NOVEMBER 2019 | 21
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
Advances in foam tape technology seal offsite construction
Foam sealing tapes can
drive faster installation and im-
prove energy efficiency, says Andy
Swift of ISO Chemie, sales and op-
erations manager - UK & ROI, ISO
Chemie, who considers their use
in offsite modular construction.
Despite wider construction
sector struggles to deliver projects
on time in the face of escalating
costs, falling levels of customer
satisfaction and wider econom-
ic uncertainty around Brexit,
we have seen a surge in offsite
modular construction, disrupting
the construction industry in a
positive way and shortening the
time between project conception
and completion. For example, the
UK has witnessed a steady rise
in off-site construction methods*.
Demand from the market is also
encouraging councils to open-up
their doors to modular. Indeed,
the market for prefabricated
modular buildings and portable
accommodation is estimated to
have increased by 6% in 2017 – a
significant improvement from
2016.
While modular will shorten
build times and cut costs, it also
leads to an improvement in safety,
reduces wastage and protects
against external elements such as
the great British weather. Also, in
the face of skilled labour shortag-
es, the approach has the potential
to reduce dependence on a manu-
al skill-base by moving to a leaner
manufacturing process.
In offsite construction, systems
are delivered to site pre-assem-
bled and pre-tested with guaran-
teed built-in quality and reduced
installation times. The approach
allows contractors to undertake
smart engineering and co-ordina-
tion at the front end of
a project, avoiding the
problems often associat-
ed with putting fitted together
systems on a construction site,
leaving behind a legacy of a qual-
ity installation that can be easily
maintained throughout its whole
life cycle.
Companies like ISO Chemie,
which provides foam and other
tapes solutions for the high-per-
formance sealing of windows,
doors, construction joint gaps
and facades, are working with
other building products suppliers
to develop integrated solutions,
which meet the demands of offsite
construction and deliver supply
chain added value.
Faster installation
One such is Smartroof, whose
panelised roof system provides
advantages in terms of faster in-
stallation times when compared to
traditional roof construction tech-
niques, particularly for new build
town houses. The system is facto-
ry insulated to the client’s speci-
fication and the party wall panels
and the block work airtight,
acoustic and thermally sealed,
while accommodating potential
differential movement between
the two surfaces before shipping
to site and final installation, using
ISO-Chemie’s tape. The tapes that
have featured in projects are an
integral feature of Smartroof’s
offsite construction
activities, specified due
their high performance and
reliable performance.
Another offsite innovator is
Modcell, whose cassette-style pre-
fabricated system utilises the ex-
cellent thermal insulation qualities
of straw bale and hemp construc-
tion to form prefabricated panels.
These can allow super-insulated,
low energy ‘passive’ buildings to
be constructed using renewable,
locally sourced, carbon seques-
tering materials, ensuring that
buildings can be constructed to
meet the demanding PassivHaus
specification, with resultant almost
zero heat requirements, saving
money and CO2 emissions.
The firm has used foam tapes
in several projects to provide air-
tight, acoustic and thermal interior
and exterior seals between pre-
fabricated panels, which are then
used in offsite construction.
Sustainability was a key driver
for the project: ModCell panels
were used to build the super-insu-
lated structure to the highest eco-
logical standards using thermally
efficient, 48cm thick, prefabricated
straw bale wall panels, with tapes
filling the 10mm expansion joints
between panels and around win-
dows and doors. This helped to
achieve an excellent target of <2.0
m³/hour/m² measured at 50 Pas-
cals air tight seal for the complete
building – a good standard for the
construction industry is anything
between 3 – 5 m³/hour/m².
Another beneficiary of tape
technology is the Spinelock Group,
which specialises in manufacturing
extruded aluminium framed hous-
ing sections that are constructed
off-site and feature insulation, rain-
water harvesting, and renewable
energy systems already incorpo-
rated into the design. The Mans-
field-based firm has used the ISO
BLOCO One to provide an airtight
sealing solution for its advanced
structural floor, walls and roofing
system, used in the construction of
zero carbon emissions homes (A+
Energy Performance) - specifically
sealing the gap between pre-en-
gineered openings for doors and
window systems to be compliant
with full air tests.
Tapes such as ISO-BLOCO One
and others offer a single product
‘fit and forget’ solution for fast and
effective sealing based around the
European RAL principles of three
level sealing - the inside seal area
is more airtight than the external
one, allowing any trapped mois-
ture inside the joint, or within the
wall, to escape outwards rather
than into the building.
The external seal area provides
weather resistance and breathabil-
ity with a minimum resistance of
1000 Pascals (hurricane forc-
es), while the intermediate seal
area provides extra thermal and
acoustic properties, with a U-value
between 0.55 and 0.8 subject to
tape size, and the internal one air
tightness and humidity regulation,
the tape installation itself gives
less than 0.01 m³ air loss when
tested at 1,000 Pascals air pressure
difference. All three levels are de-
signed to accommodate movement
between the adjacent materials.
Significant strides
Significant strides have also
been made in reducing on-site
window and door system instal-
lation times through the intro-
duction of offsite construction
techniques. Here, one company
at the forefront is Sidey with its
KitFix System, which adds value
to timber frames and structural
insulated panel systems (SIPS)
while delivering significant bene-
fits to contractors and, ultimately,
customers looking for supply
chain savings.
This system enables fully
glazed windows and doors to be
installed into timber frame and
SIPS panels as part of the offsite
production cycle, while having
little impact on stacking, trans-
portation and erection of the
finished panels. ISO-CHEMIE’s
ISO-CONNECT Vario SD humid-
ity regulating foil, which offers
‘intelligent’ humidity control
and complies with UK Building
Regulations for air when used
as an internal seal, offers Sidey’s
system effective weather and air
tightness sealing of the window
and door frame connecting
joints, facilitating faster onsite
build.
Foam sealants provide superior
moisture resistance together with
air tightness and thermal insula-
tion for timber-framed buildings,
undoubtedly aiding product sup-
pliers in the drive towards more
sustainable, faster offsite con-
struction. But equally important,
with the careful management of
all manufacturing logistics and
sequencing, they contribute ef-
fectively to eliminating potential
waste, risk and cost in the supply
chain without compromising
offsite construction quality.
DHF publishes changes to CE marking of fire
and smoke resisting industrial doors
CE marking of powered
doors, whether fire/smoke
resisting or not, has been
mandatory under the Ma-
chinery Directive since 1995;
this remains a constant
and will not change. As of
November 2019, there will
be significant additional
requirements for CE mark-
ing of both powered and
manual fire and smoke re-
sisting doors covered by EN
13241:2003+A2:2016. This
is because compliance with
the Construction Products
Regulation (EU) 305/2011
(CPR) becomes mandatory
for both manual and pow-
ered fire resisting industrial
doors on this date. Whilst
many manufacturers have
been CE marking their prod-
ucts under the new rules on
a voluntary basis during the
co-existence period, the new
rule will become compulso-
ry from November 2019.
The long-awaited pub-
lication from DHF reveals
what is required, and is to
be used, in conjunction with
DHF TS012:2019 and is now
accessible from the federa-
tion’s website.
“It is important to note
that it does not cover pe-
destrian doors, except for
retail shutters (which clearly
resemble a shutter in a
warehouse more than they
do a hinged or sliding pe-
destrian fire door). For CE
marking purposes, only fire
test evidence to EN 1634-
1 can be used,” explains
DHF’s General Manager and
Secretary, Michael Skeld-
ing. “Existing fire shutters
tested to BS 476-22 remain
acceptable, but fire shutters
placed on the market after
1 November this year will
need the CE mark. As well
as fire test evidence, the CE
mark must be supported
by evidence of the shutter’s
ability to self-close and its
safety in everyday use.”
https://www.dhfonline.
org.uk/publications/ce-
marking/3.htm
www.dhfonline.org.uk