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HEATING & PLUMBING
Pipe seals Alex Lever, Director of PipeSnug, highlights how to save time and costs on boiler installations while meeting the new requirements for pipe seals and grommets in Part L of the Building Regulations.
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ringleford Heights, a development on the outskirts of Norwich, is a five-year project to sustainably build over 600 high quality new homes. Working at the site, the Daly Group is an electrical, plumbing and heating contractor operating across East Anglia and parts of Cambridgeshire. As part of their remit the company is installing new boilers into each home along with FlueSnug, a product designed to fit all 100mm boiler flues, which removes the need for pointing around exit pipes and can be used both externally and internally. FlueSnug removes any need for pointing, can be installed in seconds and snugly fits the core-drilled hole in the wall through which the boiler flue exits. It prevents heat escaping, acts as a barrier to drafts, damp, insects and pests and gives a neat finish as it can be used both inside and outside the property. Ian Hudson, Commercial Director for the Daly Group saw its potential, not only in its time saving benefits, but also how it would help the company to comply with changes to Part L of the Building Regulations – which mandates the need for pipe collars where pipes enter or exit a home, helping to maintain the energy efficiency of the building. In these regulations, mortar and silicone are not considered to be an effective seal, and FlueSnug and PipeSnug create a professional finish and seal all-in-one, meeting the regulations.
Time saving Another advantage to using FlueSnug is its time saving capacity: it saves around
22 January/February Professional Housebuilder & Property Developer
30 minutes installation time pre-mixing and pointing of mortar, per boiler. The product also saves time in terms of compliance; when checking each installation, you can immediately see that the hole around the flue has been sealed. It also looks professional and is cleaner than traditional mortar or sealant. This aspect of compliance is important to the Daly Group as it adheres to very high standards and offers a two-year warranty to its customers. Every installation must also reach the standard required to meet the NHBC 10 Year Warranty.
Access advantages Another benefit of using the products is being able to install FlueSnug without the need for scaffolding or a cherry picker so eliminating the hazards of working at height for engineers. This is because FlueSnug is flexible enough to be pushed through the brickwork from the inside, and rigid enough to pop back into place to provide an air and water tight seal. During servicing, if you need to inspect or access the flue then FlueSnug can be removed and then replaced. This is another time saving benefit which makes service teams’ jobs a lot easier and again can be done from the inside of the building, removing risk and the need for expensive scaffolding and health and safety equipment.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? For more details on PipeSnug and FlueSnug visit www.rdr.link/dab015
