housebuilder

flooring and walling
Nailing the
fundamentals
Floors and walls are the fundamentals in any
housebuilding project from a self-build to a
major residential development.
Housebuilders are looking for systems that are cost
effective, contribute to an airtight building envelope and
keep the sound out. But what area is most important?
At British Gypsum, housebuilders are increasingly
looking for improved noise insulation.
“We’re finding that more housebuilders are looking
A Proctor Group has developed a vapour
permeable membrane and vapour control layers
to raise the fabric specification of their properties
to help them stand out from the crowd,” says Sarah
White, British Gypsum’s residential sector manager.
She adds: “Essentially, this means that when home
owners are downstairs watching TV in the evening and
the children are upstairs asleep, for example, it gives
them peace of mind that they’re not going to wake
them up or disturb people when moving around.”
British Gypsum’s product development is based
Continued on page 62 4
Steve Menary looks at the flooring and walling systems
that housebuilders should consider to get the basics right.
He also considers what factors are driving the specification
of these products
housebuilder july/august 2018 61

flooring and walling
Continued from page 61
not just on what housebuilders require but also
what homebuyers want. In 2016, the company
commissioned a piece of independent research,
Building Better Homes.
The company believes that finding a balance
between cost, climate and noise control is essential for
key products such as flooring and walls and extends
beyond product specification and price.
White says: “We believe getting all three
elements right is the key to a project’s success. For
housebuilders, compromising on the build quality
in favour of saving cost can cause complaints and
snagging lists to grow. It’s much more costly in the
long term to retrofit solutions.
“Getting each aspect right at the design and specification
stage is all-important. One of the most effective ways for
housebuilders to minimise noise pollution, for example,
is to start with design considerations such as room layout
and the positioning of rooms.
“Another key design aspect that can really make a
difference is how the internal elements and linings
interact with the associated structure. Of course by
selecting suitable products and getting the walking
surface specification right in the first place you can
significantly reduce noise transferring into the floor
structure, for example.”
British Gypsum is seeing increased demand
from housebuilders for its Gypframe metal
frame walling systems
“Compromising on the
build quality in favour of
saving cost is much more
costly in the long term”
Sarah White, residential
sector manager, British
Gypsum
Typically, houses are built up to the first floor using
sheets of timber, plywood or chipboard as flooring
that is replaced after construction is completed. An
alternative is structural flooring, which can cope with
the rigours of the construction process.
“Structural flooring boards are now often used as
a working deck on-site,” says Dan Soulsby, national
construction account manager at EGGER UK, which
supplies structural flooring to half of the top 30
housebuilders.
He adds: “The boards therefore need to be able to
Continued on page 644
Modern methods
of construction
Embracing modern methods of construction
(MMC) for walling solutions is increasingly
taking housebuilders off site as specification of
systemised products increases.
Adrian Pargeter, head of technical and
marketing at Kingspan Insulation UK, says:
“Increasingly, housebuilders are looking beyond
traditional construction approaches and
embracing the advantages of offsite construction
methods such as the Kingspan TEK Building
System of structural insulated panels.”
Kingspan’s system comprises a high performance
insulated core sandwiched between two layers
of oriented strand board and can be used to form
a building’s structural walls and roof. The panels
are factory-cut to each project’s specifications to
virtually eliminate any need for onsite adjustments.
62 housebuilder july/august 2018