According to the company, the new drawings are aimed at maximising the contribution of new home fabric under SAP and minimising thermal conductivity.
it adds that by using these junctions, house-builders could find passing the SAP process much easier: each junction has been thermally modelled and the resultant psi-values (sigh) are on average 69 percent better than the Accredited values within SAP 2009 that are used for non-modelled junctions.
SBS says that another key benefit of the drawings is that they are all based on standard building materials and only require very small simple changes to standard building methods. Furthermore, the details avoid generic text descriptions of materials and instead list product codes so the builder knows exactly what to use to meet the required performance in a cost efficient way.
Lee Jackson, head of technical at SBS, said: “Improving thermal efficiency cost-effectively is vital in new house building today, but thermal modelling isn’t commercially viable for most regional house-builders. The scale of the Travis Perkins Group allowed us to bear those costs and through these drawings pass on the substantial benefits to our customers.”
Paul Joyner, director of SBS, added: “This is a game changer in terms of merchants’ relationships with builders in looking to partner to tackle the sustainability challenge. Our standard construction drawings have been created to provide a simple base line for all domestic construction. These drawings reduce the need to use default or accredited SAP figures and encourage contractors and specifiers to make some very simple, but significant changes to standard build methods which mean the fabric can be used to its maximum capability. This is vital if the industry is to improve build standards and meet efficiency targets whilst remaining competitive.
“We are confident that these drawings offer architects, specifiers, builders and contractors a complete solution for their construction details which can help them navigate the maze of building regulations and maximise the use of building fabric.”