New Build Construction using Wood Fibre Insulation Virtual CPD

Description

Who it is for

This training is aimed at professionals from all disciplines of building design and the construction industry; specifically, those who are interested in sustainable building methods for new build constructions using natural wood fibre insulation.

This is an open CPD with participants joining from different organisations.  We are offering virtual design reviews with individual practises following the CPD to enable you to discuss the details of specific projects with our technical team.

If you have a number of colleagues wanting to attend and a more tailored approach would be preferable, we can provide a dedicated virtual CPD for your practice, which can be requested by sending an email to us at info@ecologicalbuildingsystems.com

What you learn

With regulation aiming to reduce carbon emissions for new-build and existing constructions, the use of building insulation materials manufactured from natural resources is becoming more prevalent.  Examples include cellulose, plant crop fibres and wood fibre products.  Whilst the biggest growth in natural insulation products is in the timber frame construction sector, these types of products may also be used in masonry construction.

It is essential that natural building products, in addition to having excellent ecological credentials, also provide high levels of performance and longevity, meeting all the criteria set out in the building regulations.

The introduction of this CPD will look at reasons to build with wood, varying types of wood fibre insulation, different production processes (wet and dry) and the many benefits of wood fibre insulation.

We will cover the use of wood fibre insulation in different structures and areas of the build including:

• Roof structures (rainwater resistance etc)
• Timber frame wall structures (internal, external and between timbers)
• Floors 
• Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)
• Masonry wall construction (internal and external)
• Suitable fixings for wood fibre insulations and calculations for the number of fixings required

The final section of the CPD will cover avoiding risks with Hygrothermal Modelling (WUFI), meeting compliance with the thermal requirements of building regulations and discuss case studies on various successful wood fibre insulation projects.

What you will do?

You will receive industry leading training from a highly experienced technical professional with the opportunity to ask questions.  We will show examples of different types of wood fibre insulation including rigid boards, flexible batts and loose fill fibrous insulation and we can arrange to send samples following the training.

What happens on the day?

You will receive an email containing the link to join this virtual CPD beforehand which will be taking place via Zoom.

There will be a brief introduction, followed by the presentation, with the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation via the chat box. We'll answer as many questions as possible at various points during the session and afterwards via email if we run short of time.

As this is an open CPD with participants joining from different organisations, we are offering virtual design reviews with individual practices, to enable you to discuss specific projects in more detail with our technical team.  This can be requested by sending an email to us via this link info@ecologicalbuildingsystems.com

Key points to take away (based on feedback from previous attendees)

• Introduction to natural insulation materials
• Importance of breathable constructions
• Different ways to manage moisture problems
• Consideration of alternative insulations
• Optimum U values achievable with wood fibre
• Detailed options for various new construction build-ups
• Good for heat retention/dampening
• Use of wood fibre insulation especially in older buildings
• Wood is good!
• Contact Ecological Building Systems at an early stage!

What you Gain

• Understanding the benefits of natural insulations
• Understanding the properties of wood fibre
• Knowledge of a wider range of insulation choices
• The health benefits of wood fibre for building occupants
• The versatility of wood fibre application
• The use of wood fibre in timber frame and CLT construction
• Using wood fibre for refurb of existing/older buildings
• How Hygrothermal modelling can be used to reduce risk
• Attention to detail from experienced technical professionals

Points Gained

This CPD is a 1-hour stand-alone CPD providing 1 point towards maintaining your professional standard. 

Sustainable architecture is a rapidly developing area and is included on the list of the 10 mandatory RIBA core curriculum CPD topics. There is a requirement for a minimum of 2 hours to be spent on each of the 10 core topics.

How it can be applied in the future (based on feedback from previous attendees):

• Greater consideration of breathability
• Review typical build-ups normally undertaken
• Consideration of Hygrothermal performance
• Increase use of timber frame construction
• Diverse range of natural insulation choices
• Useful for projects where acoustic considerations are important
• The use of wood fibre for solid walls
• Specification of wood fibre in new build & refurb projects

Continued Development 

The content of this CPD is a great background knowledge for the creation of long-lasting energy efficient sustainable buildings.  Our other CPDs develop these concepts for different types of insulation and building methods.

We have a dedicated training areas in both the Ireland and U.K where we offer practical training on a regular basis, giving delegates the opportunity to experience installation first-hand. In Ireland, our Centre of Knowledge training facility can be found in Athboy, Co. Meath, while our UK training facility is based in Cumbria.