Construction Experience

Construction Efficiency

Classgrade Ltd is committed to delivering high-quality, well designed buildings - quickly, efficiently and economically.


MMC – (Modern Methods Of Construction)

Building with speed, accuracy and innovation, requires using highly effective systems of construction. MMC (Modern Methods of Construction), are systems that encompass technologies and processing involving prefabrication and off site manufacture, as well as ‘on –site’ MMC techniques and structural system technologies.


Benefits Of MMC

Time

Speeds up delivery. MMC housing is faster to build, reducing on-site construction time by up to 50%.

Cost

Reduction of Labour costs via factory construction and faster on site construction, and thus reduced Labour hours on site.


Quality

Reduction in Defects, via greater use of factory production. Also enables high standards of Design Quality, and effective use of better materials.

Materials

Superior materials can be used via Supply Chain specifications. These materials are more easily standardised and tested.


Environmental

Energy Saving. Houses built using MMC typically require less energy, because of increased levels of insulation fitted in the walls and roof, and also because of the improved air tightness of the building.

Health & Safety

MMC can improve safety because there is a reduced risk of accidents in a controlled factory environment, and less time is spent on the construction site. Social – Considerably less impact on local residents during construction. Hence minimum disruption to surrounding environment.


Waste Reduction

The amount of waste produced using MMC are likely to be reduced because factory materials can be ordered to exact specifications, and there is a lower risk of on-site spoilage.

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ClassGrade & Modern Method Of Construction

Classgrade Limited is directly and indirectly employed the following method of construction.


Precast Flat Panel System

Floor and wall units are produced off-site in a factory and assembled on-site to form robust structures, ideal for all repetitive cellular projects.

Open panels consist of a skeletal structure. Complex, or closed panels involve more prefabrication typically Building envelope panels with factory fitted insulation, lining materials and decorative cladding (which can also be used as load-bearing elements).

Services, windows, doors, internal finishes and external cladding may also be incorporated. This offers factory quality and accuracy, together with speed of erection on-site.


3D Volumetric Construction

Entire dwelling is prefabricated off site. Under controlled factory conditions, three – dimensional units are produced prior to transportation to the site, where they are assembled.

Modules can be brought to site in a variety of forms, ranging from a basic structure to one with all internal and external finishes and services installed, all ready for assembly. The casting of modules uses the benefits of factory conditions to create service-intensive units where a high degree of repetition and a need for rapid assembly on-site make its use highly desirable.

This modern method of construction offers the inherent benefits of concrete, such as thermal mass, sound and fire resistance, as well as offering factory quality and accuracy, together with speed of erection on-site.


Hybrid Concrete Construction (HCC)

This method combines both the panelised and volumetric approaches. Typically, volumetric units for highly serviced areas such as kitchens and bathrooms (sometimes referred to as "pods") are used with the remainder of the dwelling or building constructed using panels.

HCC combines all the benefits of precasting with the advantages of cast in-situ construction. Combining the two, as a hybrid frame, results in even greater construction speed, quality and overall economy. HCC can answer client demands for lower costs and higher quality by providing simple, buildable and competitive structures that offer consistent performance and quality.


Tunnel Form Concrete Casting

Tunnel form is a formwork system that allows monolithic walls and slabs to be built in one operation on a daily cycle. It combines the speed, quality and accuracy of factory/offsite produced ready-mix concrete and formwork with the flexibility and economy of cast in-situ construction.

This fast-track method of construction is suitable for repetitive cellular projects, such as hotels, apartment blocks and student accommodation. It offers economy, speed, quality and accuracy, as well as utilising the inherent benefits of concrete, such as fire and sound resistance.


Flat Slabs

Flat slabs are built quickly due to modern formwork being simplified and minimised. Rapid turnaround is achieved using a combination of early striking and flying formwork systems. Use of prefabricated services can be maximised because of the uninterrupted service zones beneath the floor slab; so flat slab construction offers rapid overall construction, as it simplifies the installation of services.

In addition to saving on construction time, flat slab construction also places no restrictions on the positioning of horizontal services and partitions. This offers considerable flexibility to the occupier, who can easily alter internal layouts to accommodate changes in the use of the structure. Post tensioning of flat slabs enables longer and thinner slabs, with less reinforcement, and hence offers significant programme and labour advantages.


Insulating Concrete Formwork

Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) systems consist of twin-walled, expanded polystyrene panels or blocks that are quickly built up to create formwork for the walls of a building. This formwork is then filled with factory produced, quality assured, ready-mixed concrete to create a robust structure. The expanded polystyrene blocks remain to provide high levels of thermal insulation and the concrete core provides robustness and good levels of sound insulation.


Thin Joint Masonry

Thin Joint Masonry allows the depth of the mortar to be reduced from 10mm to just 3mm or less, resulting in faster laying and improved productivity, particularly on long runs of walling. Construction speed can be further increased by some 13.5 per cent using large-format concrete blocks, which have a face size equivalent to two traditional concrete blocks. The mortar cures rapidly, achieving full bond strength within one to two hours, eliminating the problem of 'floating' therefore enabling more courses to be laid per day.


Precast Foundations

Precast concrete systems can be used to rapidly construct foundations. The elements are usually to a bespoke design and cast in a factory environment, giving assured quality for the finished product. The foundations are often supported by concrete piles and connected together.

These systems improve productivity, especially in adverse weather conditions, and reduces the amount of excavation required - particularly advantageous when dealing with contaminated ground.


Steel Frame

A very important material due to its strength, weight bearing capacity and speed of erection. All frames are factory produced which maintains good quality control, as well as ensuring that the frame is finished with a protection system before deliver to site. Can be totally pre-fabricated off site. Complex structures can be trail erected at the point of manufacture. It is not subject to significant damage in transit and handling. It is available in large quantities at acceptable cost, and can be fashioned into suitable sectional shapes.


Timber Frame

These are precision engineered structures that are remarkably strong and durable. Can be used for FAST BUILD ( 30% shorter construction time than brick and block). Significantly simplifies on-site construction.

Its design can be very flexible. Meets and often exceeds all current building regulations, performing well in terms of fire and flood resistance.

Promotes greater efficiency and supply chain integration. Greater predictability & better control, leading to lower project cost

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Sustainable And Eco Friendly Construction

Building for the future
Moving towards the goal of Zero Carbon homes by 2015.


Classgrade Ltd’s is committed to achieving higher sustainability performance standards, by adhering to:


Our Aims


For Social Housing Code 3 is mandatory. We have implemented up to Code Level-5 for our Clients.

The Code for Sustainable Homes, was launched by The Department for Communities & Local Government in 2007

The Code sets the standard in sustainability for new homes, hence becoming a benchmark of Quality.


Independent Assessment

Classgrade’s construction is assessed against strict criteria. Points are awarded against each category, which when added together form the basis of a hotel – style star rating system.

Performance targets are more demanding than the minimum standard needed to satisfy Building Regulations or other legislation. They represent good or best practice.

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Solar – Photo Voltaic Cells Technology

Solar Panels made up of photovoltaic cells or modules. These convert sunlight directly into electricity Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made of special materials called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently the most commonly used.

When light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed within the semiconductor material. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the semiconductor. The energy knocks electrons loose, to flow in a certain direction. This flow of electrons is a current, and by placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, the current can be drawn off to use externally.

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Wind – Turbines

Classgrade didn’t employed that system of sustainable construction for residential purposes but have a capability to introduce that technology on a mass scale in coastal areas to generate energy from natural resources.

Wind is one of the cleanest forms of power on Earth, and it is in abundance. It can replace fossil fuelled electricity, reducing CO2 emissions. Hence Wind Power is a very clean source of renewable energy.

The wind turns the blades and the shaft. This shaft has a gear on the end of it, and this gear connects to another geared shaft coming out of the generator; as the wind blows the gears make the generator spin, creating electricity.

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Geothermal Energy (Ground Source Heat Pump)

A geothermal heat pump or ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a central heating and/or cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. It uses the earth as a source of heat (in the winter), or as source of cold (in the summer).

This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency. Ground source heat pumps harvest a combination of geothermal power and heat from the sun when heating, but work against these heat sources when used for air conditioning.

The ground source heat pump extracts ground heat in the winter (for heating) and transfers heat back into the ground in the summer (for cooling). Some systems are designed to operate in one mode only, heating or cooling, depending on climate.

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Sustainable Materials

Classgrade install following material to provide sustainable and eco-friendly living

High Thermal Materials = High Energy Efficiency

MMC allows use of superior materials. These are of both better quality, as well as having qualities for Energy Efficiency.

High Thermals Materials. Absorbs Heats. Keeps internal environments cool in Summer, warm in winter. Both MMC technologies and high thermal materials allow us to achieve lower U Values.


Lower U Values – Prevents Energy Loss.

High Insulation Performance prevents Heat Loss in Warm houses. In hot climates, where Air conditioning is used for cooling inside temperature, the materials for lower U Values Are constructed to keep building cool, preventing outside heat from penetrating into buildings.


Understanding U-values

The U-value measures how well a building component, e.g. a wall, roof or a window, keeps heat inside a building. For those living in a warm climate the U-value is also relevant as it is an indicator of how long the inside of the building can be kept cold.


Comfortable indoor climate with good U-values

In both cold and warm climates good U-values are important measures for understanding the amount of energy that is needed to keep a comfortable inside temperature.


Why U-values matter

Using building components with low U-values (i.e. good) has a number of advantages:

  • It saves money
  • It helps preserve the environment
  • It is good for your health
  • It gives better indoor comfort

A house built with low U-value building components will use less energy and thus the building owner saves money on the energy bill. Using less energy is good for the environment.

Good U-value building components increase the surface temperature on the inside which is critical in preventing growth of mould and fungus as well as draught of air. Good U-values also improve the indoor thermal climate and create healthy buildings for the residents.

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Acoustics & Air Tightness

Acoustics – the construction design and materials used are designed to lower the transmission of noise thereby improving the resident’s quality of life.

This ‘Sound Proofing’ is rigorously tested and assessed by independent inspectors.*

The Air Tightness of the Building has a direct affect on the Performance Standards outlined above. Therefore separate and precise testing is again carried out by independent inspectors.*

*Performance Certificates are issued after testing.

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Water Management Systems

Water is an increasingly precious resource. A reduction in the consumption of water can be achieved by using Water Management Systems such as:


Energy Effecient Designs

In hot climate countries, Design can play a significant role in reducing Energy consumptions. Classgrade can design natural cooling systems which can be effective low cost methods of achieving reduction in Energy consumption:

  • Green Walls. Outer leaf of wall covered in plant material* within built watering systems. Absorbs harsh Heat & Sunlight, and provide a cool breeze.
  • Wind Towers. Captures cooler higher altitude breezes and channels it to warm ground areas.
  • Green Roofs. Works on similar principle to Green Walls, except the location is Rooftop.
  • The Green Plants absorbs CO2 emissions, vital for improving Air Quality of urban environments

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