Condensation-busting insulation for mobile hotels

• Location: Elements Europe for Snoozebox

WALLTITE spray foam insulation is being used on the construction of an innovative system of temporary hotel accommodation produced by Elements Europe as part of its five-year manufacturing agreement with Snoozebox.

The project takes 45ft shipping containers and turns them into high quality accommodation that can easily be moved and erected as a temporary hotel for significant events across the UK and Europe. Recent events include the Diamond Jubilee Equestrian Pageant at Windsor Castle, Silverstone for Formula One and Goodwood.

As the containers are made of steel, one of the first challenges in making comfortable living spaces is to provide efficient thermal insulation. Elements Europe, the company responsible for the conversion, first looked at standard slab stock insulation but was very concerned about the possibility of condensation building up between the board and the metal exterior.

WALLTITE, sprayed directly onto the internal surface, removes this condensation problem entirely and is therefore now being used as one of the first stages of preparation. The initial process is to cut the openings for doors and windows into the containers. WALLTITE is then sprayed over the entire internal surface area to a depth of 50mm.

Once this is completed, the interior structure of the rooms is constructed and additional insulation is applied before plasterboarding. The result is a U-value for the walls of 0.2W/m2K.

So far 60 containers have been treated in this way by WALLTITE contractor Modern Plan Insulations and James Foster, Project Manager at Elements Europe is delighted with the speed, versatility and effectiveness of the WALLTITE solution. “It’s been marvellous. It’s a very good product and a very quick and easy solution to work with.”

WALLTITE is the perfect solution for this one-off application. Because it is spray-applied, the insulation will mould itself to any contour or uneven surface and because it bonds directly to the surface the problem of interstitial condensation is eliminated completely. WALLTITE can be applied to varying depth depending upon the level of thermal insulation required.

• Download PDF of case study: Snoozebox