Insulation for Grand Designs home close to cliff edge in Wales

20 Jan 2015

Cefn Castell, located just metres from a crumbling cliff facing the west coast of Wales, had previously been home to a 400 year old farm house ruin.

For owners Kay and Rob Hodgson, the spectacular location was everything they’d been looking for.

Their new home, built on this precarious site, has been featured on the latest series of Grand Designs and includes a number of Kingspan Insulation products on the roof, floor and walls.

Modernist principals

Architects stephenson:ISA Studio designed the new house that reflects dramatic modernist principals. To maximise its lifespan, the building has been constructed as far as possible from the cliff edge and after an extensive survey is expected to last for at least 80-100 years.

Despite its limited life expectancy, the Hodgson’s were determined to do justice to the striking location and made construction quality an absolute priority on the project.

Roof, floor & wall insulation

As part of this approach, Kingspan Insulation premium performance products were specified for the roof, floor & walls.

Kingspan Kooltherm K3 Floorboards and Kingspan Kooltherm K8 Cavity Boards

installed on the ground floor and exterior walls respectively
outstanding performance with thermal conductivities as low as 0.020 W/m.K,
helped to maximise internal space within the house

Cefn Castell is a Grand Designs home just metres from a crumbling cliff face in Wales

The products are manufactured with a blowing agent which has zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP), contributing towards the building’s Level 4 interim rating under Code for Sustainable Homes 2010.

Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM

fitted on the property’s large flat roofs
installed on the upper and lower level flat roofs,
maintained a high level of thermal performance whilst also helping to prevent the issue of water ponding

All three products are certified Very Good’ under the demanding BES 6001: Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products standard. Both Kingspan Kooltherm K3 Floorboard and Kingspan Kooltherm K8 Cavity Board have a Green Guide rating of A , whilst Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM has a Green Guide Rating of A.

Project architect John Boardman: We specified Kingspan both because of the quality of its products, which easily met the thermal performance requirements for the project; and the strong technical support it provides. This ensured we got quick responses and U-value calculation sheets back when we needed them during the detailed design and tender process. When designing flat roofed properties such as Cefn Castell our preference is always to use tapered insulation and with Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM, we were able to simplify the architectural detailing and avoid the need for a structural fall on the roofs.

Stone from the original farm house has been used to construct a wall around the rear of the property, helping to provide privacy and whilst linking the new building to the sites roots.

Kingspan Insulation,
Pembridge,
Leominster,
Herefordshire,
United Kingdom,
HR6 9LA

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