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Keylite helps housebuilders meet current regulations

Many of the UK’s national and regional housebuilders are opting to specify Keylite Roof Windows (Keylite) as their preferred supplier, due to the market-leading and innovative product solutions that come as standard.

 

With several changes made to Building Regulations in England and Wales last year, including additions to ‘Approved Document L: Conservation of fuel and power’ and ‘Approved Document F: Ventilation’, housebuilders have been looking for products that take the headache out of compliance by ensuring they meet current requirements.

The purpose of Part L is to ensure energy efficiency in buildings, with new and existing homes in England now being subject to higher building performance targets in an interim step towards the Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard that will arrive in 2025.

When it comes to heat loss, one of the biggest issues for housebuilders is thermal bridging, which is an area of a building construction which has a significantly higher heat transfer (loss) than the surrounding materials. One example of where this would occur is with junctions around windows, including roof windows.

If this area is not insulated it can lead to cold bridging on roof windows; this is where the gap between the roof and window creates a cold section all around the frame due to the temperature differentiation between the outside and inside, which contributes toward heat loss and can eventually lead to condensation and mould.

Keylite has taken the lead in ensuring it removes the possibility of this occurring, ensuring its products are designed in such a way that housebuilders don’t have to consider the ‘gap’. These built-in features help eliminate thermal bridging, which reduces the risk of non-compliance and delivers a build that is closer to the expected energy performance.

 

Lee Squelch, Regional Sales Director (GB) for Keylite, comments:

 

 

“One such feature is Keylite’s patented Integrated Expanding Thermal Collar, which ensures the thermal integrity of the window and roof is as designed, thus removing the reliance on an additional thermal collar and helping achieve Approved Document L requirements. It also improves airtightness and Psi Values for SAP, helping housebuilders meet new regulations.

“Part F requirements for background ventilation are also supported through Keylite’s cleverly designed top handle, allowing for controlled trickled ventilation when the window is fully closed and securely locked. National House-Building Council (NHBC) will not accept other window types that provide background ventilation by being latched in the partially opened position.”

 

Keylite Roof Windows is helping its many housebuilder customers meet current regulations throughout the UK and Ireland.

 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

 

or CALL 01283 200 158

 

or CLICK HERE TO EMAIL KEYLITE

 

 

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DOMUS, RIGHT PRODUCT, RIGHT ENVIRONMENT AT SPECIFI EVENT

Right product, right environment: Domus Ventilation provides valuable advice at Specifi Mechanical Services events

 

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR). HRXE-ZEUS has been introduced to meet ventilation requirements for large residential properties, which require a more powerful system to deliver the airflow required to meet Building Regulations Part F. HRXE-ZEUS joins Domus Ventilation’s existing range of MVHR systems, including HRXE-HERA which is suited to use in smaller properties of up to two/three bedrooms, and HRXE-AURA designed for homes of up to four/five bedrooms. All units are listed on the SAP Product Characteristics Database (PCDB) and come with a warranty of five years, with the first year covering parts and labour.

 

Other Domus Ventilation solutions led products that will be highlighted at Specifi, include the NOX-FILT filter which prevents up to 99.5% of NO² pollution from entering a home, and the award-winning non-combustible Solis Air Brick™ that enables compliance with the revised Building Regulations Fire Safety Approved Document B.

 

Domus Ventilation has a well-deserved reputation for quality, supported by excellent technical support, from a market leading manufacturer and designer. It is well placed to offer immediate, practical solutions to Building Regulations Parts F & L.

 

CLICK HERE for more information on the location and times of Specifi events and  to register for free attendance

For more information on Domus Ventilation CLICK HERE

 

 

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LGA calls for ‘urgent and immediate’ building regulation review

The Local Government Association is today calling on government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations.

Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said “Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the Government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building regulations. We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry or coroner’s report before this review is started. We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned.

“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset. The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.

“Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen as soon as possible.

“We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed commercially confidential. If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open. It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public.

“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality in the public interest to assist the Government and councils in gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents, but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”

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