Achieve Compliance with Less Effort

Published by Angela May for McVeigh Insulations in Housing

The pressure to achieve a 25% reduction in a building’s carbon emissions is being lightened through an innovative approach to construction techniques pioneered by and already available from McVeigh Insulations.

The company’s large format Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) technology even now yields a

U value as low as 0.1W/m²K and airtightness of less than 5m³/hr/m² @ 50Pa- some 50% better than the maximum criteria laid down under the new Approved Document L which comes into force in October.

The panels, up to 7m x 3.8m and fabricated in McVeigh’s purpose-built, controlled environment factory, also provide greater structural integrity to the completed building, minimizing the number of components to be positioned on site. The reduction in abutments, joints and fixing penetrations further reduces risk of air leakage, and thermal bridging issues, simplifying construction to gain compliance. The 100% ‘end of life recyclable’ panels also attain an A rating under the BRE Green Guide to Specification.

The performance figures are proven in reality: McVeigh large format SIPS were used to help construct the new Hope Academy in Liverpool which has achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating under BREEAM and won the trophy for Innovation in Sustainability at the Excellence in Building Schools for the Future Awards. Alistair Brymer, Contracts Manager at Willmott Dixon, main contractor for Hope Academy, elaborated, “Using McVeigh SIPS gave us excellent insulation values, good continuity of insulation, avoidance of cold bridging and inherent airtightness, which automatically leads to a very thermally efficient building envelope.”

From its Stockport head office, McVeigh offers a full service, from design through fabrication to supply and fix. The company has over 40 years’ experience in creation of insulated structures with low air leakage. McVeigh has worked for organisations including retailers Tesco and Sainsbury’s, hotel chains including Travelodge,  leisure companies such as Xscape- building all of its indoor real snow ski slopes in the UK, and most British major contractors. Its projects range from one of the first 1million ft² cold stores in the UK through schools to housing, where its latest work has included the engineering of SIPs for three blocks of student accommodation, each 20 storeys high.