Environmentally Friendly Materials

Insulating your home is the best home improvement you can make for the environment.

Oct

2019

What makes an eco-friendly roof?

Make one or more of these eco-friendly improvements to your roof to cut your carbon footprint and begin living more sustainably at home.

Not only will these eco-friendly roof updates look after our planet, they’ll help to look after your pennies too.

Insulate

Did you know that around 25% of heat is lost through an uninsulated roof?

Insulating your home is the best home improvement you can make for the environment. The less heat you’re losing, the less energy it will take to warm your home and the smaller your carbon footprint will be.

You and your family will feel the benefit too, as you’ll have a warmer and more comfortable home.

Spray foam is a highly effective roof insulation material as it bonds to the structure of your roof, filling and sealing gaps and cracks to get rid of all air leakage and strengthen your roof’s structure.

Find out more about our spray foam insulationservices here at Metropolitan Insulation by giving our team a call on 0800 028 4042.

Solar panels

Installing solar panels on your roof can be expensive but will dramatically reduce your energy bills in the long run as well as helping to look after the environment.

According to The Renewable Energy Hub, installing solar panels onto your home’s roof can cut your carbon footprint by up to 80% in just one year!

Natural materials

When choosing a roofing material, opt for durable, long-lasting and recyclable materials to reduce your carbon footprint.

Roofing shingles made from recyclable materials and reclaimed slate roof tiles are among some of the most environmentally friendly options.

Slate is an excellent option as it is 100% natural and requires very little energy to extract and process. It is also highly durable, weatherproof, and lasts for many years, making it cost-effective as well as environmentally-friendly.

Sep

2018

The Challenges Of Insulating A Barn Conversion

Barn conversions can make the most attractive homes but they can also be challenging projects not only from a build point of view but also when it comes to thermal efficiency.

Nowadays thermal efficiency is a much more important consideration than it has been in the past. Property owners must now include Energy Performance Certificates when advertising a property for rent or sale and this obviously influences the decision to rent or buy a property. Few people are going to pay their hard earned cash to live in a poorly insulated property or one that scores poorly on its EPC.

So one of the main challenges when converting a barn is making sure it is conforms to modern building and energy efficiency standards. Insulating high vaulted ceilings can be difficult as attractive as they are, but there is a way to cut the cost and achieve those all important efficiency scores. That is to use spray foam insulation.

This can be applied quickly and easily and dramatically cuts down the time it takes to apply insulation so that your barn conversion ticks all the boxes for your prospective buyers. If you require more information on insulating your property give us a call today.

Jan

2018

Is Asbestos Present On Your Farm?

A recent case where a farmer died following years of exposure to harmful asbestos fibre highlights how the material is a significant hazard to health that cannot be ignored. There is a very good chance that on most farms, asbestos may still be lurking leading to the possibility of more people being exposed to its fibres while they work.

People who breathe in asbestos fibres are at an increased risk of developing a rare form of cancer called malignant mesothelioma. Unfortunately, the illness has no cure, which means it is vital to ensure that asbestos is made safe and any risk of contamination with fibres is removed.

If asbestos is present on your farm it is often far to easy to disturb it through various tasks such as repairing clutches on old vehicles, carrying out repairs on insulated pipes and boilers and especially when demolishing old buildings.

The most common type of asbestos found on farms is white asbestos but there may be other types used in the construction of building prior to 2000 as well. White asbestos can typically be found in corrugated roofing, cladding and in wall panels.

Removal of asbestos can be expensive, but the good news is it can be encapsulated so that it can be made safe. Undisturbed asbestos poses no risk and encapsulation ensures that it remains undisturbed.

Apr

2017

Another Commercial Success – The Radisson Blu

Metropolitan Insulation recently completed sound insulation services at The Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel:

Apr

2017

Common Soundproofing Myths

Like most other things in life that require a significant investment of cash to achieve, there are plenty of myths about how to save money on soundproofing. However, as we will show, most of them will only be partially effective at best.

Use egg cartons
One of the most common myths about soundproofing is that you can collect a load of egg cartons and use them to soundproof your walls. Using egg cartons for soundproofing will not only look unappealing they are likely to be completely ineffective because they won’t stop the transfer of energy through solid walls, which is what causes noise in the first place.

Hang some thick curtains
Having thick curtains will reduce sound coming through your windows as will double glazing but it won’t stop sound coming through walls and ceilings. To soundproof an interior, you will need to install soundproofing to all these areas.

Use mattresses
You often hear about cash strapped rock bands setting up their own recording studios using mattresses to sound proof walls. These can be partially effective in absorbing sound because they create that natural barrier and mass between sounds being emitted and walls. This kind of setup is only really a temporary fix as it unlikely you will get mattresses to shut out sound coming from all parts of the room.

Mar

2017

UK ‘must insulate millions of homes’

More than one home every minute will need to be refurbished in the UK between now and 2050, experts say.

The authors of a report to Parliament say 25 million existing homes will not meet the insulation standards required by mid-century.

The UK needs to cut carbon emissions by 80% by then – and a third of those emissions come from heating draughty buildings.

The government said it would devise policies as soon as possible.

But critics say ministers have been far too slow to impose a national programme of home renovation which would save on bills and improve people’s health, comfort and happiness. It would also create thousands of jobs.

Successive governments have been criticised for failing to tackle the UK’s poor housing stock – some of the worst in Europe.

Local authorities have limited cash to insulate council homes, and landlords and owner-occupiers have proved reluctant to invest large sums in disruptive improvements that will save on bills, but take many years to pay off.

The report from a group of leading construction firms – the Green Building Council – says four out of five homes that will be occupied in 2050 have already been built.

That means 25 million homes need refurbishing to the highest standards by 2050 – at a rate of 1.4 homes every minute.

Who pays?
The authors say this huge challenge also offers an unmissable opportunity under the government’s infrastructure agenda. The fiddly business of insulating roofs, walls and floors creates more jobs and has more benefits than any existing infrastructure priority, they maintain.

The question is how to pay. The government’s Green Deal scheme for owner-occupiers collapsed amid a welter of criticism that interest rates for insulation were too high, and that the insulation itself was too much hassle.

It says the construction industry needs certainty about what it is expected to deliver, and measurement to discover what is already being built. This should stimulate innovation, it says.

Julie Hirigoyen, head of the GBC, told BBC News there was a great prize to be grasped in upgrading building stock: “People will have warmer homes and lower bills; they will live longer, happier lives; we will be able to address climate change and carbon emissions.

“We will also be creating many thousands of jobs and exporting our best skills in innovation.

“Driving up demand for retro-fitting homes is essential for any policy to be a success – the Green Deal told us just offering financial incentives isn’t necessarily the only solution. We need to make it all easy, attractive and affordable.

“The good thing is that the business community is really starting to recognise the opportunity.”

VISIT THE BBC FOR MORE INFORMATION

Dec

2016

Metropolitan’s Latest Installation

Metropolitan’s latest installation has been well received and a great success.

The site which is a very upmarket Scandinavian poultry restaurant, The Holy Birds is situated in Middlesex Street close to Tower Bridge.

The objective of the exercise was to reduce airborne noise to the flats above. Also the issue of reverberation
noise is combated. When the restaurant is full the noise generated is dissipated by our system.

This is another example of low density open cell acoustic foam being used successfully.

It can be left open as in this instance or covered up also. The product is BBA certified and can have a zero fire rating added
also.

Modern semi commercials like this benefit hugely from technology.

Dec

2016

Noise Reduction Becomes A Trendy New Design Focus In 2016

While the design world has largely ignored noise reduction, this year has brought new attention on incorporating noise reduction features, particularly amongst Scandinavian designers who are really starting to embrace it in their interior designs.

Acoustics was certainly a hot topic in Stockholm at this year’s furniture fair and efforts to make modern space quieter with better acoustics has certainly become a trend since. Various products have been launched to make rooms more peaceful including wall panels that absorb sound better and even spongy wall-mounted booths which can be used for phone calls.

One of the reasons why noise reduction has been a preoccupation amongst Scandinavian designers is the use of wood. Wooden floors and work surfaces don’t lend themselves particularly well to noise reduction. Wood in its raw state may be an effective building material but it needs the introduction of sound absorbing materials to reduce noise levels in buildings.

Despite the emergence of products aimed at better sound insulation in the design world, there remains a greater focus on the visual elements of design such as light, space colour and texture.

But when it comes to public spaces, people are just as likely to notice a room that has poor acoustics as they are to appreciate how nicely designed that space is.

Nov

2016

Soundproofing Jobs London

Acoustic doors being successfully installed at Katzenjammers Bier Keller in Southwark. We have all the skills and knowledge for entertainment venues like this. Metropolitan cover all acoustic and insulation requirements.

Installation of acoustic walls in stairwell in a domestic home in Stoke Newington. This system combines traditional and technological advances in acoustic solutions. The result on this was 80% reduction in airborne and impact noise.

Oct

2016

ROI on ‘invisible’ Home Improvements

What’s the ROI on ‘invisible’ Home Improvements Like Sound Insulation

When you fit an extension on your house or perhaps a loft conversion, the return on investment is easy to quantify, but what about invisible renovations such as sound proofing and insulation?

The answer to this depends a lot on your local environment, the amount of noise likely to affect your property and how old the property is.

Of course installing sound insulation isn’t going to add value in the same way as renovations you can see but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t install it. Often in older houses it can sometimes be essential to install soundproofing to make sure a house appeals to buyers or tenants in the first place.

Sometimes you can highlight the work that has been done as part of the sales documentation so that potential purchasers will see what kind of benefits they are getting from your soundproofing upgrades. You may even want to keep photographs of the work being done too.

If you intend to stay in your home, then having a quitter environment in which to spend time away from work can improve your health and sense of wellbeing – and who can put a price on that!

Metropolitan Insulation Blog