VIEWPOINT


CHANGING REGULATIONS: DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF?


Matt Neary, national sales manager at Knauf Insulation


BUILDING REGULATIONS ARE changing at an unprecedented rate, meaning that tried and tested build-ups may no longer deliver the required thermal and fire safety performance. This means that more customers are likely to turn to their builders’ merchants for advice on which insulation products will help them comply with the regulations in specific applications.


As a quick recap, Approved Document L (Part L) England came into full force in June 2023. New homes must now produce 31% less carbon emissions (27% for non-domestic properties) compared to the 2013 standards. This must be achieved through fabric improvements, such as insulation, and low-carbon technologies. Every new home also requires a BREL report showing evidence of thermal continuity, quality of insulation, airtightness and building services.


Part L also affects extensions and refurbishments, with the limiting U-values for every building element reduced.


Approved Document B (Part B) England which addresses fire safety has also been updated. This extends the ban on combustible materials to include certain external wall build-ups, such as rainscreen façades or timber frames, on all residential buildings between 11m and 18m tall. Alongside this, stakeholders such as clients, insurers and planning authorities are also insisting on the use of non- combustible materials beyond that mandated by Building Regulations. For example, in the Homes for Londoners programme, the Greater London Authority states that “No combustible materials may be used in the external walls of all homes and buildings, regardless of their height.” For the most part, these changes


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mean that customers are going to need higher-performing products than before. That means lower lambda, or thicker depths of insulation, with a focus on non- combustible materials with the best Euroclass A1 or A2,s1-d0 reaction to fire classification. Mineral wool insulation is a good choice because it provides a unique combination of all the benefits including thermal performance, fire safety, acoustic performance, comfort and sustainability credentials. It also has the added benefit that it adapts to the substrate, friction fits to the building elements and knits together at joints, this eliminatinates the gaps that reduce performance – all of which will help support BREL report compliance.


Stock profile


We would recommend a range of mineral wool products to cover most applications required by the trade as well as enough stock to serve DIY customers. With that in mind, a core staple should be loft insulation for pitched roofs at ceiling level, such as our Loft Roll 44, which is likely to remain in high demand throughout 2024 thanks to stricter energy efficiency standards


and high energy cost. Similarly, you’ll want products suitable for insulating both masonry cavity walls (i.e. DriTherm®


Cavity Slab


32), and timber frame walls, (i.e. FrameTherm® Roll 35) that are widely used in both new builds and extension projects. A product that offers considerable opportunities for growth for most merchants is acoustic insulation such as our Acoustic Roll or OmniFit® Rolls and Slabs range. These products have been engineered with acoustic performance in mind, and they meet and exceed the acoustic requirements defined in Approved Document E. They can be used in many applications to create quiet spaces in other areas, such as home offices for example. We suggest merchants use a simple rule of thumb and aim to sell 1m of acoustic insulation for every 5m of plasterboard. The OmniFit®


range has the


added advantage that they are multi-application products so they can cover ten different applications including walls, internal partitions, floors, and lofts with just one product range. As well as acoustic performance the range offers thermal performance from 0.032w/mK to 0.040w/mK and they are all non-combustible with the best Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification.


Glass mineral wool products such as those mentioned above offer plenty of additional benefits to merchants and their customers over equivalent rock products. Glass mineral wool is lighter and therefore easier to handle, and it can be compressed which maximises storage and reduces transport emissions.


It also has the lowest levels of embodied carbon of any mainstream insulation material. That doesn’t mean rock mineral wool insulation should be ignored.


Loft conversions remain a popular project with homeowners looking to maximise living space. The new separating floor of a loft conversion requires a minimum 30 minutes REI fire rating. So stocking a product that has been tested for fire resistance in this application, such as 100mm of Rocksilk® Flexible Slab, is a good idea.


Complementary products As every merchant will know, builders rarely need ‘just one product’. So it’s worth learning which associated products are required with the type of insulation you are selling. Take cavity wall insulation for example. It may seem obvious, but they’ll need bricks, blocks and plasterboard or plaster in large quantities – it’s also worth prompting them to check they have got enough cavity wall ties and adhesive.


Similarly, for timber frame walls, always check that they’ve got a vapour control layer – it’s crucial for controlling interstitial condensation that can damage the building’s structure.


Ultimately, where insulation is concerned, changes to Building Regulations, coupled with high energy rates, are driving the demand. But to make the most of that opportunity, merchants need to ensure they’re holding the right stock profile and make the most of the enquiries by cross- and up-selling. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net December 2023


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