Aircrete Walls Prove Successful in Environmentally Friendly and Energy Efficient Home

Solid walls of Thin Jointed aircrete proved to be a fast and effective answer when Paulo Mondadori wanted to build an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly executive home in Wimbledon, south west London.

Paolo was looking for a fast build and the choice came down to timber frame or Thin Jointed aircrete. He chose H+H aircrete because he wanted the solidity of masonry construction for this quality, executive home, as well as the speed of construction.

The new five-bedroom luxury home, in Pelham Road, epitomises all that is best in 21st century design and incorporates a whole host of eco-friendly elements. It comprises an open plan living room, fully-fitted kitchen, family / media room, master bedroom with free standing bath and ensuite wet room, guest bedroom with ensuite shower room, three further bedrooms and two further bathrooms and a decked and paved walled garden.

H+H Solar blocks 215mm wide were used for most of the construction; with some H+H Hi-Seven blocks 215mm and 140mm wide. This was the first time he had used aircrete and the Thin-Joint System. He was delighted with the results; H+H UK staged a demonstration on site and his team of bricklayers took to the new system very quickly. There was plenty of support from H+H with advice and specialist tools such as scoops and trowels. Having to build only one skin of aircrete blocks, combined with the Celfix quick-setting mortar used with the Thin-Joint System, made progress exceptionally fast. The outside was coated in K Rend coloured render and the inside with 65mm Celotex. Together these achieved an excellent U-value of 0.19.

Thanks to the use of aircrete the house did very well in its airtightness test. It also has a mechanical ventilation system so that windows do not need to be opened in winter.

Other ‘green’ aspects of the house include underfloor heating to the basement and ground floor, so that the boiler only needs to work to 45 degrees, and low energy lighting. The cedar cladding used on parts of the exterior is all from certified renewable sources.