The Concrete Centre have developed a design and specification for a Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) level 5 house in collaboration with a Registered Social Landlord (RSL); A2Dominion Group and a contractor.

TeploTie has been specified in this thermally efficient house design. The low conductivity wall ties are used to connect a masonry cavity wall which is fully filled with 200mm of polystyrene bead. The external wall achieves a design U-value of 0.15 W/m2K, with a medium density aggregate block for the inner leaf and a choice of facing bricks or concrete blocks with a rendered finish for the outer leaf.

The design exercise highlighted that:

• The house building industry using concrete and masonry solutions can make the step change required to deliver zero carbon housing by 2016.
• Code level 5 homes built with concrete and masonry are affordable and scalable.
• Code level 5 homes built with concrete and masonry can use existing construction methods and skills with a simple renewable energy strategy.
• The local supply chain, short lead times and a flexible programme offered by concrete and masonry construction continue to be a key benefit.

The full design and an in-depth discussion of the house design are published in "Achieving Code Level Five
with Concrete and Masonry" which is available for download from the Concrete Centre website: http://www.concretecentre.com/main.asp?page=728  

July 2009