The pre-blended weber.rend dash is designed to receive a dry-dash finish in just one coat, which avoids the drying times associated with a traditional two-coat system.  Allowing faster application with shorter programme periods and on-site hours, the associated cost of site scaffolding is greatly reduced.  This allows other trades to gain access more quickly and completion of ground works can take place sooner.  

weber.rend dash is factory-produced in the UK for consistency and supplied ready-mixed.  It requires only the addition of clean water on-site making preparation quick and easy.  The product is suitable for hand or machine application, which adds greatly to site efficiencies.  weber.rend dash is available in three colours: white, cream and grey, and is supplied in 25kg bags.

weber.rend dash can be applied to most prepared masonry substrates that have a good key, however weber.rend aid, a polymer-modified cement and sand mix blend, will provide an artificial key on substrates such as smooth concrete.  weber.rend aid is also ideal as a pre-treatment for renderings required to resist severe exposure conditions.

The Weber Highway Ironwork Bedding System meets the requirements established by the Highways Agency Guidance Notes HA 104/09 and HD 27/04. weber.cem 104 mortar and weber.cem pyracrete have been tested and are fully compliant with these specifications. Many contractors are starting to use these products in new manhole constructions and for much needed repairs to meet utility customers’ adopted standards.

A major failure of inspection chamber access covers is the collapse of the frame bedding material caused by repeated loading fatigue coupled with frost attack. Safety and damage claims have resulted from collapsed manholes and there is increasing demand by utilities for a fast, reliable and durable repair system. The new Weber Highway Ironwork Bedding System meets this challenge and provides the perfect consistency to support even heavyweight frames.

Weber’s iron-frame bedding and infill products develop compressive strength of 20N/mm² within two hours of application and exceed 30N/mm² in three hours. weber.cem 104 mortar, the first mortar incorporating Hybrid Cement Technology was specially developed for manhole frame bedding. It gives a useful working time enabling full bedding buts sets rapidly thereafter. This product has good “squeezability” enabling accurate level alignment.

weber.cem pyracrete is a cement-based single component concrete used for infilling around the cover frames that sets in 10 minutes. All Weber bedding and repair products are low-shrink thus avoiding the risk of loose framework caused when traditional sand and cement dries. The latest products can be used all year round even in cold weather.

The complete Weber Highway Ironwork Bedding System features seven advanced technical products, four ironwork bedding products, the new weber.cem pyracrete rapid setting infill concrete and two types of pavement repair concrete.  For manhole frame bedding the inventory includes the new weber.cem 104 mortar which sets in 15 minutes; weber.tec bedding mortar is a polyester resin based two part product with rapid 30 minute setting time; weber.cem pyrabed T60 and weber.cem pyrabed T90 with 60 and 90 minute setting time respectively. All these products exceed the Highways Agency standards of performance as does the new weber.cem pyracrete infill concrete with rapid 10 minute setting time. For concrete pavement repairs weber.cem pyrapatch is a polymer modified cement based single component product that sets in three hours and weber.cem pyratop is a cement based single component repair concrete that sets in six hours for fast repairs to concrete pavements.

Saint-Gobain Weber has a global reputation for technical concrete repair products of which the Highway Ironwork Bedding System is an increasingly important market category. Weber estimates that this sector of the utilities repair operations for manholes, cable ducts and pipework requires several thousand tonnes of specialised materials per year with a current estimated market sales value of nearly £10 million.  

This qualification represents a landmark in the industry as the assessment covers all major insulation types – polystyrene, mineral fibre and phenolic – for the weber.therm M1 render, mesh-reinforced system. The certification covers both new build projects, using various types of construction methods, as well as for the refurbishment of existing buildings.  This is applicable to low rise, traditional or non-traditional construction, or high rise multi-occupancy buildings.  

“The specifier, contractor or client, can confidently choose weber.therm XP for use on refurbishment schemes regardless of the size, height or exposure due to the system’s market-leading characteristics in relation to fire performance, impact resistance and windloading capabilities,” comments Wilson Millar, Weber’s Product Manager for External Wall Insulation systems.

As a result of the energy saving initiatives funded by the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) aimed at the solid wall hard-to-treat housing stock, the use of EWI is predicted to grow significantly.  The BBA has developed a robust process for assessing manufacturers systems and Weber’s unique one-coat technology in the weber.therm XP system is the first to pass these rigorous assessments, the results of which set a benchmark standard for the industry.  

In terms of fire performance, the weber.therm XP system with polystyrene (weber.therm EPS) or phenolic (weber.therm PHS) insulation are classified as Class B-s1, d0 or ‘low risk’. When incorporating mineral fibre (weber.therm MFD) insulation; weber.therm XP is classified as Class A2-s1, d0 or ‘non-combustible’ – this important result means that the system can be used in any situation regardless of height, or proximity to a boundary, and is a market-leading classification for the industry.  

Impact resistance is important for low rise solutions and here the weber.therm XP system provides high levels of weather protection combined with high impact resistance. When tested during the BBA certification assessment, the system met the requirement for use in Category 1 – which quite simply underlines the materials’ capacity to withstand hard body impacts.

The system also has no restriction in its use in areas of high or severe exposure.  weber.therm XP can be designed to resist wind loads and rainfall at all levels of exposure from Sheltered to Very Severe locations.  

weber.therm XP uses a specially designed thick one-coat, through-colour mineral render which speeds application and significantly reduces on-site labour and associated access costs.  While this high performance system is capable of improving thermal efficiency with U-values well below the 0.35W/m²K standard, contributing to reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the system is responsible for massive improvement in the aesthetics of Britain’s aging housing stock.  The system extends the life of existing buildings, especially so-called hard to heat properties, by keeping the old structure warm and stable.  The low maintenance through-colour render is available in a range of attractive colours with mineral scraped, mineral textured or dry dash aggregate finishes.

weber.therm XP is a layered system which is quick and easy to install.  The insulant is applied in the appropriate thickness to meet the specified U-value which Weber’s technical team will calculate.  This is mechanically fixed to a sound substrate with high strength, thermal-break fixings and finished with weber.therm M1 render with meshcloth reinforcement, in a variety of colours and textures.  

“We have worked with many significant housing associations in the rejuvenation of their housing stock,” continues Wilson Millar, “including the Shropshire Housing Group who have an inventory of nearly 4.5million properties; Cross Keys Homes who are improving some 600 homes in the Peterborough area; the Changing Streets programme in Goole, and many more.  We are really making a difference in these locations.”  

Weber offer a comprehensive package of Technical Support Services and will advise on the most appropriate weber.therm EWI system for a project; provide U-value and condensation risk analyses; provide a full Site Application Guide outlining every stage of the process, as well as on-site inspection. Weber can also recommend applicators from a nationwide register of trained installers.  Both social and private landlords may be eligible for government funding support and Weber can assist in this process by helping with the administration associated with applying for and securing funding.                   

In the modernisation of Peterborough’s 1950’s homes, originally constructed to house evacuated Londoner’s which were, at that time, labelled ‘temporary’, are now receiving a total facelift.  Some 60 years later, a major refurbishment project is underway to bring these Cross Keys Homes closer to today’s standard of thermal performance.  A key factor in this plan is the use of the weber.therm External Wall Insulation (EWI) system.  

Nearly 600 homes are undergoing improvements by housing association Cross Keys Homes in a multi-million pound project that has benefited from £1m of support secured by Weber from the CERT funding initiative.  Main contractor Mears has renewed roofs, fascias and soffits with specialist applicators, Retrofit Limited and Lawtec Limited, handling the £3.73 million weber.therm External Wall Insulation (EWI) system installation.  

Here a variety of different finishes are being used with the versatile weber.therm EWI system to allow properties to keep their original character while achieving visual variety.  To date, and over several phases, this has included weber.therm XM which uses through coloured, decorative and weather resistant render to the insulation system while other properties have been finished with a real brick appearance in weber.therm RB.  

Striking results have been achieved using weber.rend RB which produces a superb brick look-alike finish in just a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of full brickwork cladding. weber.rend RB is the combination of two polymer modified mortars used in conjunction to create the brick work pattern.  Alternatively, a real brick finish is available from Weber and can be achieved using weber.therm XB.  

Insulation is fixed to the original substrate of the building followed by a basecoat render with meshcloth reinforcement. Once set, the surface is lightly comb scratched prior to the application of the weber.rend RBB render coat which acts as the “mortar” joint and is available in eight different colours.

When the RBB coat has “taken-up” and is firm enough to allow application of the face coat, 2–3mm of weber.rend RBF is applied and stippled with a soft bristle brush to give the “brick” effect finish. Eight different colours of face render are available, allowing the client to replicate almost any brick and mortar combination which is particularly important when matching in with existing properties.  

The brick pattern is achieved by cutting through the weber.rend RBF face coat to expose the contrasting RBB render thus creating the attractive brick pattern finish. What’s neat about the system is that any brick pattern can be achieved including conventional ‘cavity’ layout as well as ‘header and stretcher’ bonding of traditional solid walls. Correctly applied this system is often mistaken for high quality bricklaying - even by experienced tradesmen!  

The weber.rend RB brick effect render system, used as part of the weber.therm XM EWI system, is transforming both the aesthetics and thermal efficiency of non-traditional and solid wall homes in Peterborough.  

The dramatic changes to the aesthetics of these Peterborough homes are matched by the changes in performance.  Householders report new levels of warmth and comfort.  The original prefabricated steel shell bungalows on Welland Close for example had no insulation at all other than the plaster board lining for the room interiors.  In winter the steel is ice cold and in summer heat radiates off the metal internally making this one of the most uncomfortable construction methods ever.  Residents are now reporting that not only are their homes much quieter inside but the properties are far warmer, contributing dramatically to reduced heating costs in winter, while aesthetically they have changed beyond compare.

Weber Leca® Insulation Fill is a lightweight clay material formed by heating and firing natural glacial clays which transforms it into various sized lightweight ceramic granules.  These granules have a hard ceramic shell and are treated to stop them absorbing moisture. In this form the material has first class insulation properties. The high volume by weight is ideal for most infill operations.  

The properties in St Helens, constructed in the 1950’s, were built on poor, uneven and unstable ground. Substantial digging had to be undertaken at the time of construction to enable foundations to be laid as well as equally substantial brick foundations until stable ground was achieved. The old style timber joists and floorboards were therefore laid across voids up to two metres deep in some places.  

Over time these timbers have rotted and the renovation project has had to remedy the void to enable insulated solid floors to be created. Traditional hardcore fill would have had to be barrowed into place as access is restricted. Four men would have been employed for two weeks on each property to fill these voids prior to the concrete floor being laid.  

The Weber Leca® Insulation Fill was brought to the site in a 55m³ load on a truck with blower system which pneumatically delivers the lightweight fill. One operator controls the flow from the delivery pipe and another rakes the insulation fill into position. The loose aggregate is poured in 500mm deep layers and a vibrating plate compactor is run over the fill to firm it into position. In just 60 minutes the Weber Leca® Insulation Fill has filled the deepest voids; lesser voids in this project have taken no more than 15 minutes to fill.  A 1200 gauge polythene membrane is then applied to the filled void before a steel mesh is installed in preparation for the pumped concrete.

Dave Williams, site project manager for Helena Partnership, says: “We have saved thousands of pounds just in labour costs by using Weber Leca® Insulation Fill. It is quick, clean and easily handled. It provides great insulation - we just put a damp proof membrane over the Weber Leca® Insulation Fill and lay the concrete. The whole renovation job now takes just a few days so the householder is less inconvenienced and doesn’t have to move out of the property for the two or three weeks that it would take if we had used traditional methods.”  

Dave continues: “I’ll never again use another piece of rubble to fill a void. Weber Leca® Insulation Fill has proved a brilliant solution for us.”

Both products are one-coat, through-coloured monocouche renders manufactured from carefully selected raw materials.  They achieve an excellent weather resistant, low maintenance and highly durable finish, and while providing a protective outer coat for the building will, at the same time, allow the structure to breathe.  These renders are quick and easy to apply, contributing to short programme periods which reduce associated scaffolding and site costs and encourage the completion of ground works at an earlier stage.  

The Green Guide is an accredited environmental profile rating system for products and building elements.  By auditing materials and components on their environmental performance and impact, and the way they are used in buildings, specifiers and designers can consider comparable systems, or materials, and make selections that will collectively reduce the environmental impact of their buildings.  This will help to meet the mandatory requirements and achieve more materials credits in a Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) assessment.  

These profile ratings measure the performance of materials over their entire life based on Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), measuring the material from extraction and harvesting, process manufacturing, construction and maintenance methods, through to its eventual disposal.  Information on key issues related to environmental sustainability also contribute to the Ecopoints assessment – the lower the Ecopoints the less environmental impact the product or system will have.  

Comments Steve Belcher, Product Manager – Weber: “The achievement of an A+ rating marks an important development both in terms of the monocouche product range and as part of Weber’s sustainability credentials. The assessment undertaken by the BBA was very detailed and has enabled a deeper understanding of our processes, including highlighting areas for further environmental improvement.”