United Kingdom

Good quality commercial office space at Bakewell, in Derbyshire, is at a premium and local businesses welcomed the decision to go ahead with the building of a brand new business complex in the town - the Rutland Works Business Centre. This conversion development, previously the site of an old saw mill and marble works, was designed by local practice, Oulsnam Design, who have been established in the commercial sector for over twenty years and who specialise in the retail and leisure. Several hundred square metres of floor insulation was required at ground level and FLOORMATE™ 200-X, was specified for the job by contractors HW Sellors.

Insulation performance was a key factor in the selection and with its excellent compressive strength, water resistant characteristics and low thermal conductivity, FLOORMATE 200-X, the blue, rigid extruded polystyrene foam board from Dow was the natural choice. It was also more competitively priced than its competitors.

The floor finish, 19 mm tongue-and-groove timber board, is supported on 75 mm battens on an insulated concrete floor. The floorbuild up is hardcore/ FLOORMATE 200-X / DPM (0.5 mm polyethylene) / reinforced concrete slab - see diagram.

The space created by the wooden battens provided the opportunity for hidden power and communication cables to run concealed under the floor, a real benefit in today's IT dominated environment.