ADLIan

Sorry to be repetitive. See appr doc B ( relevant section has not changed for many, many years)

See appro doc B. Not sure what an alternative approach would be especially post Grenfell

Cavity needs closing at top for fire safety - see appr doc B

The acoustic absorption of all mineral wool products will tail off at lower frequencies (less than 600Hz?). Denser and/or thicker product will have a slightly better low frequency performance but as above this will be lost in the noise (pun intended) of the rest of the construction. Someone on here linked to an excellent report (Canadian?) a few weeks ago that covered 100s of stud partition options. Not sure how to search for it.

I'm not sure having the acoustic absorption for the insulation will get you far here - certainly any mineral wool at a given thickness will give similar results, thinner products will be slightly worse. The issue is that any slight difference in this value is totally swamped by the effect of the rest of the construction once installed, for example in a timber stud partition. The sound reduction across a completed partition will depend upon the construction (timber or metal studs) and the density/thickness of the plasterboard each side. Note that 'mineral fibre' is deemed to be a solution in many parts of Approved Doc E. Sheep's wool (not a mineral wool) will need an independent test certificate to show similar compliance.

The SAP rating is based on energy cost. Going all electric with a heat pump will increase the energy costs though offset to some degree by the efficiency of the heat pump. No one really cares about the SAP ratings, important hurdle is getting Building Reg compliance which is made easier with a heat pump

The great Rockwool myth of 'denser = better' busted!! As a bit of background stone wool (Rockwool is a trade name) will always be about twice as dense as glass wool for the same thermal and acoustic performance. Any stone or glass wool in the normal density range, say 10 kg/m3 (glass) to 60 kg/m3 (stone) and at a given thickness will have a similar acoustic absorption value. There will be slight differences in these figures (only picked up in laboratory tests) but they are swamped, once installed in a wall, by the effect of the studs (metal or timber) and plasterboard facings. Look through Appr Doc E of the Regs, the Robust Details, the BG White Book and the above referenced document. Very dense stone wool compressed into a partition wall will have an negative affect on the acoustic performance. Low density products and/or an airspace acts a 'spring' between the 2 (or more) layers of plasterboard. A high density product, compressed, effectively couples the 2 layers of plasterboard so sound energy can be transferred much more efficiently.

The U-value should be corrected for the mechanical fixings securing the insulation & render system to the wall. A few extra fixings will have little, if any effect, but could be included in the correction if you want to be really critical

A 300mm masonry wall will perform better than a 200mm wall simply because of the additional mass and stiffness - doubt the benefit is worth the cost though. Adding any mineral wool in the cavity of 2 masonry leaves will gain very little (nothing?) as again most of the acoustic performance is from the mass/stiffness of the masonry.

A continuous ply/OSB sheathing is relatively vapour resistant and as such there should be ventilation below (above insulation).

Nice gappy insulation - plenty of thermal bypass possible. Also cavity slabs look to have a lap joint edge profile, if this is the case they have been installed incorrectly as the lap joint should ensure water is shed outwards.

I’m not sure the additional cost of 32 grade is justified in a better u-value when installed between rafters or studs. The thermal bridging in this layer means only a very small decrease in u-value (0.01 better?). 35 grade probably at the sweet spot unless you’re really desperate for that very last bit of improvement.

Low density loft insulation is compressed more than cavity/rafter/timber frame insulation. All should expand to stated thickness once unwrapped but over or under expansion should not be tolerated. Complain to manufacturer if this happens.

Earth wool is a trade name. Google ‘timber frame roll’ for alternative manufacturers

Beware of extended lead times and price rises. Knauf I believe are on 6 week or more lead time with 14% price rise due soon.

Part E applies to intermediate floors and certain partition walls within a dwelling. More onerous standards apply to party walls and separating floors between dwellings

External gable wall becomes internal wall in extension. Was a cavity tray installed above the flashing?

PUR for different applications can have different formulations for the core and different foil faces. Check with manufacturer for suitability and if interchangeable. As regards use under screed the MIs and BBA certs will normally require a light gauge polythene sheet.

Would normally expect dpm below insulation /slab with vcl/slip layer between insulation and screed. Check MIs and BBA cert

Decent window manufacturers will give the Uwindow value (for the whole unit). See also BFRC website for energy rating of windows.

SE can’t certify product if no BS for teplo type tie. Even if there is a BS manufacturer normally has to certify as part of CE marking. Note both teplo and neutras have BBA certS I so assume normal wall tie BS does not cover these. No BBA or compliance with BS means fitness for use under Building Regs can be questioned.

That would be classed as unvent surely. Even if slightly vent, 500-1500mm2/m, the software I use still gives resistance of 0.18 m2K/W for the cavity. Suppose it depends how you define this airspace in TF - weep holes are left but any ventilation from these is fortuitous and probably can be ignored.

I've not checked through any of the above U-values but remember the calculation will be different between England & Scotland. Timber frame in Scotland requires a ventilated cavity behind the brick/block cladding which means anything external to the breather membrane is ignored in the U-value calculation (but external resistance is altered). In England this airspace is vented so the cavity and external masonry can be included - particularly important when using reflective breather membranes.

Follow the kingspan installation instructions on their website.

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