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Case Study

Safeshield XT Reflect A2 -s1,d0 fire rated membrane used in a refurbishment in the heart of Glasgow.

The Social Hub - Candleriggs Square, Glasgow

Safeshield XT Reflect used in brand new hotel development.

The first Student Hotel in the UK is in Scotland, in Glasgow’s Candleriggs Square, at the very heart of historic Merchant City, which provides a perfect location. The hotel forms the first development phase of the much-anticipated regeneration of the 3.6-acre Candleriggs Square site.

View products used in project

Location

Glasgow

Requirements

Permavent’s A2 -s1,d0 fire rated membrane Safeshield XT Reflect was chosen by Walsin Construction to make up part of the internal cavity of the walls during construction of The Student Hotel in Glasgow. This new development in Glasgow’s Candleriggs Square will form part of the rejuvenation of a formally derelict site in the heart of the city, with the reflective properties of Safeshield helping to increase the energy efficiency of the structure, alongside class-leading fire performance.

The Student Hotel, re-branded The Social Hub, is the European operators’ first UK venture and is to be delivered under a £52m design and build contract by Gilbert-Ash.

Why was Permavent Safeshield XT Reflect chosen?

Cladding contractor Walsin Construction are installing Permavent Safeshield XT Reflect, a Class A2 -s1,d0 fire safe membrane, as a higher-performance and more robust approach than standard traditional breather membranes. Alongside the highest fire performance from a membrane Safeshield XT Reflect was the product of choice to deliver a sensible and competitively priced method of achieving a high thermal-performance and as built-anticipated level of airtightness.

Safeshield XT Reflect is the most competitive high-performance Class A2-s1, d0 fire rated membrane currently available, offering unrivalled ease of installation compared to similar membranes on the market.

Safeshield meets and exceeds the primary requirements of a building membrane providing high permeability, waterproofing, thermal performance and class leading fire performance.

Safeshield surpasses Building Regulations Approved Document B for fire classification and is futureproofed against potential changes to the document.

As well as class-leading resistance to flame and heat, Safeshield also has an impressive W1 water (external) resistance and provides superior UV stability.

The high-purity aluminium reflective surface of the membrane also provides superior thermal benefits, improving the thermal performance of the building; a focus of the recent changes introduced to Approved Document Part L, by reducing emissivity across the cavity. This reduces unwanted heat loss as well as heat gain. This also helps to improve the energy efficiency of the building, which could lead to savings on heating and expensive insulation.

Safeshield XT Reflect is easy to install even at height, utilising an intuitive high tack reflective tape to maintain its thermal benefits and create effective airtight seals around door and window openings, and subtle detailing throughout the building.

Peter Noon, Walsin Contracts Manager at Candleriggs, commented: “Walsin have worked on a number of projects with Permavent based on their technical support, knowledge of the required construction detail and tool box talks delivered on site. Safeshield XT Reflect is a superior product to other alternative membranes available. The inherent strength of the material provides confidence that the material will maintain the buildings integrity during and after construction. Being Class A2 fire rated provides further confidence in terms of building safety. Safeshield allows us a contractor to deliver an as designed performance to the buildings structure”

How Permavent Products were installed

During the construction of the building, Safeshield XT Reflect was fitted on the exterior face of the cavity prior to the exterior cladding being installed in accordance with best practice and guidance of BS 5250:2021 Management of Moisture in Buildings.

The ease of installation that Safeshield XT Reflect afforded the contractor to adopt a staple fix in a free hanging application onto the substrate, which then allowed the constructor to install the membrane with efficiency and ease, demonstrating again Safeshield XT Reflect was the perfect product for the job in delivering an uncomplicated installation.

Safeshield XT Reflect being lightweight, with compact packaging and being a highly tensile, yet flexible membrane, was easy to manoeuvre, install and manipulate into place, even at great height. An intuitive high tack reflective tape was utilised to maintain Safeshield XT Reflect’s thermal benefits and create effective airtight seals around door and window openings, and subtle detailing throughout the building.

Contractor: Walsin Construction

Products Used

Safeshield XT Reflect

Fire Safe A Rated Membrane

Class A2-s1, d0 fire rated
Superior W1 head of water resistance
High UV resistance
Enhanced thermal performance

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