Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs has become a national TV institution, watched by millions of viewers each week, with a further 100,000 attending Grand Designs Live at London’s ExCeL. For the first time in Grand Designs’ history the exhibition was televised at peak viewing times, capturing a viewing audience in excess of 8.1 million.

Just one of the many must-see events was the construction of a timber frame home only using sustainable materials. Excel Fibre Technology’s Warmcel insulation was used to insulate the house. The construction incorporated cellulose fibre insulation made from 100 per cent recycled newspaper into the cavity walls and roof space of the timber cassettes.

Under the direction of design agency Wilder Creative, Excel worked with South East installer United Insulations to complete the insulation phase of the eco-home. Nigel Bosanko from Excel Fibre Technology, manufacturers of Warmcel, comments on the Grand Designs Live eco-house build, “The Grand Designs Live project was a unique opportunity for viewers to witness the construction of an unusual timber frame house, using readily available sustainable materials. Unlike many green builds, Grand Designs’ eco-house demonstrated that sustainable buildings can be built within tight timeframes and that building to green standards needn’t mean compromising on design or functionality.

“The Grand Designs Live eco-home was a great example of an affordable and mainstream home demonstrating the perception that straw bales and hemp are the minimum requirements of green living no longer holds true. Put simply, this eco-house has achieved significant reductions in its environmental impact both in terms of its construction and its future energy consumption.”
Scott Brown of United Insulations, the company that installed Warmcel in the eco house, comments “We have used Warmcel on many projects including, domestic, commercial, education and housing applications because it always delivers consistent results. When we were asked by Wilder Creative to take part in the project we used Warmcel due to its eco credentials, particularly the excellent U-Values it achieves, which made it the ideal choice for such a groundbreaking project.”
Constructed from timber cassettes by Facit UK and insulated with Warmcel, the eco-house was insulated to twice the current requirement of Part L Building regulations, resulting in significant improvements in air tightness.

Email: kimberley@watermarkpr.co.uk