A York builder who has seen growing demand for loft conversions says using Actis Hybrid insulation and membranes helps him avoid mess and waste and work more efficiently
Ben Wardell from All Round Developments, who has recently completed a barn conversion near the city, says he uses Actis Hybrid products having witnessed the litany of struggles endured by builders using PIR board or glass fibre.
“Loft conversion insulation is mainly PIR board and glass fibre. With PIR boards, cutting creates dust and rigid waste that’s hard to reuse. Glass fibres can become airborne and irritate the lungs, skin and eyes. It becomes difficult to contain once disturbed as it starts to travel through the air,” he said.
Saving time on labour and waste removal processes
“Since switching to Actis, we’ve seen a significant reduction in waste, as every piece can be used. We’ve also saved on labour time, as the material is much quicker to fit. It’s a high quality product.
“Storing and moving the Actis material is great too. Working with other companies, they store the 8×4 PIR boards outside, write a cutting list, run down stairs, cut it in the garden or struggle lifting it up onto the scaffold. They run back upstairs with a length of PIR board, run back down for the second length, over and over. By the time they’ve boarded a loft, I’m sure they would have done their fair share of steps for the day … then begins the clean up!
“The best way is to roll a plastic sheet on the ground, but if you forget, you’ll be cleaning the insulation bits out of the flowers for days.
“The third storey in a house seem a great idea, but when you have to carry materials up and down stairs without damaging the walls, it’s a long way! So you decide to carry everything up the scaffold, then the wind comes!
“When using the Actis product, passing the packs up the scaffold is made easy due to the size and lightweight packs, and carrying it up the stairs is not a problem. You can load out the loft and put it to the side, which only takes up a small area due to their compact size. All cutting is inside so you don’t need to worry about weather or any of the bits blowing away into next door’s garden for their dog to play with
“Plus, it’s easy for one person to take the material from the delivery lorry, load out, cut and fit, whereas with the PIR board it’s more of a two-person job to move and carry it up the stairs.”
Ben first tested the products in his own house
“I wanted to see what it was like to use, the cost comparisons and quality before promoting it to clients,” he explained.
Ben’s barn project saw his team convert the 70 sq m top floor of an old farm building and store whose ground floor had been transformed eight years previously to create a family home.
They used 105mm honeycomb-structured insulation Hybris in 150mm stud and overlaid the walls with HControl Hybrid, and 105mm Hybris and PIR board overlay in the roof.
“All the material was stored in one room and taken as and when needed without overloading the space. Plus, we didn’t have storage space outside for the amount of PIR boards that would have been needed.”
Ben’s company has more loft conversions than extensions on its order book at the moment
“It might be due to the ease of the build, the fact that you don’t lose garden space, or that you don’t need planning, as most loft conversions fall under permitted development rights,” he said.
Find out more about All Round Developments on its website, its FMB page and on the company’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages, where you can find step by step videos of the build process.
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