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News articles have been ordered by date, starting with the latest news first.

June 2008

New Appointment

Xetal are delighted to announce that James Carter has joined the team to work with our partners in the Uk, Sheffield Insulations plc, to provide Marketing and Technical support to the Sheffield Insulations and other SI branded branches through out the UK in providing an enhanced service to their wide ranging customer base.

James has over 30 years experience in the construction industry involved in a variety of sales and marketing roles with acoustic and thermal insulation products. He is well known across the industry and has dealt with people at all levels including Builders' Merchants, Retail outlets, and manufacturers of building systems.

James commented, "Xetal are a young and innovative Company and I am delighted to be joining them at this exciting time . My task is to focus on the more effective sales and marketing of the Xetal products and solutions through their partners in Sheffield Insulations. My previous experience with their in house convertor, Mayplas, means I am ideally suited for this role."

May 2008

Code for Sustainable Homes

HM Government has issued the Code for Sustainable Homes a single national standard to guide industry in the design and construction of sustainable homes. At present it is voluntary, but it is likely to be made mandatory in the future. Sustainability ratings range from one * to 6 ****** stars, one * being the entry level and 6 ****** being the highest level. The code is divided into nine categories, and within each sub division of each category a varying number of credits can be earned. The total number of credits determine the star rating awarded to the property.

Under the Health and Well being category there are 4 credits available in the acoustic insulation section. One credit is awarded if the sound insulation exceeds the requirements of the Building Regulations by 3db for both airborne and impact sound, 3 credits for performance 5dB better, and 4 credits for performance 8dB better than required by the current Building Regulations.

Xetal acoustic solutions achieve 1,3 and 4 credits. Go to the Solution Selector where each qualifying build solution is annotated with the appropriate credit rating. Xetal not only offer products and solutions to meet the Building Regulations, but can help you achieve credits under the Code for Sustainable Homes and add value to your property.

May 2008

Xetal Ecostrap floor treatment system launched

Following the success of the Ecoclip for walls and ceilings Xetal have added a floor treatment for Social Housing to their range of innovative solutions. Based on the same principles as the Ecoclip, the Ecostrap raises the floor height by only 10mm yet achieves a reduction of 13dB in the transmission of airborne sound and 21dB in impact sound, without the need to treat the ceiling below.

Only raising the floor by 10mm not only means a minimal loss of ceiling height but that there is no need to replace doors and skirtings or adjust stair riser heights. (for more details on the build design and installation go to our Acoustic Solutions for the Social Housing Sector page)

March 2008

Xetal Acoustic ceiling and wall clip debuts

The upgrade of the UK Social Housing stock is now a priority of the UK Government. Over the past decade the responsibility for Social Housing has been passed to the private sector, and the Government has established a "Decent Homes" standard which requires the Social Housing Landlords to bring the bathrooms, kitchens, thermal insulation and heating and other nominated elements up to a defined standard by 2010. Once the Decent Home standard is achieved an annual pot of money is released from the Government for the ongoing maintenance and further improvement of the Social Housing stock. This includes sound insulation against noise.

Ask a tenant what is their single biggest complaint and they are likely to pinpoint NOISE. Local Authorities in the UK receive upwards of 500,000 noise complaints each year, and persistent noise pollution can lead to serious health problems and irrational behaviour.

The problem with upgrading the sound insulation in existing homes is firstly that floor to ceiling heights are restricted, and second, in occupied buildings it is very difficult to gain access to adjacent apartments at the same time to treat both the floor and the ceiling. Xetal have responded to the problem by developing the Ecoclip, a resilient clip that can be retro fitted to both ceilings and walls in occupied premises with very little disruption to the tenant, yet requires no treatment to the floor above.

The clip is fitted below the existing ceiling, and only takes 40mm of ceiling height, yet in tests showed an reduction of 18dB in the transmission of airborne sound and 21dB in impact sound. This is a huge reduction because every 10dB reduction represents a halving of the noise detected by the human ear (for more details on the build design and installation go to our Acoustic Solutions for the Social Housing Sector page)

February 2008

Xetal Present at Ecobuild exhibition at Earl's Court

Xetal Director, Jon Dickson, presented a paper entitled "Enhanced Acoustic Performance through the use of Lightweight Low Footprint Solutions". The paper presented the Research carried out by Xetal, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, which has focussed on developing products that enable the design of lightweight, low footprint solutions in the place of the traditional bulky mass based designs, which are so much a feature of the Robust Detail scheme.

The Company is committed to developing products from sustainable and recycled raw materials and designs solutions to minimise the impact on the environment, to reduce carbon footprint and to gain maximum credits under the new Code for Sustainable homes. The presentation stimulated lively discussion from the audience and several follow up seminars were scheduled as a result.

October 2007

Xetal launch TACS

Xetal Consultants has recognised the demand from the construction industry for a specialist Company to provide a one stop shop for acoustic solutions. Small to medium size builders do not have the specialist knowledge to ensure that they meet the Building Regulations by specifying and installing the correct acoustic solution for the separating elements in a building. TACS (Total Acoustic Construction Solutions) has been set up to answer this need.

Using products and solutions developed in the Xetal laboratories and extensively tested at both the Company test house and independently at the Building Research Establishment TACS can specify the correct solution, supply and correctly fit the materials, and finally carry out the test and compile a report to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations. This service takes away the fear factor for the builder and is extremely cost effective as Compliance is guaranteed.....and if for any reason the construction failed to comply TACS will carry out the remedial work and re-test at no extra charge.

August 2007

E-Cousti Direct Solution proves very successful

Launched earlier this year the direct to joist solution developed by Xetal Consultants for the Sheffield Insulations business has proved a great hit with customers. The system consists of the isolated floor board fitted direct to the joists, RWA 45 rock wool between the joists, resilient bars and a double layer of acoustic plasterboard. Providing the system is properly installed and with flanking strip around the perimeter and sealed the result is for airborne and for impact sound comfortably exceeding the requirements of Part E of the Building Regulations.

The other advantages of using this system is the floor build up is only 28mm and because there is only one element to install there is a labour cost saving of at least £5.00/m2. The Safedek version has a waterproof peelable coating which allows the floor to be fitted during the build process and before the structure is watertight whilst at the same time protecting the surface from damage. It also provides a safe working surface and removes the need for a temporary working surface to be installed.

The Direct to joist solution was installed throughout the Sealock Warehouse conversion to apartments project in Cardiff, where the test results on the separating floor element were 62dB Dntw+Ctr for airborne sound (min required 45dB) and 40dB Lntw (maximum allowed 62dB) greatly exceeding the requirements of the Building Regulations.

To be notified of any updates to this page, or any further Xetal product developments you can register your interest here.