Plastic Fantastic.

1st April 2005

T. Wyn Jones

There is, I am informed a revolution in the house building industry that is coming our way which has passed the necessary tests and certification procedures

Forget bricks and mortar, houses of the future we are lead to believe will be built out of polystyrene blocks and concrete. In fact it is reported that the first major project will be on a 60-house site in Ireland that is shortly due to start construction.

The build type in question is Styrostone, a system of hollow polystyrene blocks that interlock like Lego. Concrete is then poured to fill the hollow chamber and a cladding is used to cover the exterior. The system allows fast construction and exceeds all government requirements on thermal and sound insulation. It has already been tried and tested in the US and Europe (in Germany, the method has already been employed on five-storey houses) and a Styrostone home is being unveiled this month in Harrow.

It is reported that it takes just 10 days to build the structure (excluding the roof) of a typical two-bedroom house at a cost of roughly £10,000. About 50 houses have been built in the UK using this method since it was introduced eight years ago but now it seems demand has taken off.

Whilst this method of construction has, in the past been confined to the self-build enthusiast now, due to government policy, in particular PPG3 (high density living) Housing Associations and Developers are looking to different methods of construction to achieve low cost, high density, thermal efficient housing.

A further plus of this system is that the properties can fit in with the local vernacular, as the structural membrane can be clad with a skin of brick, stucco or stone. Brick manufacturers have already developed thin panels of real bricks that need only to be stuck to the exterior of a house to give it an authentic appearance.

The question that has to be asked though is why with so many better (better in respect of speed of build, cost and thermal efficiency) tried and tested build methods available we in Britain adhere to the “traditional” brick & block cavity wall?

Is the British House buying public so set in their ways that any new form of construction is looked upon with such scepticism? Surely if the construction costs offer significant savings it is as a colleague of mine would say be a “no brainer” would it not?