UK: New floor insulation meets safety, durability and sustainability needs

FLOORMATE 300-A provides a first for the UK market

Staines, UK - October 24, 2008

Dow Building Solutions has announced the UK launch of FLOORMATE™ 300-A, a new blue extruded polystyrene foam insulation board made with naturally occurring CO₂.

The new product - created from leading insulation material, STYROFOAM™  - has been designed for use in floors across the spectrum from residential to commercial buildings.

Along with low water absorption, ease of installation and excellent insulating properties, the new material also has a high design load along with durability, which is particularly important to specifiers looking for proven long term performance.

FLOORMATE 300-A has a nominal compressive strength of 300 kN/m2, and a design load (the load which will give maximum compression of 2% over 50 years) of 130 kN/m2. Declaring the design load allows specification against the long term requirements of a building's floor, as well as built in safety margins.

"Failure of a floor can be incredibly expensive, due to the interruption of business and cost of repair, for any building irrespective of its use," said Conrad Newberry, Technical Manager for Dow Building Solutions.  "In particular, floors in environments such as busy retail outlets and offices must be capable of withstanding anticipated loads - and they must also be able to maintain that performance over a building's lifespan, making durability key.

"That, together with increasing demands for sustainable buildings driven by the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM, means we're seeing more demand from developers for insulated floors, to help them meet more stringent thermal efficiency criteria and demonstrate their own environmental credentials." 

Dow manufactures FLOORMATE 300-A using naturally occurring CO₂ as a blowing agent to create its famous blue extruded polystyrene foam - thus there is no additional emission to the atmosphere which would contribute to climate change. 

"We want people who specify and install this product to have the peace of mind that they are not only increasing the energy efficiency of a building, they also have an insulation product that's been manufactured in a way that's better for the environment," continued Conrad. "Not only that, but its proven durability and design load means it's built to last in a busy environment that requires optimum performance over many years."

With a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of less than five, FLOORMATE 300-A qualifies for the Code for Sustainable Homes insulation specification credit, and is available in three thicknesses, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm.

Dow Building Solutions offers floor insulation products for buildings ranging from residential right the way through to highly loaded cold stores and even very highly loaded floors such as aircraft hangars. 

For more details on stockists of FLOORMATE 300-A and other insulation products, contact Dow Building Solutions on 020 3139 4190 or visit www.styrofoam.co.uk.

Notes to editors:
Dow Building Solutions, a division of The Dow Chemical Company, is dedicated to supplying the construction industry with innovative and effective solutions. The product range includes STYROFOAM  blue extruded foamed polystyrene insulation, GREAT-STUFF™ polyurethane foam sealant, FROTH-PAK™ polyurethane foam spray systems, INSTA-STIK™ polyurethane adhesives and a range of accessories.

For media information contact:
Kirsten@kdpr.co.uk
01295 780152

Customer contact:
Dow Building Solutions
Diamond House, Lotus Park,
Kingsbury Crescent, Staines,
Middlesex, TW18 3AG
Tel.: 020 3139 4190
Fax: 020 3139 4013

About Dow