An all-in-one insulation and infill solution from maxit Building Products is helping a Midlands conservatory specialist Newlook Windows of Leicester to speed up construction and win over energy-conscious customers.

maxit Insulation Fill provides both fill and insulation in "one hit", simply by laying the bags in which it is delivered directly into the conservatory base.  Since its introduction in the UK just five years ago, more than one million bags have been used in floor refurbishments, and increasingly, in new build conservatories.

Newlook was one of the first conservatory companies to use the product and has now installed well over 5,000 bags of maxit LWA Insulation Fill in the foundations of more than 200 new conservatories.

maxit LWA Insulation Fill is supplied in ready-to-install bags containing approximately 15kg of a special insulating lightweight aggregate which is manufactued by expanding clay at high temperatures.

The 50 litre bags are simply laid in the foundations and the gaps infilled with loose LWA, prior to the installation of a damp-proof membrane and concrete floor slab.  Newlook has also used the solution successfully for projects featuring either piped or electrical underfloor heating.

After digging out, one operative can install the insulating bags for a standard conservatory in as little as 30 minutes.

Newlook has calculated that the bags typically trim build time by around one day when compared with traditional fill methods, save sunstantial amounts on labour and ensure that its staff work well within health and safety lighting limits.

Explains Jay Ellard, Newlook's Installations Manager and Surveyor.  "They are so easy to move around, especially where we have to negotiate narrow passageways and garages.  There is no need for machines because the material does not need to be compacted and the material costs are offset by savings in labour".

Growing concern among customers about rising energy costs, environmental issues and the need for effective insulation also provde a selling point for Newlook.

Adds Jay Ellard; "When we show customers how we approach construction using new technology like this, they are very impressed.  The insulation value we achieve using maxit bags and things like energy-saving glass helps to sell the product."

"The overall benefits both for our company and for the end user makes this method of insulating and filling conservatory bases a cost-effective solution."