H+H Celcon
Foundation Blocks are being used in a major development in the North West.
Jones Homes, a local housebuilder in the North West, is presenting a luxurious
new development of 82 predominately detached homes, comprised of four to six
bedrooms in the desirable town of Wilmslow, south of Manchester.
They have appointed
main groundworks contractor Matthews & Leigh Civil Engineering Ltd, a
well-established groundworks firm based in Chorley, Lancashire.
Developer Jones
Homes entrusted Matthews & Leigh with the decision on which materials to
specify. Some contractors may feel daunted by this level of responsibility, but
for Matthews & Leigh it wasn’t a problem.
Company Buyer, Alan
Lines explained: “As we already have a fantastic working relationship with H+H,
we automatically go to them for our block supply. The decision to go with H+H
is based on three main factors: the technical support available, the availability
of the blocks and competitive pricing.”
H+H Foundation
Blocks were of particular benefit at Bollin Park as Jones Homes design each of
their homes with a 150mm cavity, which requires a durable foundation block that
is up to the job. Matthews & Leigh chose to specify High Strength
Foundation Blocks (340 x 215mm) in 3.6N strength for the two storey homes and
7.2N strength for the three storey homes.
Alan said: “Even
when we want the 7.2N strength Celcon Foundation Blocks, which are normally a
special order only item, H+H always manage to find us the blocks when we need
them. Originally when we started work on site at Bollin Park there were some
supply/availability issues with foundation blocks from other suppliers, however
H+H have always managed to supply the blocks we need, when we needed them.”
Aircrete is growing
in popularity as a masonry material however the perception remains that
aircrete blocks cannot be used below DPC level, which means that dense
aggregate blocks are needlessly specified, adding to the overall costs of the
project. H+H Celcon Foundation Blocks are fully load-bearing and capable of
supporting buildings up to three storeys tall.
There are many
advantages for housebuilders, not least their ease of use. Requiring only a
single leaf of blocks, a solid aircrete block can be laid onto a strip of
poured concrete to match the thickness of the wall. This method also requires
no mortar at the perpendicular joints; instead they can be butted against each
other.
There are also
significant cost benefits to be gained from making the switch to aircrete. A
study by independent consultancy firm Calfordseaden found that specifying
aircrete for foundations alone could reduce total build costs by almost 25%.
This is achieved through aircrete’s naturally quicker build speed which leads
to reduced labour costs and the solid construction means that fewer materials
are needed.
Additional benefits
of using BBA certified H+H Celcon Foundation Blocks include improved thermal
performance which exceeds current UK Building Regulations, superior resistance
to sulfate attack and protection from fire and frost.
H+H prides itself on
the levels of customer service it offers, regardless of the size of the order.
Alan was frank about the reasons why he continues to use H+H: “If we weren’t
satisfied with the level of customer service, we wouldn’t use them. We’ve been
with H+H for over three years now and the relationship just gets better each
year.
"We’ve never
had any problems with H+H, and I don’t envisage us having any issues but if we
did, I have no doubt that they would do everything that needed to be done to
solve the problem.”
The large site at
Bollin Park is progressing well and the first homes were completed in Summer
2018.
