The £875,000 development in Gainsborough involved retrofitting and converting a Georgian property, which had previously been used as council offices, into three dwellings. A further four town houses were constructed in the site’s former car park on the project managed by Richard Julian Associates. The project was funded through the Ecotowns scheme by West Lindsey District Council, in partnership with housing provider Longhurst & Havelok Homes, and is expected to show the way for future regeneration in the area.
After careful consideration the fabric first approach was selected for the project as it was expected to bring the greatest reduction in whole life costs for the dwellings. Contractors Robert Woodhead Ltd. suggested the Kingspan TEK® Building System for the new town houses based on its track record of assisting projects to achieve CSH Levels 5 and 6. Its SIP construction simplifies the fabric first approach and offers several advantages for energy efficient new-build projects.
The TEK® Building System’s proprietary joint system allows air leakage levels as good as 1m3/hour/m2 at 50 Pa, and its highly insulated core achieves a whole wall and roof U-value performance of 0.21 W/m2.K and below. This performance can easily be improved further to achieve the highest levels of airtightness and thermal efficiency. By installing an additional layer of OSB, air leakage can be further minimised to below the level required for Passivhaus (0.6m3/hour/m2 at 50 Pa), whilst a minimal thickness of insulation such as Kingspan Kooltherm can reduce the wall and roof U-value to 0.10 W/m2.K and below.
Mike Harrison, project architect from Allan Joyce Architects commented: “The Kingspan TEK® Building System was installed quickly and delivered the thermal and airtightness performance we required to attain CSH Level 5. It also provided us with a good level of flexibility to achieve the modern design of the new town houses.”
The transportation and erection of all Kingspan TEK® Building Systems is carried out by Kingspan’s expert delivery partners, allowing installations to be completed quickly and efficiently. On the Cross Street project delivery partners K-Panels used their expertise to carefully plan the build and lifting schedule, allowing a team of four installers to complete the erection in only three weeks.
Kirsty Crossley from K-Panels explained this process: “Access to the site was very limited so a carefully planned delivery schedule was essential; we carried out several just-in-time panel deliveries to ensure a smooth installation. We also worked closely with the contractor to ensure minimal disruption to other local properties.”
“In addition to the fast completion, the added benefit of the Kingspan TEK® Building System is its accurate construction off-site, this enables a virtually waste-free installation process.”
The scheme features several other energy saving features including roof PV panels, rainwater recycling systems, energy efficient lighting and appliances and an MVHR system to help heat and ventilate the new houses. To further improve the project’s energy efficiency credentials, Longhurst & Havelok Homes are aiming to identify tenants willing to sign up to the ‘sustainable lifestyle’ to match the homes inherent performance.
The Kingspan TEK® Building System holds BBA and NSAI Agrément certification and is recognised by the major building warranty providers including NHBC, Building Life Plans, Premier, Build Zone, Homebond and HAPM.