Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Insulation supplier Actis insulation has seen demand at an all-time high during the first two months of 2021, thanks to a massive rise in demand for products from roofing contractors.
Demand from the home improvement sector is one of the drivers behind the record sales figures – with loft conversions, extensions and garden pods becoming a popular way to ease the pressure on cramped households.
Actis UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper says demand had been strong across all four Actis Hybrid products – from its unique honeycomb style insulation Hybris to its insulating vapour control layer H Control Hybrid and its two insulating breather membranes Boost R Hybrid and specialist roofing variant Boost R Hybrid Roof.
Boost R Hybrid Roof contains four special features which set it apart from its sister product, with the two changes making the most difference to the user experience being the addition of a lap and the inclusion of built-in adhesive tape. It comes in larger rolls which cover 15sqm.
“I believe there are two factors at play here driving this demand,” he says. “One is that generally there has been an increase in home improvements since the pandemic began, with many homeowners expanding upwards into the loft or outwards into the garden. This is seeing a rise in general demand for construction, with roofing services as part of that.
“Additionally, we are seeing more and more contractors moving towards using Actis Hybrid in particular as an alternative to traditional forms of insulation. We’re finding that once builders have discovered Actis they tend not to go back to the old ways. So there is a lot of repeat business there.
“The key benefits they tell us about again and again is that the products are quick, clean and easy to use. It can be about 50% faster to install Actis products rather than their traditional alternatives. There’s no dust or mess and it’s much easier to fit. Solid insulation requires very precise cutting to fit it into awkward spaces, while Actis, being physically flexible, is easy to squash into gaps and fit around corners. Not only does this remove any margin for error it also eliminates thermal bridging. No nasty breezes whistling through a tiny gap caused by a piece of solid board which doesn’t quite fit. The end result is a much more impressive U-value – and thus lower heating bills for the householder.”
The substantial rise in demand tallies with national figures, compiled by construction intelligence specialist Glenigan for the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. Its results showed workloads were up across the whole of the mainland UK in the last quarter of 2020 with repair, maintenance and improvements in the domestic sector performing the strongest. The majority of respondents also expected continued growth during 2021.
