DuPont achieves extraordinary results at BRE

Recently at BRE, DuPont assisted a project to bring key membranes, AVCLs, tapes, sealants and correct installation methods together into one ‘passive house’.

The BRE built a compact timber structure on site as part of its customary standards of independent and thorough testing.

Tyvek Supro was applied to the roof, Tyvek Housewrap to the exterior of the walls, AirGuard Control AVCL to the interior of the walls, Tyvek tapes throughout the construction, plus the newly launched Tyvek FlexWrap EZ tape to windows, doors, rafters, floors, etc. Great care was taken to correctly install and properly seal at laps and penetrations, and in all corners, curves and awkward spaces.

A blower door was fitted and the structure pressurised to the industry standard 50Pa, once the test structure was complete. Test results were recorded after each stage of completion.

The final tests were conducted when the latest low emissivity Tyvek membrane was fitted as the external wall membrane. Therefore, the figure was well below the Passivhaus standard at 0.12 m3/hr/m2 @50Pa (0.24 ACH).

Dr Paul Blackmore, Associate Director at Fire and Building Technology Group says: “The testing showed the importance of maintaining an airtight barrier around the test building to prevent unintended air infiltration/exfiltration.”

The key drivers are emerging from the market itself, and from the appreciation that airtightness brings sustainability benefits and increases both cost-efficiency and occupier comfort.

It is vital that there are no weak links in the chain. A reduction of specification quality at any aspect of the envelope, a key step or process missed, or any careless or incorrect installation and the results will be as disappointing as the waste of time or money. Even with the best products and the best will in the world, those ‘hard to reach’ areas will also need special attention.

Therefore, the holistic approach from DuPont is vital, with the joined-up thinking of products such as DuPont FlexWrap tapes, which are designed to expand, contract, bend and shape concretina style, to fit into any awkward area to be sealed.

A new version of the product, Tyvek FlexWrap EZ, is about to hit the market, bringing even further benefits for both performance and installation to the new generation of responsible construction.

DuPont Tyvek has been designed to protect the building envelope against the effects of weather and moisture, this family of membranes also offers optimal air-tightness and can help to improve the thermal performance, energy-efficiency and interior climatic stability of a building.

Tyvek is also designed to work as part of a holistic and optimal system with a range of other DuPont products for the building envelope, including the DuPont AirGuard advanced AVCL series, the highly versatile DuPont FlexWrap tape, plus other specialised tapes and sealants.

DuPont Protection Solutions
BBSP1
Bristol & Bath Science Park
Dirac Crescent
Emersons Green
Bristol
BS16 7FR

Phone: 08444 068 722

Technical enquiries: [email protected]

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