News
4 December 2007
New ICF system gains BBA approval
The only insulating concrete form (ICF) system designed exclusively for the UK market has achieved British Board of Agrement (BBA) approval.
ICF Tech ltd, which is part of the Litchfield Group of Companies, has launched a complete supply and fit ICF system, which is design to dramatically reduce the time and cost of house building. The environmentally friendly construction system complies with Building Regulations and British Standards. Benefits include design flexibility, ease of use, speed of construction and cost effectiveness as well as thermal efficiency with a U value of 0.20W/m²K – well below the Building Regulations Part L requirement.
The BBA's certificates have been providing authoritative and independent information on the performance of building products for over 35 years. Every certificate contains important data on durability, installation and compliance with Building Regulations for the UK.
Assessment involves three distinct areas - laboratory testing (carried out wherever possible to UKAS requirements), site inspections (undertaken by the BBA's own inspection services team), and factory production control.
Graeme Howorth, who co-developed the ICF Tech system with his brother Malcolm and colleague Peter Dunford said: “The combination of two common building materials – expanded polystyrene and concrete – provides a quick and practical building system which can be constructed by relatively unskilled labour into a high performance insulated structure, which is both durable and strong.
“Our ICF system is around 10% more cost effective than traditional house building techniques and has excellent eco credentials in terms of thermal efficiency, use of recycled materials, low U values and the ability to reduce the ongoing CO² emissions of the building.”
Once on site a typical family house can be ready for the roof to go on inside one week. An ICF building can look like any other by adding brick slip systems, timber cladding, render or commercial cladding systems.
Alan Thomas, sales and marketing director at the British Board of Agrement (centre) presents a certificate to twin brothers and founders of ICF Tech Ltd to Malcolm (left) and Graeme Howorth.