A property developer constructing an enclave of detached properties in an east Hertfordshire village is making extensive use of products from the portfolio of YBS Insulation, to ensure the exterior elevations offer excellent thermal performance while controlling moisture movement. The five new homes are being built by Land & County Development Ltd., at Furneux Pelham near Bishop’s Stortford, with Braintree based Helix Design Solutions Ltd. having filled the role of architect for the project. After originally considering rigid foam insulation and a conventional vapour check for the walls, the builder is employing YBS Insulation’s SuperQuilt within the timber frame construction. This is combined with the manufacturer’s Breather Foil FR externally, both products being supplied through Minster Insulation. Land & County Development is a small company established in 2009, covering the north of Essex into Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, which specialises in constructing high quality timber framed and modular homes, styled for contemporary living in a traditional style, sympathetic to the surrounding environment. The five homes nearing completion in Furneux Pelham range in size from two to four bedroom, with master en-suites as well as many luxury features, with prices rising from £400 K to in excess of £1 million. The founder and Managing Director of Land & County Developments Ltd., Seb Vallance, commented: “We had in the past used high performance, rigid foam insulation boards to cover our timber frames but switching to the YBS Quilt offered a number of advantages. Not only is the multilayer product cheaper and an easier install than the boards, but it also saves applying a separate polythene vapour barrier. It is nicer to work with and offers a very neat finish: where it is fully wrapped.
“Very importantly it also reduces the overall wall thickness of the property. Saving 50 mm right around the building envelope over two floors adds up to a significant extra habitable space for the occupants.I have recommended the YBS products to several colleagues in the business and I think it is gaining interest.Recognised by the NHBC and compliant with the current version of Approved Document L to the Building Regulations, SuperQuilt comprises 19 layers including reflective foil, expanded polyethylene and polyester wadding to provide a cost effective and user-friendly alternative to much thicker insulation materials.Installed with a 25mm cavity it controls not just radiated energy but thermal conduction and convection. It creates an effective vapour control layer and will also combat thermal overheating in the summer months.The YBS SuperQuilt is fixed across the inner face to the timber frame before the internal plasterboard dry-lining is battened off then externally, YBS Breather Foil FR is overlapped down the cavity face of the plywood or OSB sheathing boards. This fully certified, fire rated product is not only waterproof and fully breathable, but can also increase the thermal performance of wall constructions.