Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Hebel vs Masterwall vs others. 12Feb 24, 2019 12:45 pm kks Most people don't build with aerated concrete in Australian builds. That initial material choice has an impact on the buyer pool when you sell. Housing is a long-game. Well, Australian building industry is stuck in pre-historic state. The buyers have to be educated what is better for them and what is worse. Educated buyers or buyers who already have experience (e.g. Europeans, Chinese, Americans etc.) will certainly be preferring a better construction and will be agreed to pay premium. Obviously, the resale value of properly build and insulated houses from the right materials will be higher. Re: Hebel vs Masterwall vs others. 13Mar 31, 2019 8:57 am I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with either of the following or similar. https://www.foamex.com.au/ http://www.nutex.com.au/ And more generically, if you've got experience with the use of polystyrene as walls for your home, I'd love to hear your views on it. Thank you in advance. Re: Hebel vs Masterwall vs others. 14Apr 01, 2019 1:17 pm Some of the poly cladding has been banned recently due to fire safety concerns. Usage of polystyrene for wall cladding is generally not a very good idea: polysterene it is not vapour permeable (meaning issues with mould and moisture condensation in your studs is almost guaranteed), needs to be carefully checked with the manufacturer for the presence of cancerogenic HBCD-based fire retardants (the main reason for EPS/XPS insulation to be banned in Europe and US). Re: Hebel vs Masterwall vs others. 15Apr 01, 2019 4:51 pm alexp79 Some of the poly cladding has been banned recently due to fire safety concerns. Usage of polystyrene for wall cladding is generally not a very good idea: polysterene it is not vapour permeable (meaning issues with mould and moisture condensation in your studs is almost guaranteed), needs to be carefully checked with the manufacturer for the presence of cancerogenic HBCD-based fire retardants (the main reason for EPS/XPS insulation to be banned in Europe and US). Any idea about those plain polystyrene? Are they safe. My builder uses it on my build and a many other builds I seen. It very light weight and looks exactly like those u take out from TV boxes etc. Re: Hebel vs Masterwall vs others. 16Apr 01, 2019 5:47 pm MyFirst alexp79 Some of the poly cladding has been banned recently due to fire safety concerns. Usage of polystyrene for wall cladding is generally not a very good idea: polysterene it is not vapour permeable (meaning issues with mould and moisture condensation in your studs is almost guaranteed), needs to be carefully checked with the manufacturer for the presence of cancerogenic HBCD-based fire retardants (the main reason for EPS/XPS insulation to be banned in Europe and US). Any idea about those plain polystyrene? Are they safe. My builder uses it on my build and a many other builds I seen. It very light weight and looks exactly like those u take out from TV boxes etc. Plain polystyrene also known as EPS and is generally combustible and produces toxic smoke, so can't be used for cladding. When HBCD-based fire retardants are added it is then often referred as "EPS SE" and provides fire protection although becoming not particularly safe for the health of the occupants. A lot of manufacturers phase out HBCD and use alternative fire retardants those days, however, it it still to be checked on case by case basis: https://chemicalwatch.com/22250/countdo ... -phase-out I was looking at different options for a fence for my build and Hebel PowerFence seemed like a good option (one of the criteria was a solid wall look). However, I don't… 0 5902 1 6630 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6191 |