Skip to content
BPindex — The Largest Building Products Directory in the UK

sustainable

Cedral fibre cement facades for design, resilience and futureproofing

Building Products Index Ltd Cladding, Facade Leave a Comment

View the Cedral entry on BPindex

Visit the Cedral website

We anticipate that advancements in sustainable construction will continue at a rapid pace, transforming home design.

Cedral’s survey of 250 architects and installers for its recent White paper, ‘Building the Future’ examines how the increasing focus on sustainability and climate resilience has brought about a shift towards eco-friendly materials. The majority (96%) of respondents say climate change is affecting facade design and specification choices in one or more ways. Nearly a third of the architects say they anticipate more retrofit projects over the next three years.

The study also reports on the rise of durable, non-combustible cladding to enhance energy efficiency and climate resilience. Upgrading tired timber facades to fibre cement cladding is becoming an increasingly common retrofit choice across the UK. Retrofitting from timber to fibre cement is more than a cosmetic upgrade. Cladding can preserve the life of older buildings by providing a stylish contemporary update for unsightly faded paintwork or render. A ventilated facade, where the cladding doesn’t sit directly against the insulation, improves energy efficiency, enabling the rapid drying of external walls, reducing condensation and humidity.  Download the full report here.

Why choose Cedral

Sustainable building products are more important than ever for as architects and developers seek to ensure that their projects are responsibly designed, resourced and built. The innovations in fibre cement technology are creating high performing materials which are lighter, thinner and ultimately stronger. Fibre cement which is made of cement, water, cellulose, textile fibres and air can help improve circularity and carbonation impact. A strong, versatile and sustainable material, it uses fewer raw materials and less energy in its manufacture and produces less waste than some traditional building materials. 

Cedral, part of Etex, has a deep-rooted history and heritage of over 100 years’ experience, perfecting the manufacturing of fibre cement building materials.

Cedral is committed to continuously improving existing materials and to driving innovation. Whether it’s for a new build or a renovation project, Cedral has a range of products for facades and roofs of exceptional quality and high performance.

Features of Cedral include:

 

•             Fire Performance Classification: Cedral products are Class 0 and EN 13501-1 fire performance classified to A2-s1, d0 which is one of the best classification ratings that can be achieved.

 

•             Low maintenance, resistant to rot and warping: Fibre cement doesn’t rot or rust and lasts longer than traditional cladding materials. Thanks to its thermal stability it will not warp or crack under high temperatures.

 

•             Stands up to the harshest weather conditions: Fibre cement can withstand severe frosts, torrential rain, high heat and direct sunlight and has a minimum life expectancy of 50 years. 

 

•             Light-weight building material: With the layered production and fibre matrix supporting the cement, fibre cement roof tiles are thinner than concrete, but have the same performance benefits. 

 

•             Style and creativity for a home’s exterior: Cedral cladding is available in a wide variety of finishes and colour choices. Boards can be mounted vertically or horizontally to create a contemporary aesthetic or a more traditional look.

Visit our website for more information

Altro – Oil, grease, flour? We’ve got you covered

Building Products Index Ltd Flooring, Safety Leave a Comment

View the Altro entry on BPI

Visit the Altro Website

Testing and contaminants

Restaurant Zwanzig-Zehn, Hemer, Germany-Altro Stronghold 30-Altro Whiterock White-Altro Whiterock Satins-01Food and drink preparation and cooking areas can spell danger. Grease, fat, cooking oil, flour, milk, food particles and the occasional chopped carrot – all can end up on floors and walls.

Altro’s sustainable, integrated safety flooring and hygienic wall cladding system provides long-lasting safe and hygienic surfaces for wet, dusty and greasy conditions in commercial kitchens.

Real world tests for real world conditions

Parc Tauli Hospital, Sabadell,Spain-Altro Stronghold 30-01The standard pendulum test for shod slip resistance uses water. Test results are rated with a PTV reading; a reading of PTV≥36 with Altro safety flooring represents a one in a million chance of slipping on a wet surface.

A wet surface only covered in clean water, that is.

You know that water only represents a small proportion of the hazards a kitchen worker would encounter on a daily basis. So we decided to put our flooring to a real world test; using a variety of different contaminants found in a commercial kitchen.

The reality is kitchen workers are busy. Oil evaporates into the air and settles on the floor when it cools – requiring constant cleaning to prevent a slippery surface. Small spills like milk or flour could cause a very real slip hazard.

A busy lunch hour would mean a lot of oil and cooking ingredients on the floor, and not enough time to keep the floor as clean and hazard-free as you would ideally like.

Covers don’t matter – contaminants do

Trinity College-Altro Stronghold 30-Altro Whiterock-17Choosing your safety flooring by how many customers you serve a day doesn’t address the problems all kitchens share. Whether you are serving five or 500 customers a day, kitchens encounter the same types of contaminants.

The rules for health and safety don’t distinguish between small cafes and large five star restaurants –all are required to meet the same standards.

Because when it comes to safety, all commercial kitchens are the same.

What do you need and why?

Tests prove different contaminants pose different safety challenges. Whilst the risk from vegetable oil may come as no surprise, the other most significant danger comes from greasy water – and what kitchen can avoid that?

Typical contaminants in a kitchen are not water and motor oil, which is what the Pendulum and Ramp tests use.

The test we used was the standard PTV pendulum test BS7976, but instead of using only water as the test contaminant, we used a range of other contaminants found in a typical kitchen.

Untitled1This graph shows test results carried out on Altro Stronghold 30 with common kitchen contaminants, including:

  • cooking oils
  • greasy water from washing up
  • milk, flour, plastic wrap

Altro kitchens solutions retains a one in a million chance of slipping with a variety of kitchen contaminants.

These contaminants are generally more viscous or substantial than water, creating a thicker layer between floor and shoe.

This squeeze film thickness prevents the foot making contact with the floor and increases the risk of slipping.

This table shows how the performance across floors with different pendulum and R ratings perform with the different contaminants.

In commercial kitchens where vegetable oil and greasy water are likely to be present, only Altro Stronghold 30 gives a one in a million chance of slipping.

The test results prove:

  • Altro Stronghold 30 has the required slip resistance to keep you safe with the range of contaminants illustrated including cooking oils and greasy water which would typically be found in a commercial kitchen
  • Altro Stronghold 30 retains a one in a million chance of slipping with common kitchen contaminants
  • You must choose your flooring to cater for contaminants, and not the size of your kitchen or number of covers

Not all safety flooring is as safe as Altro’s. Some floorings only have a thin slip-resistant coating or emboss, which can easily wear away. Some floorings only provide slip resistance in dry conditions. Altro Stronghold 30 has sustained slip resistance, for the wet and dry contaminants commonly found in kitchens.

Altro Stronghold 30 safety flooring gives you peace of mind, allowing you to keep up with the pace of your business without having to compromise on safety.

Altro commercial kitchen solutions: we’ve got you covered.

For more information, visit http://www.altro.co.uk/Commercial-Kitchens