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Apr122017NOCOMMENTS

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INSTALLATION OF MODULAR PORTA CABIN

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easyporta global limited  are not only proud to be one of the leading providers of durable, versatile portable cabins and modular buildings, but also in our ability to make the transportation, placement and installation process a smooth one. We’re not only industry leaders in the refurbishment and sale of portable buildings, but lead the field as modular building installers and modular building relocation specialists.

Portable Installations

Our vast range of portable cabins and modular buildings will no-doubt have the facility to suit your needs. Whether you need portable cabins for site security, portable toilets for work sites and events or modular classrooms, we’ll have the perfect facility for you. As expert modular building installers you can rest assured that we’ll have your portable cabin delivered, unloaded and installed in no-time with the aid of our modular building transport and crane hire services.

Site Preparation

Site preparation and groundworks are crucial to ensuring that your new or relocated Modular Building is installed safely, efficiently and correctly.

The Portable Facilities Project Management and Site Team have over 30 years’ experience in this field so can take care of every aspect including pad and strip foundations, drainage, service connections, pathways, ramps and steps. We are fully insured to carry out these works ensuring client piece of mind that the works are being carried out professionally and safely.

Modular Building Transport and Crane Hire

Portable Facilities are experts in supplying fully insured specialist transport and crane hire for Portable Buildings and Modular Buildings.
We take care of all the logistics including, Wide load permits, Abnormal load escort vehicles, Road closures, Parking suspensions, Specialist Step frame trailers and Crane assisted transport.

Mobile cranes are supplied with lifting capacities suitable to the project, Crane hire is always supplied under a fully insured contract lift including qualified banksmen, slingers and Appointed person who is responsible for managing all aspects of the lift operation safely and in accordance with Risk and Method statements.

We carry out site surveys ensuring Health & Safety is a priority supported by detailed Risk and Method statements along with lift plans and certifications.

Modular Building Installation

Installing Modular Buildings can be a complicated and difficult task and requires excellent planning and communication. Our team of modular building installers has the expertise and knowledge to ensure that any difficulty is normally overcome safely and efficiently, thus ensuring the Modular Installation programme is maintained.

The installation of a large facility, involving the placement and connection of several large modular buildings, may take on average up to only three days, though of course every job is different and you’ll be receiving constant updates regarding estimated times and logistical issues.

Get in touch with us and we can discuss the details of your project and how we can meet your requirements. With years of experience in the field of the construction, transportation and installation of portable cabins, modular buildings and movable facilities under our belts, we’re certain that with our help you can have a new building up and ready for work in a fraction of the time it would take to construct a new bricks-and-mortar building.

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Construction

BALCONY 2 GLASS BALUSTRADE INSTALLATION GUIDE (DIY)

glass balustrade system 1

glass balustrade section

BALCONY 2 GLASS BALUSTRADE INSTALLATION

The below is a concise summary of how to install the balcony 2 system.

  1. Place the balcony 2 handrail (116mm wide) on the balcony or floor in the correct position to ensure that dimensions fit
  2. Mark lines on the inside and outside of the handrail line for later positioning of bottom track
  3. Mark the handrail position at the correct height – use a level
  4. On both sides where the handrail fixes to the wall – fix the stainless steel end angle brackets firmly to wall
  5. Lift handrail and drop onto angle brackets
  6. Drill 4mm holes through brackets into handrail, fix together with 4.8mm self tap screws, do this both sides. If the balustrade is large or a shape that will sag, you will need to prop up the handrail until the glass is fitted and siliconed in place.
  7. Mark the handrail position at the correct height – use a level,
  8. On both sides where the handrail fixes to the wall – fix the stainless steel end angle brackets firmly to wall,
  9. Place the handrail onto angle brackets
  10. If the balustrade is large or a shape that will sag, you will need to prop up the handrail until the glass is fitted and siliconed in place – Support the rest of the handrail so does not sag
  11. Drill 4mm holes through brackets into the underside of the handrail
  12. Using the 4.8mm self-tapping screws provided – screw the bracket into the handrail on both sides. Install/fix bottom track, use line made earlier. Ensure aligned with glass slot in handrail above.
  13. If in place – remove glazing beads top and bottom.
  14. Place two spacers for each glass on the bottom rail.
  15. Make sure you know where each glass is positioned.
  16. If required use extra spacers to clear any screw heads on the bottom track.
  17. One at a time place glasses in position each time using the small pieces of glazing beads provided and 3mm rubber gaskets to hold glass temporarily in place.
  18. In this fashion complete all the glasses and have them all in the correct position with temporary glazing beads and rubber ready to be aligned and straightened.
  19. Using the additional spacers provided level out and align all the glasses in such a way that you attain the gaps and spacings desired.
  20. Above the glass panels now place spacers between glass and handrail to ensure handrail is not resting on the glass and to prevent sagging.
  21. With neutral silicone, continuously and completely fill gap between top of glass and underside of handrail.
  22. With neutral silicone, continuously and completely fill gap between bottom of glass and track.
  23. Do not immediately replace the temporary beads with the full length ones
  24. Let the silicone set and dry.
  25. When silicone is completely dry, remove the temporary small glazing beads and rubber gaskets and Replace the full length glazing beads.
  26. Push in the internal 3mm rubber gaskets into handrail and bottom track, between glass and glazing beads, to ease the process you can use soapy water.
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Should I be insulating a solid wall internally or externally?

internal-wall-insulation-296x246Thinking about insulating a solid wall? Unsure whether to opt for internal or external wall insulation, or both? This article looks at the pros and cons of each approach and lists some of the potential problems encountered when insulating a solid wall.

Internal wall insulation

Pros

Internal glasswool wall insulation between studs. Timber itself can be a thermal bridge in a super-insulated home.

  • may be easier to accomplish, especially one wall at a time
  • ideal to do when decorating
  • cheaper than external insulation (from £4000 – £6000 for 2-3 walls, excluding kitchens and bathrooms)

Cons

  • there is a loss of internal space
  • it is disruptive to residents
  • the heat storage value of the wall is lost, so heat will leave quickly with the air
  • it is necessary to move electrical sockets and light switches
  • character features such as skirting boards, door frames, coving, panelling and picture rails present a problem
  • compatibility with door fittings must also be checked.

Challenges

Internal wall insulation

Applying internal wall insulation in between studwork. A vapour control layer is vital.

  • do not cover electrical cables with insulation as they may overheat:use cover strips or place in ducts
  • thermal bridging may occur where ceilings, floors and internal walls join the main outside wall, so insulation should continue along internal walls for up to a couple of metres
  • an intelligent vapour control layer must be installed (see below)
  • a single nail driven by a residents into the dry lining or vapour control layer behind the plasterboard can ruin it. One solution is a service zone separate from the plasterboard but this takes up more space. Can you guarantee residents will always locate and bang nails into the vertical studs?

 

External wall insulation

External wall insulation has improved the appearance and added weather protection besides making this home more energy efficient.

External wall insulation has improved the appearance and added weather protection to the house on the left making it more energy efficient.

External wall insulation involves applying an insulating layer and a decorative weatherproof finish to the outside wall of a building. The external cladding or render is generally the major cost, so you want to maximize the amount of insulation to maximize the benefits.

Pros

  • improves weather protection
  • provides noise insulation
    Cross section of external wall insulation

    Cross section of external wall insulation.

  • it’s easier to take care of thermal bridges such as exposed concrete frame or window sill
  • preserves the value of the thermal mass of the walls in regulating temperature inside
  • depending on thickness, any value of insulation can be achieved
  • no inconvenience to occupants
  • internal or interstitial condensation and damp is banished
  • any gaps and cracks in the wall, or poor rendering, are covered up
  • the detailing around windows and doors is more easily managed
  • airtightness can be better preserved
  • you can insulate a whole block or terrace at once
  • any dew point, where water vapour leaving the inside condenses onto a cold surface in the wall, will be nearer the outside.

Challenges

Installing external wall insulation

Installing external wall insulation

  • if there is not sufficient roof overhang, the top of the extended wall must be sloped, weatherproofed, and guttering fitted
  • may need planning permission – ask the planning department
  • downpipes and other projections, or service entry points, must be dealt with
  • the damp proof course and window trickle vents must not be covered
  • may not be possible with listed buildings or in conservation areas¹
  • it might be more expensive (£8,000 to £13,000), especially if scaffolding is factored in, unless carried out at the same time as other external work.

 

General points

The Steico external wall insulation uses interlocking waterproofed wood fibreboard over studs infilled with wood fibreboard batts, protected by a proprietary lime render system called Steico Protect.

The Steico external wall insulation system uses interlocking waterproofed wood fibreboard over studs infilled with wood fibreboard batts, protected by two applications of a proprietary lime render.

  • When taking insulation into window and door reveals, whether internally or externally, use the maximum width allowed by the amount of frame.
  • External insulation is covered by some kind of render to protect it from the elements. Lime render is preferable as it is breathable. Acrylic renders are also widely used, but these, being plastic, are not breathable. Both are flexible to a point and can be coloured in any number of tints.
  • The path of the airtightness barrier around the skin of the building should be mapped during planning of the work, so that it joins up around all edges of the wall.

Intelligent membranes

Airtight membranes with variable vapour resistance are known as intelligent membranes. These have the almost magical property of being able to resist vapour migrating into structural elements, particularly in timber frame constructions, to fight interstitial condensation over the lifetime of the building. They are recommended for solid walls whether the insulation is internal or external.

They consist of a sheet with various layers that allow or obstruct moisture-laid air from passing through it according to the relative humidity, temperatures and pressures on either side. For example, if a room has high temperature and humidity and it is cold on the outside it would prevent the moisture from travelling outwards and risk condensing on cold surfaces.

Conversely, when it is cooler on the inside and there is less humidity, moisture can gradually return to help dry out the interstitial space.

Andy Simmonds' Grove Cottage

Andy Simmonds’ Grove Cottage, Hereford, the first Passivhaus standard retrofit in the UK. Andy is CEO of the AECB. The thermal image shows the benefit. Andy used a foot of expanded polystyrene to achieve this effect, which is literally “outstanding” from the houses either side.

Conclusion

Walls should have a U-value of less than 0.30 W/m2K to meet Building Regulations. Around 120mm of insulation will usually achieve this. Half of this value, i.e. double this depth, should on average be aimed for to achieve around Passivhaus standard.

Insulating external walls can save on average between £450 and £500 a year on heating costs, and around 1.8-2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions for a typical dwelling.

The payback on internal insulation is around 10-11 years, and on external insulation around 15-17 years on average, but this really depends on the amount of insulation applied, the way the building is occupied and the state of the rest of the dwelling, so this figure should be confirmed in individual cases.

In an earlier article, I compared and ranked the best thermal insulation materials. Of relevance to this topic is that walls should be able to ‘breathe’ in order to prevent condensation. This means that the best choice is natural materials, including wood fiberboard, mineral wool batts and rolls. Polyurethane, polystyrene and phenolic foam boards do not ‘breathe’.

So, is it best to insulate on the inside or the outside of an external wall? There is no one definitive answer to this question, as it depends on the particular case. However, all other things being equal, external will give better results than internal insulation.

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