The largest University in the UK
Nottingham Trent University last year attracted 35,000 applications from around the world and is one of the largest and most popular universities in the UK. Recently the university has invested £350 million in staff, facilities and buildings reinforcing their commitment to providing the best possible student experience.
The Challenge
Working closely with the main building contractor, BSSP received a copy of the site investigation report which highlighted the requirement for ground gas protection measures for this new public building. The Risk Assessment report stated that; ‘NHBC Gas Guidance and the modified Wilson & Card classification as contained within CIRA C665, the maximum carbon dioxide concentration and gas screening value indicate CS2 gas regime requiring gas protection measures.’
The report suggested that passive sub-floor ventilation in conjunction with an approved Visqueen or similar approved CO2 membrane should be installed to eliminate the risk to the occupants, classified as “Characteristic Situation 2”.
These measures required a minimum standard of product and installation to achieve the specific prerequisite for safe occupation.
The Solution
BSSP visited the site with the main contractor, sub-contractor, architect and structural engineers to fully assess the building and to ensure the correct measures were undertaken.
To achieve the certification as required by BS8485 the specialist from BSSP reinforced the recommendation to use geo-composite vent strips in conjunction with a reinforced, proprietary gas resistant membrane to achieve the most economical solution.
The Juta GP2 membrane from the Corden EPS range was fitted by an approved installer and achieved over and above the 3 points required to satisfy the requirements of BS8485.
The Juta GP2 membrane is a high quality reinforced gas barrier manufactured from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) ideally suited for the use on sites with ground contamination from radon, CO2 and methane gases.
Corden EPS Geo-Vent is a cuspated HDPE membrane with a geotextile filter thermally bonded on one side for use as a passive venting layer when connected to Corden EPS Ground Level Vent boxes.
The Outcome
The experience of the BSSP team along with unrivalled product knowledge enabled them to work with the main contractor to install a system that both met and exceeded the original requirement. The gas protection installation was completed on time, within budget and BSSP technical advisors provided both a fast and knowledgeable response to this complex project.
