Rory Ashcroft, National Sales Manager for Merchants at Leviat, reveals the crucial aspects builders must consider when planning and building an extension and underlines the importance of utilising the right products and materials.
With the demand for improved build quality increasing, building standards are ever tightening. Consequently, builders and bricklayers must build with safety and quality at the forefront, especially where new cavity walls are tied into existing structures.
However, with property owners becoming increasingly climate-conscious, a sharpened focus on thermal efficiency, acoustic performance, and sustainability must also be part of any successful property extension project.
This heightens the importance of specifying and installing the very latest market-leading products. Suitable for use in line with the National House-Building Council (NHBC), the Ancon Staifix range of stainless-steel cavity wall ties, starter ties, wall starter systems, and frame ties offers strength and durability alongside superb thermal and acoustic performance.
The importance of low thermal conductivity
During comprehensive property extensions, bricklayers and builders must balance building safety and aesthetics with thermal performance. While they are an essential tool in ensuring strength, longevity, and durability, wall ties can often impact the wall’s thermal efficiency by acting as thermal bridges.
To mitigate this, it is important that low thermal conductivity wall ties are specified and installed, particularly for wider cavities. For instance, the application of market leading cavity wall ties, such as Ancon Teplo-BF ties, can play a vital role in enhancing thermal efficiency.
Ancon Teplo cavity wall ties comprise pultruded basalt fibres set in a resin matrix – offering a thermal conductivity of just 0.7W/mK. Consequently, these ties are excluded from U-value calculations to BS EN ISO 6946, minimising wall footprint and insulation thickness.
Enhanced acoustic performance
With population growth increasing demand for housing, buildings are often built closer together to maximise available space. While this provides more housing opportunities for UK residents, it also increases the possibility of noise pollution and exacerbates the need for better sound insulation.
This is heightened further by ever stringent legislation and codes, meaning the specification of acoustically-optimised materials is paramount.
Suitable for internal separating (party) walls of new build attached dwellings, the Ancon Staifix HRT4 wall ties are Part E, Type A approved – offering enhanced acoustic performance. Minimising the transfer of airborne noise and vibration, these innovative products are suitable for cavity widths up to 150mm in domestic properties up to 10 metres in height.
Regulatory compliance
Builders and bricklayers are under increasing pressure to meet a myriad of building regulations as a result of the heightened demand for safer, more energy-efficient, and better built structures.
Whether it’s ensuring structural integrity to comply with Part A of the building regulations, focusing on superior thermal performance to meet energy efficiency and thermal insulation targets of Part L, or specifying and installing soundproof materials with Part E in mind, those tasked with undertaking house extensions must design, plan, and build with quality, safety, and sustainability at the forefront.
Ensuring best practice
With building quality and safety standards ever-tightening, it is imperative for builders and bricklayers to take a cohesive and holistic approach when it comes to property extensions.
Close collaboration between all parties involved – such as the builders, architects, designers, and the client enables a much more streamlined process, reduces risks, and improves project outcomes. By working together from the outset and communicating effectively, any potential issues, such as thermal bridging, can be addressed early– leading to fewer delays and costly alterations and ensuring a more successful and smoother project.
The correct specification of materials
With many UK properties built before 1980 having cavity widths between 50 and 75mm – modern standards typically specify 100-150mm – the correct specification of wall ties, restraints, and fixings is absolutely crucial. Especially when you consider the critical role that wall ties play in cavity wall stability.
To address these challenges, Leviat’s wide range of wall ties, restraints, and fixings, such as basalt fibre ties, acoustic ties, and low thermal conductivity wall ties, are designed and manufactured with longevity, durability, strength, and sustainability in mind. Offering superior performance, trusted stability, and enhanced safety, Leviat’s products are ideal for any property extension project.
For further information on the range of solutions from Leviat visit The Ancon Staifix Range
