Curved roof presents no problem for WALLTITE®

• Location: Hove
• Architect: Felce and Guy Partnership
• Completion date: 16th February 2012

Located on the site of an existing single storey property in a prestigious area of Hove, East Sussex, local architects Felce and Guy Partnership were commissioned to design a new mixed-use five storey property comprising ground floor and basement retail and office areas with residential accommodation above. With over sixty years experience in construction in the South East, the building and renovation work was completed by Brighton based A&F Pilbeam.

In order to meet the planning condition required to achieve Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, a low U-value was important. Due to the nature of the site, there were constraints on how this could be achieved. The curved nature of the roof in the penthouse flat presented an issue in relation to the original insulation specified as this could not achieve the radius required. Certain traditional mineral fibre solutions are not guaranteed to stay in place down the curve and attain the required Uvalue of 0.1W/m2K. A spray foam insulation would be the ideal solution. The simplest way was to decrease the U-values of the various elements, of which the roof was one.

The Code measures the sustainability of a home against design categories, rating the ‘whole home’ as a complete package. The sites boundaries are the external walls and so there was no opportunity to utilise other elements outlined in the Code such as greywater, recycling facilities, ground source heat pumps or to add in some green spaces. Improving the insulation with a better U-value was the answer. Following market research and discussions with the technical team at BASF plc, WALLTITE was specified as it could achieve the desired U-value and adapt to the curve.

• Download PDF of case study: 63 Holland Road