R-WALL - Performance for the Homeowner
Why R-WALL?
R-WALL offers a multitude of benefits to the home owner over other forms of construction. The main superstructure of your home is arguably the most important. Any failure of this structure will have major consequences to the longevity of the building. With R-Wall the build process will be quicker, the labour costs will be reduced and the build schedules unhindered. The resulting home provides a superior living environment and outperforms other construction methods in longevity, strength and performance.
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Why use R-WALL rather than timber frame?
Most timber frames are made from green fast grown timber which is less dense and much more prone to warping and rot than the older timber frames. The picture to the right demonstrates this well. In the UK the life expectancy of a timber frame is approximately 25 years, the length of a standard mortgage! When you consider how vulnerable timber is, ask yourself why do we use this to create the main structure of our homes? For example, a small leak in a window or roof could cause the main structure to rot, jeopardising the entire home, infestations such as wood worm could destroy the integrity. It seems ironic doesn't it that if we want a good fire, we burn wood! Why use such a fire susceptible product to create our homes?
Timber has been used as a quick construction method, and compared to standard construction it would be. Timber frames require 3 stages to form the main structure - timber frame, insulation, taping and blocking outside. With R-WALL its just formwork (your insulation) and concrete pour (your main structure) - done! R-WALLs structure including the insulation is unaffected by wet or damp, maintaining thermal performance and integrity. Did you know that concrete gets stronger with time and the concrete gives the highest possible construction fire rating - unlike timber! The resulting build is stronger, has a longevity of at least 60 years, doesn't warp and thus results in less thermal cracking and little to no after care!
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Timber is not as strong as concrete and therefore will not compete on strength with R-Wall and sound attenuation ratings will be much less! If you have noisy neighbours or busy roads near your home, don't build timber! Timber frames are also prone to thermal bridging issues, making it a challenge to pass building regulations. Thermal bridges create unhealthy living environment's, causing damp, mould and reduced energy efficiency of the home. R-Wall has no thermal bridges, totally eliminating these issues and resulting in a healthier more energy efficient home!
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Wood from 2018 compared to wood used in 1918 taken from WOOD (hullworks.com). The closer and increased growth rings gives the wood much more strength and integrity. Modern wood is often genetically modified to grow faster resulting in loss of quality.
Why use R-WALL rather than Standard Construction?
Standard construction has been used for years, but it is slow and requires a high level of skilled labour and attention to detail to be formed correctly. A lack of attention to detail can result in damp issues and reduced performance. For example it is essential to create a full and complete thermal envelope of insulation and "gaps" (known in the industry as a thermal bypass), can have dire consequences for the energy efficiency of the resulting home. Research into this provided the following shocking information;
“For a given thickness of insulation, a 7.5 mm gap could result in a 203% increase in heat loss; a 15mm gap could be a 520% increase.” – L. Alter [4] (Understanding and Addressing Thermal Bypasses in Building Enclosures (greengirt.com))
It is extremely easy and common in standard construction to form such "gaps", cavity ties, mortar, unlevel layers and a lack of attention to detail can all help contribute to these issues. This is demonstrated by the picture to the right. The resulting envelope will not perform as expected. The expected installed U-Values can be reduced by as much as 80% according to a report published in 2012 by the British Board of Agrément (BBA). R-WALL on the other hand is difficult to build badly! The insulation needs to create a formwork to hold concrete, any gaps and your concrete would be lost! The insulation is also external to the main structure so visually gaps would be obvious. The three layered wall insulation - concrete - insulation prevents wind washing, another cause of reduced energy efficiencies, and with the closed cell insulation and concrete core forms, a very efficient air barrier, creating more energy efficient and healthy living environments.
Why ICF and why R-WALL ?
ICF as a build system offers the home owner a wealth of advantages both in build, and during the lifetime occupation of the home. ICF out performs other forms of construction in almost all areas. When you think, you use 7.5 Newton blocks to build, and within R-WALL you place C35 concrete - 35 Newtons in strength, you can see why ICF homes can withstand winds in excess of 250 mph and make great retaining walls! Building with ICF is quicker, easier and more light weight. The wall construction offers higher levels of sound attenuation than other build methods, which in turn gives the homeowner a more comfortable living environment. The well insulated, naturally air tight building with zero thermal bridging results in highly efficient Eco homes, with healthier living environments and the thermal mass of the concrete acts like a thermal battery to moderate internal temperatures from the external fluctuations.
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So why haven't all homes been built from ICF you may ask yourself? The answer to that is the lack of functionality and strength of the "older" or modular type ICF's. Modular ICF's were notoriously avoided by architects because the "modularity" created restrictions in design - for example set course heights, cut lines restricting opening sizes and locations. Builders didn't like ICF's as the "modular" type blocks were restrictive and weak during construction. R-WALL is a "non-modular" build system made with closed cell XPS insulation rather than EPS insulation (as used in many older modular systems). The "non-modular" increases its versatility both in design and construction, and the closed cell XPS creates formwork 3 times the strength and much more thermally efficient. R-WALL is one of the highest performing ICF's on the market.
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The advantage's of Non-Modular ICF?
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Non modular increases build versatility, which, in turn makes the build process quicker and less complicated. The versatility allows the functionality to make alterations where required - blocks can be cut at any point unlike "lego" type modular blocks, which often cannot. This allows openings to any dimension in any location. R-Ties move along the R-Rail, to which this movement is essential to aid building, for example to accommodate starter bars or steels - again many preformed blocks or those characterised by fixed webs or connectors make this process much more difficult. ​R-WALL blocks can be cut and manipulated easily onsite. This cutting does not render the R-Board waste, off cuts can be put back into the wall reducing waste and associated costs. With all components' of R-WALL being non modular, transport costs are kept to a minimum and all waste is fully recyclable. The build system also requires less skilled labour which can significantly reduce build costs.
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The advantages of an XPS ICF rather than EPS based ICF
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XPS as used by R-WALL is a closed cell insulation, whereas EPS used by modular ICF systems is open Cell. (More information on the differences can be found here). You will read on the internet claims that EPS is closed cell, but what they inherently refer to are the individual beads being closed cell. What they avoid is the fact that EPS is lots of little beads of insulation pushed together - between these beads are voids which allow transfer of air and influx of water. There are no voids in XPS. This is why XPS is a better insulator than EPS and much stronger. The thermal efficiency is also maintained as the insulation does not allow any water or damp penetration. In fact XPS was created by the US Navy as a buoyancy aid - its that waterproof! It means that R-WALL can be used below ground or in any potentially damp or wet conditions, and you know the thermal efficiencies will still be delivered and the insulation unaffected. Building in the worst of the British weather will not affect your main structure! Another advantage of this closed cell nature is the increased thermal efficiencies. This means R-WALL can achieve better U-Values to wall widths, for example, a 309mm wall will achieve building regulation level of 0.18 U-Value. This means plot area and living spaced is maximised.
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Another advantage is its additional strength. The R-Board has a 300kpa rating, most EPS ICF systems would be on average around 100Kpa. This gives R-WALL around 3 times the formwork strength. When you scroll through the internet, you will inevitably see pictures of modular ICF's covered in timber strapping, basically holding the formwork together. This isn't necessary with R-WALL! R-WALL with its unique R-Tie and R-Rail system, combined with the stronger insulation creates a much more robust formwork. The recommended pour level is to 3 meters or intermediate floor height, but we have customers who have poured to 6 meters in one day! Increased formwork strength reduces the risk of blow outs and means concrete can be poured at a better rate. This in turn means reduced costs in labour, lorry waiting times or pump lorry overtime!
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Building with R-WALL results in a quick, easy construction method and unrivalled longevity and performance, why would you build with anything else? This really is the future! For more information and advantages of R-WALL formwork click below;​
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