SPI’s Expanded polystyrene passive house foundation solutions

SPI are one of the leading manufacturers of expanded polystyrene in the UK, supplying an extensive range of building and civil engineering products. With state of the art moulding and cutting machinery SPI can offer a wide range of grades and bespoke products to suit all types of projects.

As an insulation supplier SPI have seen trends in correlation with the increasingly demanding building regulations of part L conservation of fuel and power. Even after the scrapping of the 2016 zero carbonpolicy there is still a requirement to meet the 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 under the Climate Change Act. There has been a call for innovative solutions when it comes to insulating the UK housing stock, the development of building systems which produce lower target U-Values has allowed for off-site construction to bloom, with a growth of products like SIPs, ICF walls and modular floors.

Recently this has lead to an increase in passive house foundation construction largely developed as offsite modular concepts, which allows for less installation time on site meaning the structure above can be installed earlier. Typically the foundations and structure can be completed within a week for a 4 to 5 bedroom house. Passive house foundations consist of a basic L shaped perimeter with standard boards up to three layers thick. Specialist clips are used to hold the whole foundation system together. The complete foundation base is then covered with a DPM and the structural concrete can then be poured.

Once the concrete is cured the superstructure can begin. Most commonly we have seen these foundations used with SIPs and lightweight timber frameworks. As an insulation provider the off-site development means we can cut bespoke products required by the layout of the build quickly and easily, making the whole process from conception to completion exceptionally fast.

These types of building elements and forward thinking innovations offer a certainty that builds can easily exceed regulations which when coupled with the environmental sustainability expressions of modern future proof housing make the prospects of a carbon neutral 2050 attainable.

For more information please visit www.styrene.biz.