Building Science

Creativity and Innovation

 

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Hastings uses its creativity and innovation in the application and integration of traditional and modern materials to produce an environmentally comfortable interior normally lacking in most bungalows and detached houses’ construction in the country.

 

Hastings also uses traditional materials such as granite rubbles, gravel blocks and clay bricks for wall construction due to their natural feature while capitalising their heat resistance ability apart from their inherent structural strength.

 

Hastings is continuously undertaking research and exploration of suitable new technologies, systems, and materials to be applied in its building construction which are architecturally aesthetical and contributing towards substantial level of environmental comfort with eventual economical and cost saving attributes.

 

 

Thermal Comfort

 

Hastings is particularly concerned with comfort level of the interior environment which is directly affected by thermal transmission through building fabric from outside to the inside.

 

• Hastings uses hollow concrete blocks extensively as exterior wall materials which are good for thermal insulation. 100mm thick hollow concrete block wall plastered one side (interior face) possesses superior thermal resistance ability of 0.3927 m2K/W to that of plastered both sides 102mm thick brick wall (0.1934 m2K/W).

 

• Selectively granite rubbles are also used for west facing external wall which are good thermal insulator against extreme afternoon heat. 300mm thick granite rubble wall has the ability to thwart heat for the whole afternoon sun due to its density.  

 

• Hastings introduces expanded polystyrene board of 25mm thick in its roof construction, with concrete tiles roofing on timber roof frames and the slope underside the roof frames is plastered (12mm thick) onto 16mm thick wood wool panels sheeting fixed to timber frames; the fabric manages to achieve thermal resistance of 1.2624 m2K/W defying the myth that attic space is hot and inhabitable.

 

• With such roof construction fabric above practised by Hastings, the heat gain through roof fabric per unit area of 1 m2 which is 7.92 Watts easily overrides the heat gain and substantially lesser than wall construction made up of 100mm thick hollow concrete blocks (inner face is plastered,16mm thick) with heat gain of 25.46 Watts per unit area (m2). The condition is made worse in conventional 102mm thick wall construction of clay bricks or sand bricks (plastered both faces, 16mm thick) which inferiorly admit heat at much higher intensity of around 52 Watts.

 

• Comparatively attic roof with such construction fabric is cooler by 6.5 times than traditional wall materials of bricks (clay or sand bricks) commonly used in Malaysia.

 

It is worth attending to that 100mm thick hollow concrete block wall prevails twice better in retarding heat gain than external wall constructed of clay or sand bricks. These numerical wattage comparisons are based on temperature difference of 10 degrees C between outside surface temperature of 36 degrees C and inside surface temperature of 26 degrees C in the sunny afternoon of Malaysian climate.

 

 

Sound Insulation

 

Due to the high density and cavities in concrete blocks, hollow concrete block walls possess excellent sound insulation properties. Such inheriting properties keep living environment peaceful and comfortable and appropriately so in residential atmosphere.

 

 

Fire Resistance

 

Hollow concrete block wall offers excellent fire resistance. It is incombustible and has the ability to thwart spreading of fire. The block wall is also rarely damaged by fire, unlikely to get burned and buckles when under fire.