Use of Blockwork in new builds

lostinfens

lostinfens

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Hi all,
Am starting a new "spec" build soon , 3 bed bungalow. I have heard that in the not too distant future, incoming regs will render internal block skins a difficult option.
Questions are :- Any truth in the rumour? Is there a viable alternative? & would Fitting a couple of solar panels offset the difference?
Did a spec build t'other year & considered "SIPS" -until I got their price . Thought about timber framed -but found their attitude,cost, conditions ludicrous.

Am open to suggestions (of a none personal nature) & any input from the wide knowledge base that this forum is, get your oar in!
 
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The problem with that page is the overwhelming substance of it all!
I don't see how masonite type material would help in the build of a bungalow, isn't this just a different but same thing as glulam?
 
lostinfens said:
The problem with that page is the overwhelming substance of it all!
I don't see how masonite type material would help in the build of a bungalow, isn't this just a different but same thing as glulam?
Click to expand...
No, It's quite different from Glulam in as much as it's much more thermally efficient due to the narrow web construction and you completely fill it with insulation. And yes, that page does have an awful lot of information but the answer to these questions isn't always a simple one.
 
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As the job I'm concerned with will have no upper floor, then is there any viable use of this system? I'm aiming at a standard brick/block, concrete floor, trussed roof build with all the required insulation.
If the answer aint simple then it's beyond me :)
 
There is no prescriptive rule as to what block you can and can't use. The blocks you use will be part of an overall thermal design, which must meet minimum standards. Those standards are due to increase this year any new design will take that into account.

Before you start work you should have a thermal design in place, and that design should specify exactly which block is to be used. If you don't have a design you need one before you start. This is very important because building regs departments frequently do not ask for designs at the begining but do ask for it before signing off at the end. You do not want to get to the end only to find the design doesn't comply.

I spend quite a lot of time doing retrospective designs for people who just went ahead and built and often a lot of extra work is needed to make them comply.
 
See what you mean now Nick, it's basically another version of SIPS then? If so is it as costly?
As per thermal design jeds, wouldn't that all be covered in the architects sap rating?
(this is my 100th post, so round of applause?)
 
lostinfens said:
See what you mean now Nick, it's basically another version of SIPS then? If so is it as costly?
Click to expand...

No, the Masonite beam is a separate element which can be used with various cladding systems. The page I linked to does though show the Masonite as being bonded with a facing which makes it a structural panel. I think to clasify as a SIPS it has to be manufactured in a factory to strict tolerances and the panel skin has to be fixed with adhesive so it becomes what is termed 'a stressed skin, or monocoque, panel. I've never done a cost analysis on the various systems though.
 
lostinfens said:
See what you mean now Nick, it's basically another version of SIPS then? If so is it as costly?
As per thermal design jeds, wouldn't that all be covered in the architects sap rating?
(this is my 100th post, so round of applause?)
Click to expand...

Yes, the SAP should specify exactly which block to use. If that has been approved for regulations then that's the block you should use. You can obviously change to a different block (or to some other completely different system) if you want to but if you do that the SAP will need to be recalculated.

How far away are you from starting?
 
I wasn't that far from starting, plot bought stc, hopefully starting by June. However, having weighed all the pros & cons, not only my reservations regarding the new builder bashing regs, but the current market in the area. Also the impending election & the possibility of a rate rise which would depress the market further & a few other niggling questions. I am now probably going to withdraw my offer.
It seems a shame because work is thin on the ground, I did a succesful spec just round the corner from this & would've enjoyed this one. The problem is that there are just one or two too many ticks in the wrong boxes. The ever tightenening regulations just suck all the fun out of the game for me, I can't be doing with callow youths in suits reading me the ecological riot act & blaming small builders for the decline in the Polar bear population.
I seriously doubt the future of small new building speculation, I have no problem with saving the planet but what's sauce for the goose.. Why don't we pay for food miles, close down runways, get heavy goods off the road instead of faffing about making dwellings airtight then insisting on trickle ventilation.

ps. plot came with plans with planning permission
 
If you start in June the new Part L will not affect you in any way. I'm struggling to understand why you don't just press on and get started. As long as you follow the approved thermal design you will be ok. Everything else is just confusing the issue.
 
When exactly then are the new regs in force? Reading the docs online give a vague at best guide. Anyhow as I mentioned earlier, the regs are just a part of the whole, if you've done a new build in recent years, you'll understand that the hoops required to jump through are ever increasing.
I've been looking at the recent market in the area, a pleasant rural village, but prices are dropping just now particularly on this type of property, which doesn't bode well for the future. Also as I mentioned the forthcoming election could herald a change in interest rates & other econonmical circumstances or just cause a perception of uncertainty within the market. The downturn in the Euro is also a destabilising factor.
So as you see it's not the Regs alone but the cumulative effect of these that make me consider a different path.
The plot is reasonably priced & would be worth holding on to if I thought that the market was at all predictable.
I've taken risks before, I have renovated & new built before & enjoyed it too, despite dealing with pre-pubescent local govt buiding control & planners, for the first time I'm having doubts-sod it I'll go and get a start at B&Q. :LOL:
 
New regs will be introduced April...ish. But will not take effect until September/October.
 
D

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