GB2529269B

GB2529269B - Insulation module assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2529269B
Application number: GB1421608.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Clews Susan; Clews Daniel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-08-15
Filing date: 2014-12-04
Publication date: 2019-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 2034-12-04
Also published as: GB201414512D0; GB201421608D0; GB2529269A

Description

Insulation Module Assembly

This invention relates to an insulation module assembly and in particular, though not exclusively, to a thermal or acoustic insulation module assembly for use in providing thermal insulation for a building and to a method of providing said assembly.

The invention is of particular applicability to buildings comprising timber frames that define voids that are to be filled with thermal or acoustic insulation material.

Particularly in relation to the construction of so-called stud walls comprising a timber frame to which a board such as plasterboard is secured for forming a smooth outer surface it is often required to provide within the wall a suitable thermal insulation material, that additionally affording a degree of acoustic insulation. The provision of one or more of a condensation barrier, a vapour barrier and a fire barrier often also is desirable.

One known technique for forming an insulated stud wall comprises partly covering the frame structure with plasterboard and then positioning layers of insulation material in the void within the wall structure, supported in position by the plasterboard, prior to putting into position one or more final sections of plasterboard to complete covering of the frame structure.

The need to coordinate insulation work with the installation of plasterboard is inconvenient, particularly for large new-build projects. Further disadvantages are that the method of installing the insulation is time consuming, and the choice of insulation material needs to be restricted in view of health and safety considerations in order to ensure that operatives are not exposed unduly to potentially hazardous material.

Not infrequently the wall of a building under construction will be ready for insulation and subsequent operations before the building has been roofed or otherwise made weather tight. To delay application of the insulation until the building has been made weather tight can lead to additional costs, such as those associated with the re-scheduling of man power and increase in length of construction time.

Known wall insulation products and installations are prone to damage if exposed to other than moderate weather conditions. Thus they are likely to disrupt and delay the progress of building construction.

The present invention seeks to provide a method and an insulation module assembly that mitigates or overcomes at least some of the aforedescribed disadvantages of known methods of insulation and known insulation products.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an insulation module assembly for forming a stud wall, said assembly comprising a support structure defined by a timber frame and the timber frame comprising a plurality of members which define a void therebetween, said void comprising at least two thermal insulation modules each sealingly secured to one another and to the frame members thereby to provide a barrier which is at least one of a condensation, vapour and fire barrier, each insulation module being a flexible rectangular shaped module comprising a layer of flexible insulation material sandwiched between two flexible support layers, one of the support layers being a primary support layer which comprises a support region that confronts and provides support for the insulation material and the other being an auxiliary support layer, each insulation module comprising four edge regions which extend outwardly beyond the insulation material and said edge regions being substantially co-planar with the primary support layer, the auxiliary support layer being shaped to define a recess region having a central region which confronts the layer of flexible insulation material and boundary regions that confront edges of the insulation material to encapsulate the insulation material, said primary support layer comprising outwardly extending edge regions and said auxiliary support layer extending outwardly from the encapsulated insulation material to provide outwardly extending edge regions adhered to the outwardly extending edge regions of the primary support layer whereby each of the four edge regions comprises outwardly extending regions of each of the two support layers, each of said edge regions adjacent a member of the timber frame being adhesively secured to a face of the timber frame and at least one other edge region being adhesively secured to an adjacent said thermal insulation module.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing an insulation module assembly for forming a stud wall, said method comprising providing a support structure defined by a timber frame which comprises a plurality of members which define a void therebetween and providing in said void at least two thermal insulation modules each sealingly secured to one another and to the frame members thereby to provide a barrier which is at least one of a condensation, vapour and fire barrier, each insulation module being a flexible rectangular shaped module comprising a layer of flexible insulation material sandwiched between two flexible support layers, one being a primary support layer and the other an auxiliary support layer and the primary support layer having a support region which confronts and provides support for the body of insulation material, each insulation module comprising four edge regions which extend outwardly beyond the insulation material and said edge regions being substantially co-planar with the primary support layer, the auxiliary support layer being shaped to define a recess region having a central region which confronts the layer of flexible insulation material and boundary regions that confront edges of the insulation material to encapsulate the insulation material, said primary support layer comprising outwardly extending edge regions and said auxiliary support layer extending outwardly from the encapsulated insulation material to provide outwardly extending edge regions adhered to the outwardly extending edge regions of the primary support layer of the module whereby each of the four edge regions comprises outwardly extending regions of each of the two support layers, the method further comprising adhesively securing to the timber frame those edge regions of the modules that are positioned adjacent a frame member, and adhesively securing at least one of the module edge regions to an adjacent said thermal insulation module. A module may comprise outwardly extending material which is secured, for example by adhesive or heat moulding, to the support layer material without the outwardly extending material necessarily being of the same material as that of the primary support layer.

The primary support layer may comprise a support region which has a first side which confronts and provides support for the insulation material and a second side provided with an adhesive element whereby, in use, said adhesive element enables the insulation module to be secured adhesively to the support structure.

The adhesive element for adhesively securing a said insulation module to another said module or frame may, for example, be a double sided tape or pad having a protective outer layer which can be removed prior to installation of the module against a support surface.

The insulation material may be a material which serves to provide a combination of thermal and acoustic insulation. The insulation material may be a material which is fire resistant.

Although typically the or at least one support layer will be required to be in the form of a continuous, non-apertured sheet, if the body of insulating material is of a cohesive, non particulate type the support layer may be in the form of a mesh or other such perforated type material.

An example of a suitable material for the or each support layer is polyethylene. Other materials such as polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene may be employed.

The material of the or each support layer may be a material that provides one or more of the properties that enable it to perform as a vapour barrier, a condensation barrier and a fire protection barrier. A support layer may comprises two or more layers of material, and one of said layers may have a property which differs from a property of another of the layers of that support layer. Optionally two or more layers of a support layer may be bonded or otherwise secured together.

The outward facing surface of the or each support layer may be a reflective layer. The support layer may comprise a metalised foil. The support layer may, for example, be of a material such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene or polypropylene and to which a metallic coating has been applied.

Particularly but not only in the case of insulation material which is of a cohesive type, for example in the form of a slab of insulation material, it may be sandwiched between the two support layers without being secured to either of those layers. Alternatively the body of insulation material may be secured to the primary support layer, or at least one of a pair of support layers, for example by means of adhesive or by mechanical means such as staples.

The body of insulation material may be a body which is secured to one or each of the primary and auxiliary support layers or it may be unsecured such that it is moveable within the sandwich, with the support layers providing support to retain the insulation material between said layers.

If the insulation material is of a loose fill type or deformable, as in the case of a batt of glass fibre, the flexibility of an oversized auxiliary layer will readily permit the body of insulation material to be spread sideways, or inwards as necessary to fill a space of irregular shape.

The insulation material may be of a substantially self defined shape and suitable such materials include panels of rock mineral wool, polystyrene and low density rigid polyisocyanurate foam. However the insulation material sandwiched between two support layers may be of a re-shapable or loose fill type and examples of such materials include vermiculite, glass fibre and wool.

The support layers may wholly encapsulate the insulation material such that that material is protected from exposure to or contamination by an external environment.

The or each support layer may be of a material which may be readily cut on site to enable the size of the module to be reduced. An edge region of a module comprising two support layers may be provided with double sided tape having a peelable protective layer which can be removed to enable an encapsulated body of support material to be re-sealed within the module following a reduction in the volume of the thermal insulation material.

The size of the module may be selected to be related to the or one of the standard sizes of voids into which it is intended to be installed. Thus in one example it may comprise a rectangular shaped body of insulation material, optionally in the form of a slab, of a length of 1175 mm and width of 140 mm, 285 mm or 570 mm. In that case, and with a continuous edge formation at each of the four sides of the rectangular shape, and with the edge formations co-planar with the support region of the primary support layer the module may have an overall size of a length of 1275 mm and width of 240 mm, 385 mm or 670 mm for an edge formation of 50 mm width. Typically suitable thicknesses for the module are 50 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 140 mm and 150 mm.

More generally the invention relates to a rectangular shaped module having a length in the range 300 mm to 3,000 mm, and a width range of 200 mm to 1,000 mm.

The method may comprise employing at least two insulation modules to substantially wholly fill the void defined by support structure members The insulation module assembly may be an assembly pre-manufactured in a factory in contrast to construction on site. Advantageously the assembly may be manufactured in a substantially controlled environment thereby facilitating good construction standards and quality control irrespective of external climatic conditions such as extremes of temperature and wind that may be experienced on site. It will therefore be understood that the insulation module assembly may be employed for factory pre-fabrication of a part or a whole of a building.

The outwardly extending edge region of a module may comprise an adhesive element such as double sided adhesive tape for securing to an adjacent module thereby to provide a substantially airtight seal. Alternatively or additionally an outwardly extending region of one module may be secured to another by the application of adhesive or by the application of adhesive tape.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to some of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which :-

Figure 1 is a perspective view in a first direction of an insulation module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view in a second direction of the module of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view in the plane C-C of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of part of an assembly of a wall structure and insulation modules of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an insulation module which is not in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an insulation module in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 shows plan, side and end views of an insulation module which is not in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 8 shows part of the plan view of Figure 7 with part of the module cut away, and a sectional view of part of the module;

Figure 9 shows in detail part of the module plan in Figure 7;

Figure 10 shows in plan the insulation module shown in Figure 7 and three variations thereof;

Figure 11 shows the underside of the module shown in plan in Figure 7;

Figure 12 shows an array of modules of Figure 11 prior to assembly into contact with one another;

Figure 13 shows another array of modules not in accordance with the present invention prior to assembly in contact with one another, and

Figure 14 shows steps in the method of forming a seal between adjacent modules not in accordance with the present invention. A thermal insulation module 10 comprises a planar support layer 11 and an auxiliary support layer 12. The auxiliary support layer 12 is of a tray like shape to define a recess which, in combination with the planar primary support layer 11 defines a cavity 9 which contains a slab 13 (see Figure 3) of thermal insulation material.

The recess region defined by the auxiliary support layer 12 is of a rectangular shape having length and width dimensions each less than the width and length dimensions of the primary support layer 11. In consequence, with the recess region of the auxiliary support layer lying centrally of the primary support layer there is defined a peripheral fixing tab 14 that extends continuously along and between each of the four sides of the module.

The layers 11 and 12 for retaining and thus supporting the slab 13 within the cavity are each comprised of thin sheets of polyethylene whereby the peripheral tab regions are flexible relative to a central support region 15 of the primary support layer, that central support region being bounded by the position at which the sides 16 of the auxiliary support layer contact and are secured to the primary support layer.

In this embodiment of the invention the slab 13 of insulation material is a material of low density rigid polyisocyanurate foam which serves primarily to provide thermal insulation properties but supplemented by providing also a degree of acoustic insulation.

As best seen in Figure 3, the auxiliary support layer 12 has a peripheral lip region 17 which extends outwardly from the side faces 16. That lip region 17 is secured by means of adhesive or thermal bonding to the tab region 14 of the primary support layer.

In this embodiment of the invention the slab of insulation material substantially wholly fills the cavity defined between the primary and auxiliary support layers and has a length of 1175 mm, a width of 570 mm and a thickness of 100 mm. The length of 1175 mm corresponds with one of the standard spacings of the vertical supports of a timber framed stud wall. Accordingly, referring to Figure 4, vertically extending timbers 25 of a stud wall frame are spaced by 1175 mm and the spaces between the successive pairs of members 25 are thereby substantially fully occupied by the thermal insulation material. However the tab 14 at the boundary region of the primary support layer 11 is over-sized in relation to the spacing of the frame timbers 25 and thus tab sections 26 may be laid over an outwardly facing surface 27 of each timber to secure the module in position adhesively relative to the frame timbers 25. As considered in a vertical direction the longer tab sections 28 (see Figure 2) of the module may be secured to cross members of the stud frame or, if no such cross members are present, the tab region of one module may be bent inwards to lie alongside a side face 16 of the module and the tab region 28 of another, adjacent module may be secured to the surface of the first module by means of adhesive or sealing tape.

Although not in accordance with the present invention, as shown in Figure 5 one or more edges 30 of the auxiliary support layer 31 may extend in an inwards direction and be bonded to the primary support layer 32 at a position within the central support region 33 of the primary support layer. At one or more other edges the auxiliary support layer 31 may extend only a short distance in an outwards direction to provide a small region 34 which similarly may be bonded or otherwise secured to the primary support layer 32.

By providing that the primary support layer and auxiliary support layer are defined by separate sheets of material that are then secured relative to one another it is possible to provide one layer having one preferred property, such as to act as a vapour barrier, and the other layer to have another preferred property such as acting as a fire protection barrier.

However the two layers may be of the same material and in that case, as shown in Figure 6, the two layers may be defined by a single sheet of material which has been folded at one edge 40 such that part of the sheet defines a primary support layer 41 and another part defines the auxiliary support layer 42, and with two edges 43, 44 of the sheet being bonded together at the region 45 such that a cavity 46 is defined by the space between the two folded sections of the single sheet of material.

Although not in accordance with the present invention Figures 7 to 14 show an insulation module and method of forming an insulation module assembly which may be employed for insulation of a stud wall but which is particularly suitable for insulating a solid wall, such as the external wall or a party wall of a building.

The module 50 comprises a layer 51 of insulation material which is sandwiched between and contained within two layers 52,53 each of a polyethylene material which has been provided with a reflective metallic coating. The two layers 52,53 in effect form a sealed bag which contains the insulation 51. Thus the two layers 52,53 act as support regions which contain and provide support for the insulation material.

Extending outwardly from two edges 54,55 of the support layers 52,53 are outwardly extending edge flaps 56,57. These extend outwardly and although of flexible polyethylene generally are able to lie in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the support layers 52,53 whilst also being sufficiently flexible in use to overlie an adjacent module. Each of the edge flaps 56,57 extends from the support layers 52,53 at a position mid-thickness of the module. The edge flaps 56,57 are secured to the support layers 52,53 by heat welding.

One side 53 of the module has adhesively secured thereto two adhesive elements 58, each being a strip of adhesive tape having a removable nonadhesive protective outer covering which can be removed to enable the module to be secured to a wall or other such support structure.

The insulation module 50 shown in plan in Figure 7 is shown again in Figure 50a alongside three other modules 50b, 50c and 50d. The modules 50b and 50c are constructed in a manner substantially similar to that of the module 50a except that in the case of the module 50b three edges of the insulation envelope are provided with edge flaps, and the module 50c is provided with only one edge flap. The module 50d is devoid of edge flaps.

Figure 12 shows the manner in which three of the modules shown in Figure 11 may be employed to form insulation over an area of wall surface greater than the surface area of any one module. Initially a module 50d is secured at a bottom left position to a wall surface. Then a module 50c is secured to the shorter edge of the module 50d, and a module 50c’, corresponding to that of 10c but having the edge flap on the longer of the edges of the rectangular shaped module is secured to the module 50d other modules are then secured to the wall structure in sequence adjacent to those three modules already applied to the wall surface. Then, to provide a substantially airtight seal between the modules, the edge flap of one module 50c is positioned to overlie the module 50d as shown inset on Figure 12 and also at Figure 14.

As further illustrated at Figure 14 the edge flap is pushed down onto the module 50d and then adhesive tape 60 is applied to secure the edge flap 54 of the module 50c to the surface 52 of the module 50d. By repeating that procedure for each of the edge flaps there results an insulation module assembly which provides both an efficient thermal barrier and a substantially airtight seal to inhibit airflow through the module assembly.

In addition to adhesively securing the modules to an expanse of unapertured wall, they may be employed, as best seen in Figure 13, for providing insulation around a doorway. In this case it is preferred that the edges of the modules adjacent the door frame are devoid of edge flaps. During installation the modules are butted firmly against the door frame thereby to provide a good degree of contact that inhibits airflow whilst nevertheless avoiding the need to secure edge flaps to a part of the door frame to which a decorative finish subsequently is to be applied.

Having regard to the foregoing it will be understood that the present invention provides a thermal insulation module assembly which can readily be installed without, for example, the need concurrently to install plasterboard or other such facing material and without the need to wait until a weather tight environment has been created.

Claims

1. An insulation module assembly for forming a stud wall, said assembly comprising a support structure defined by a timber frame and the timber frame comprising a plurality of members which define a void therebetween, said void comprising at least two thermal insulation modules each sealingly secured to one another and to the frame members thereby to provide a barrier which is at least one of a condensation, vapour and fire barrier, each insulation module being a flexible rectangular shaped module comprising a layer of flexible insulation material sandwiched between two flexible support layers, one of the support layers being a primary support layer which comprises a support region that confronts and provides support for the insulation material and the other being an auxiliary support layer, each insulation module comprising four edge regions which extend outwardly beyond the insulation material and said edge regions being substantially co-planar with the primary support layer, the auxiliary support layer being shaped to define a recess region having a central region which confronts the layer of flexible insulation material and boundary regions that confront edges of the insulation material to encapsulate the insulation material, said primary support layer comprising outwardly extending edge regions and said auxiliary support layer extending outwardly from the encapsulated insulation material to provide outwardly extending edge regions adhered to the outwardly extending edge regions of the primary support layer whereby each of the four edge regions comprises outwardly extending regions of each of the two support layers, each of said edge regions adjacent a member of the timber frame being adhesively secured to a face of the timber frame and at least one other edge region being adhesively secured to an adjacent said thermal insulation module.

2. An insulation module assembly according to claim 1 wherein the primary support layer of each module comprises a support region which has a first side which confronts and provides support for the insulation material and a second side provided with an adhesive element whereby, in use, said adhesive element enables the insulation module to be secured releasably to the support structure.

3. An insulation module assembly according to claim 2 wherein the adhesive element comprises at least one of a double sided tape and a pad having a protective outer layer which is removable prior to installation of the module against the support structure.

4. An insulation module assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the thermal insulation material additionally provides at least one of acoustic insulation and fire resistance.

5. An insulation module assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the insulation material is a slab of insulation material unsecured to the primary and auxiliary support layers whereby it is movable relative to said support layers.

6. An insulation module assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the insulation material is secured to at least one of the primary and auxiliary support layers.

7. An insulation module assembly according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the insulation material is deformable.

8. An insulation module assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the insulation material is of a loose fill type.

9. An insulation module assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein at least one support layer is in the form of a mesh or perforated type of material.

10. An insulation module assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an edge region comprises double sided type adhesive tape.

11. An insulation module assembly according to claim 10 wherein the double sided tape has a peelable protective layer which, in use, can be removed to enable the encapsulated body of support material to be re-sealed within the module following a reduction in the volume of the thermal insulation material.

12. A method for providing an insulation module assembly for forming a stud wall, said method comprising providing a support structure defined by a timber frame which comprises a plurality of members which define a void therebetween and providing in said void at least two thermal insulation modules each sealingly secured to one another and to the frame members thereby to provide a barrier which is at least one of a condensation, vapour and fire barrier, each insulation module being a flexible rectangular shaped module comprising a layer of flexible insulation material sandwiched between two flexible support layers, one being a primary support layer and the other an auxiliary support layer and the primary support layer having a support region which confronts and provides support for the body of insulation material, each insulation module comprising four edge regions which extend outwardly beyond the insulation material and said edge regions being substantially co-planar with the primary support layer, the auxiliary support layer being shaped to define a recess region having a central region which confronts the layer of flexible insulation material and boundary regions that confront edges of the insulation material to encapsulate the insulation material, said primary support layer comprising outwardly extending edge regions and said auxiliary support layer extending outwardly from the encapsulated insulation material to provide outwardly extending edge regions adhered to the outwardly extending edge regions of the primary support layer of the module whereby each of the four edge regions comprises outwardly extending regions of each of the two support layers, the method further comprising adhesively securing to the timber frame those edge regions of the modules that are positioned adjacent a frame member, and adhesively securing at least one of the module edge regions to an adjacent said thermal insulation module.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein double sided adhesive tape is employed for securing to the timber frame those edge regions of the modules that are positioned adjacent a frame member, and adhesively securing at least one of the module edge regions to an adjacent said thermal insulation module.