Durisol's sustainable wall form system is contributing to fast track construction of an extension to Dale Farm in Wirral, a day centre specialising in horticultural skills for adults with learning disabilities. The 300 sq m building will provide a new kitchen and dining area and is being built by Read Construction Holdings Ltd on behalf of Wirral Council and Dale Farm Association. A durable, green building solution, Durisol interlocking wall units are manufactured from recycled wood fibre bonded with proprietary cement and offer faster build times. Units are simply dry-stacked then filled with concrete to create solid walls with excellent thermal and sound insulation.

Read Construction Holdings Ltd, based in Llangollen, was awarded the Dale Farm contract by Wirral Council, who chose the Durisol System to satisfy the project's sustainable specification and build schedule. Commenting on the company's first experience of using Durisol at Dale Farm, William Jones, Read Construction's Quantity Surveyor says, "It's really quick and easy as the units just interlock with no need for mortar or bricklaying skills. The walls simply flew up and we had to increase our concrete deliveries to keep up."

As a newcomer to the Durisol wall form system, Read Construction received full technical support from Durisol, including a site visit to explain the build technique, which Read's Site Manager Matthew Nicholas describes as a "massive help." DSs 300/120 wall form units from the Durisol range were specified for Dale Farm, which are designed for external load bearing walls and have a U value of < 0.34 and an acoustic rating of 48dB. Each unit measures 500mm L x 250mm H x 300mm W and has a lifting weight of just 9kg.

The original building at Dale Farm features a gabled roof, and the new extension has been designed to continue an existing roof slope with walls built from 25 courses of Durisol units at the rear elevation and 18 courses at the front. Typically, four courses (1,000mm height) are dry laid and filled with concrete each day. The units are finished with a cement and sand external render and painted white to complement the existing building. Summing up, Matthew Nicholas of Read says, "The Durisol wall system has definitely helped speed up the build process on this project and we'd be more than happy to use it again."

Durisol is the original stay-in-place wall form system for below and above-ground building construction. The interlocking modular units offer considerable time and cost-saving benefits over traditional masonry components. The ideal basis of a green building, they have very low embedded energy, are fully recyclable and Part L compliant. Once the units are dry stacked, reinforcing bars are placed as required and concrete is poured into the built-in voids. Drylining and fittings are attached with nails or screws, and the open surface texture provides an ideal substrate for plaster. The Durisol wall system offers thermal performance up to twice that of a conventional wall and the high thermal mass reduces the need for cooling in summer and heating in winter. Each unit is inert, dimensionally stable, non-combustible and inhibits growth of fungus and mould.

Durisol and its licensees have been producing wood fibre and reinforced concrete products for over 50 years in Northern Europe and also in North America, Australia, Russia and the Pacific Rim. In addition to wall form products for building the company also has a portfolio of products and systems including noise barrier walls, retaining walls, and acoustic facings.