Etex expands offsite offer with Thrubuild®

Thrubuild® brings together elements from the company’s three lightweight construction brands, streamlining the procurement process for projects. It combines a load-bearing, light-gauge steel frame from EOS and external Weather Defence sheathing board and internal Frameboard from Siniat, while drawing on Promat’s expertise in passive fire protection.

EOS’s light steel framing features cold-rolled galvanised light steel sections in a range of depths and gauges. Siniat’s Weather Defence is a revolutionary new external sheathing board, faced with water repellent material. Siniat’s Frameboard combines high levels of strength, acoustic insulation and fire resistance, ideal for use in the Thrubuild® systems where the loadbearing frame places extra requirements on plasterboard. Fewer boards are required on site and your specification and installation process is simplified.

The single solution is manufactured offsite at Etex’s state-of-the-art production facility in County Durham. The finished panels can then be delivered to site ready for installation and made watertight once windows are fitted, allowing internal works to start and boosting overall construction productivity. This offsite approach also reduces material waste by moving the manufacturing process into a controlled factory environment.

Building on Etex’s Thruwall® offer, a non-loadbearing external wall system, Thrubuild® was developed with the support of the business’ Innovation and Technology Centre in Avignon, France. The system has been rigorously tested in wall and floor applications, offering a robust package of fire, acoustic, airtightness, weathering and mechanical performance evidence to meet the latest regulations.

Thrubuild® is guaranteed under one 30-year warranty, giving specifiers, clients and building users peace of mind and removing the need for project teams to review disparate performance data from materials providers. It is also independently tested by Warringtonfire and the Building Research Establishment. This golden thread of performance data gives project teams all the information they need to comply with Building Regulations and support ongoing maintenance.

The advanced building system is designed for multi-storey buildings with repeatable designs including residential, build-to-rent, hotels and student accommodation schemes. Thrubuild’s® performance can be tailored to meet the requirements of specific projects, providing up to 120 minutes of fire resistance and sound insulation of up to 61 Rw (-5 Ctr) dB.

Melanie Davies, Market Manager at Etex Building Performance, commented: “The government has already expressed a preference for modern methods of construction for public sector projects where these offer value for money. At Etex, we believe that this approach should be more widely adopted. New materials, innovative building systems and digital working are crucial to drive up quality standards and efficiency across all areas of the construction industry, including the residential sector. “We need to see a change of mindset and investment across the supply chain. That is why we are committed to building our offsite capabilities. With the launch of Thrubuild®, we can offer customers a faster, safer way of building with each element designed to work alongside each other to ensure they deliver their expected performance.”

Etex Building Performance is a division of the Etex Group which brings together the products and solutions of three dry construction materials companies – Siniat, Promat and EOS. It combines drywall, external sheathing, passive fire protection and steel framing systems expertise under one roof, bringing great opportunities for system solutions. etex-bp.co.uk/thrubuild