From 24 January, new robust details will be available for immediate use in new houses and flats in England and Wales.
RDL is providing a complimentary update pack for the handbook “Robust Details Part E - Resistance to the Passage of Sound” to everyone who purchased a copy of the first edition (published in May 2004).
It is less than 12 months since the first edition, containing 14 robust details, was first published. This new edition contains four new robust details and new options within some of the original ones. A large number of other improvements and further details have been added as a result of feedback and technical enquiries from the housebuilding industry and further field testing of new houses and flats constructed since the original handbook was first published.
There is also a new option to use a proprietary product as a substitute for the sand/cement parge coat in some masonry wall separating walls.
The four new robust details are:
· E-WM-7 masonry separating wall- aircrete thin joint blockwork (render and gypsum-based board finish)
· E-WS-3 steel frame separating wall - modular steel frame housing
· E-FC-3 precast concrete plank separating floor with floating screed
· E-FC-4 precast concrete plank separating floor with Thermal Economics IsoRubber system and floating screed.
Additionally, British Gypsum SoundCoat may now be used as an alternative to the sand/cement ‘parge’ coat specified in the existing separating walls E-WM-3, E-WM-4 and E-WM-5.
These changes will provide the housebuilding industry with more options for separating wall and floor constructions, making robust details an even more attractive proposition for developers of new homes in England and Wales. Of particular note (and good news for those involved in the construction of flats or maisonettes) is the availability of new floors - significantly increasing the number of robust detail wall and floor combinations which can be used without any pre-completion testing.
More prospective robust detail separating structures are continually being assessed and RDL expects to publish more new robust details later in the year, providing housebuilders and designers with even more options to choose from in the future.