Wood Fibre and Soundproofing News
70% Would Pull out of a Property Purchase due to Noisy Neighbours
Very interesting stats that 70% of people surveyed in the UK would pull out of a property deal if they realised they were going to be living next door to noisy neighbours. However this could be the ideal opportunity to look for a discount instead to cover the cost of very effective soundproofing. PhoneStar sound insulation can be used on walls, floors and ceilings and will hugely increase your quality of life by cutting out the noise from your neighbours. This survey was carried out by Populus on behalf of SellingUp.
Timber Buildings Are Cheaper and Cleaner – Why We Should Use Timber Rather Than Concrete and Steel
Building with wood consumes much less energy than using concrete or steel. For example, a wooden floor beam requires 80 megajoules (mj) of energy per square metre of floor space and emits 4kg CO2. By comparison, a square metre of floor space supported by a steel beam requires 516 mj and emits 40 kg of CO2, and a concrete slab floor requires 290 mj and emits 27kg of CO2.
North West Bicester is the UK’s First Eco Town and features Timber Framed Homes
Timber frame houses built from insulated panels constructed off site by Stewart Milne Timber Systems and craned into place will form the backbone of the UK’s first zero carbon eco town. Timber frame is the most energy-efficient material available and the each of the 393 homes in the initial development will have a zero carbon rating. The homes have been designed to be future proofed against climate change and rising temperatures.
Lifecycle Analysis Datasets for Timber Products
The aim of the Lifecycle Database project is to create a free online information hub which will contain all of the environmental and design data necessary to specify timber as a first choice material. In particular, it will focus on providing generic LCA datasets for key timber products used in the UK.
Home Renovation Incentive Guide in Ireland
New initiative from Irish government to refund 13.5% of the cost of home renovations costing between €4,405 and €30,000 excluding VAT, by way of income tax credit.
Noise Complaints in Northern Ireland
Noise complaints received by district councils in Northern Ireland from April 2012 to March 2013 have fallen by less than 1%. A total of 12,142 complaints were received in 2012/2013, compared to 12,193 in 2011/2012. 82% of all complaints made in this period related to domestic noise issues and the sources most complained about were loud music, television or parties and animal noise.
Does Old Insulation Work?
It is Ant Wilson of Aecom’s opinion that once installed most energy consuming systems such as lighting, boilers fans and chillers within the building cannot improve efficiency over time. This may not be the case with the building fabric as the thermal performance could improve if the building could become more airtight. As a building dries out the conductivity of component elements could decrease, resulting in a better insulated building.
