27 July 2009

Durisol Delivers Community Benefits

Durisol’s fast, green and cost-effective wall forming system is at the heart of a new project to construct a single-storey community centre in Lode, Cambridgeshire. The new 230m² building includes a spacious meeting area plus kitchen and well-equipped changing facilities for the local cricket and football clubs. Durisol’s innovative ‘dry stack’ system has been used to construct both the building’s exterior and interior walls.

According to Alan Lamb, who managed the project on behalf of Lode Parish Council, choosing Durisol rather than traditional brick and block masonry cut construction costs by 30%, and overall build time by around 70%. Durisol provided initial on-site assistance to the building contractor who, despite having never used the Durisol system before, was then able to construct around 70m² of walling a day.

DURISOL DELIVERS VALUABLE COMMUNITY BENEFITS

Durisol’s fast, green and cost-effective wall forming system is at the heart of a new project to construct a single-storey community centre in Lode, Cambridgeshire. The 230m² building includes a spacious meeting area plus kitchen and well-equipped changing facilities for the local cricket and football clubs. Durisol’s innovative ‘dry stack’ system has been used to construct both the building’s exterior and interior walls. According to Alan Lamb, who managed the project on behalf of Lode Parish Council, choosing Durisol rather than traditional brick and block masonry cut construction costs by 30%, and overall build time by around 70%. Durisol provided initial on-site assistance to the building contractor, who despite having never used the Durisol system before, was then able to construct around 70m² of walling a day.

Although cost was a key factor in the project specification, the Council was also keen to use environmentally friendly methods and materials, says Alan Lamb. "By specifying Durisol, which combines excellent green credentials with impressive time and labour savings on site, we were able to achieve both these objectives," he comments. Durisol’s 300mm wide units were used for the building’s external walls, with 170mm units for internal walls. Both units have an acoustic rating of 55dB and a structural core thickness of 120mm. Interior and exterior finishes can be applied directly to Durisol with no need for mesh or scratch coats. The community building’s façade will be finished in a combination of brickwork and stained timber boarding in accordance with local planning requirements.

In addition to fast track construction, Durisol offers a green building solution that is made from recycled material using a low energy manufacturing process and is itself fully recyclable. Units are supplied as standard with eco-friendly mineral fibre insulation that allows U-values as low as 0.19, without extra insulation, thereby enhancing a building’s overall energy efficiency rating. Furthermore, as the insulation is located on the exterior of the concrete core, the units benefit from a high thermal mass which contributes to lower energy requirements.

Proven in use around the world, Durisol modular wall forming units are a cement-bonded building product manufactured from 80% recycled wood fibre. The units’ tongue and grooved locating profile assists alignment and enables quick and easy wall forming on site with minimum skills. Units are simply dry-stacked without mortar and then filled with concrete to create solid, durable walls with excellent sound and thermal insulation. Resistant to damage from vermin and wood boring insects and will not support fungal or bacterial growth, Durisol units will not rot or decay which makes them equally suited to above or below ground level construction. Durisol and its licensees have been producing wood fibre and reinforced concrete products for over 50 years in 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 barriers and retaining walls.

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