project has been supported by Heidelberg Materials UK, Tarmac, Imerys Minerals Ltd, Forterra, University College London and University of Dundee.

 

Dr Diana Casey, Executive Director, energy and climate change at the MPA said:

 

“Using brick waste and reclaimed clays will not only lower carbon and reduce waste but has the potential to create a whole new market if these clays become widely used in the construction industry, helping to retain economic value in the UK, secure jobs and attract investment.”

 

The development of low carbon cements and concretes represent one of seven key levers in MPA UK Concrete’s Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero.  The roadmap sets out the UK concrete and cement industry’s own commitments to delivering net zero and builds on its decarbonising the industry by 53 per cent since 1990.

 

CLICK HERE to read the full report on the MPA website

 

 

Ongoing investment in research and development by SFS Group Fastening Technology Ltd has brought the launch of the construction industry’s first ever adjustable fastening system for use with tapered – AKA cut-to-falls – insulation, installed over steel decking.

The SFS BSA adjustable fastening system follows on from the success the manufacturer has enjoyed with its TIA product, introduced a decade ago for use on concrete roof decks. Importantly, it offers roofing contractors a faster, simpler, and more cost-effective solution for securing insulation or single-ply membranes across multiple insulation layers up to 500mm thick.

There are three primary components to the patented system – the choice of a 110mm or 160mm fastener; thermally-broken polyamide sleeves available in lengths from 70-330mm; and five different stress plates which clip onto the sleeves for membrane or insulation securement.

The BSA fastener features two different thread zones separated by a thread-free zone.  To install, the efficient drill point cuts through the steel deck while the lower thread is designed to threadform and also restrict penetration through the crowns of the deck to a maximum 20mm.

The specialist drive bar tool then engages with the locking nut, held captive in the sleeve, to effectively tighten the assembly down into position. Then if the roof is trafficked the nut is free to move within the sleeve, before returning to its original position when the load is removed; this telescopic arrangement making BSA a very safe option for use with PIR and stone wool insulation.

For membrane installation when using BSA with tapered insulation, there is a choice of either the traditional isotak seam (or lap fixing) system or field fixing using the isoweld induction welding system.  Using isoweld, single ply membrane is welded to dedicated stress plates.  No fixings penetrate the waterproofing as a result.  Rather than seam fixing, induction welding uses a field fixing arrangement where the stress plates are installed in a grid pattern.  The Isoweld fasteners provide for both insulation and membrane retention and are evenly distributed, independent of the membrane seams and the result is increased efficiency, security and cost saving opportunities.

The BSA adjustable fastening system is CE-marked, fully tested and carries ETA Approval, while it has been successfully trialled on projects in the UK and Germany, receiving excellent feedback from contractors.

 

Martyn Holloway, Business Development Manager, Flat Roofing for SFS, comments:

“The use of adjustable fasteners for installing tapered insulation and single ply membranes on flat roofs removes complexity and simplifies the install. The BSA system offers up to 85mm adjustability using the same fastener and sleeve combination so this means that with a1:60 fall the same combinations can be used for four separate boards, whilst achieving a consistent 20mm fastener penetration through the deck.

 

“By contrast, using standard fasteners significantly more components and rationalisation of fastener lengths will result in varying penetration depths ranging from 20 to 70mm.  A consistent 20mm penetration across the complete roof significantly cuts the risk of damaging M&E services below the deck.

 

“Compared with adhesive fastening of tapered insulation schemes, the BSA adjustable fastening system will provide for a significantly faster and more cost-effective solution. One fastener will fix through multilayers of insulation and without the need for priming the deck nor expensive bitumen-based Air and Vapour Control Layers. Additionally, mechanically fastening is less weather dependant, especially in terms of temperature”.

 

SFS is pleased to offer project specific technical guidance and specification support, including wind load calculations and site pull-out testing to assist determine the correct number of fixings for either field or seam fixing methods of single ply membrane installation – or alternatively for insulation attachment, for example, where liquid applied membrane systems are specified.

 

 


 

CLICK HERE

further information or call 0330 0555888