Polysteel on Grand Designs Channel 4 January 16th 2008
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An opportunity to showcase your product on one of the most popular television shows of recent years does not come along very often, so PolySteel UK were delighted to assist fellow Cheltenham residents, Mr & Mrs Bawtree in their radical proposal to move underground into a glamorous new subterranean home, and have Channel 4’s Grand Designs cameras follow developments throughout the build. With 70% of the accommodation underground it was vital that the building envelope created a strong, safe and comfortable living environment. So by including a waterproof additive into the mix and using PolySteel’s 200mm core forms in the basement to easily create the reinforced, insulated concrete wall coupled with economic ground source heating and clever use of mirrors to maximise natural sunlight, The Cheltenham House exudes a feeling of comfortable sophistication to match its stylish looks and truly “ground breaking” design. PolySteel Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) provide new home builders with a quick, economic and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional construction methods and is so energy efficient a completed wall can save as much as 50% of your expected annual heating bills as well as vastly reducing airborne & noise pollution from external or adjacent sources. Mr & Mrs. Bawtree are delighted with their new home and viewers of Grand Designs are sure to be impressed with what can be achieved from such a confined space.
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The Cheltenham House, Cheltenham, UK
Questions that have been raised since the programme was aired
First of all we at PolySteel would like to congratulate Tim and Zoe Bawltree on the successful completion of there subterranean home recently featured on the Channel 4 Grand designs TV programme. The build and TV programme will have thrown up many questions that we thought best to answer with a question and answer list shown below, we will add to it as necessary.
What is PolySteel Insulated Concrete Formwork?
The polystyrene blocks simply act as shuttering to keep the poured concrete in place until it has set, but unlike normal wooden shuttering the polystyrene stays in place afterwards to perform its second duty of very efficient insulation, more information can be found on this website.
Why was the PolySteel system chosen?
PolySteel is a Modern Method of Construction (MMC) and is one of several different makes of ICF in the UK, each having evolved differently, this offers a choice to the user but essentially perform to meet the ever increasing demand to reduce energy bills whilst making the actual building process easier. PolySteel is a local company based in Cheltenham and as we manufacture here in the UK we are able to to offer excellent delivery schedule.
Why was there a joint in the concrete which gave rise to a water leak from the surrounding earth?
It was not by choice that there was a joint in the concrete below ground, it was brought about by the necessity due to the sheet piling bracing arrangement obstructing the possibility of building the wall in one pour to above ground level. PolySteel was introduced to the project when the piling was already in place. Given the choice the formwork should be given unrestricted continuity of build to above ground, eliminating the need to have a below ground concrete join all together.
Given the fact that the join caused the leak, how robust is the remedial work?
The remedial work was relatively easy to effect and proven to be good as there were no signs of leakage during the worst floods that Cheltenham had ever experienced back in July 07. The David Ball Group (manufacturers of PUDLO) designed the waterproof concrete mix that was used in the walls. The guarantee effectiveness was tested and proved to be very effective at resolving the issue shown on the programme. The remedial injection work was started at 10am and completed by 1pm the same day, and would have been the same with any kind of shuttering system.
Why was concrete chosen?
Because concrete is stronger than most other materials to perform the structural duty required at a competitive price.
Read the full story of The Cheltenham House over at the Channel 4 website at:
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/grand-designs/houses/C/Cheltenham-Underground-House.html