When Alan Styler, a homeowner, decided to renovate his home in Wiltshire, Wavin Plastics OsmaGold provided the perfect solution for the hot and cold water system.

As part of the renovation of the cottage, Alan wanted to modernise the home, whilst maintaining the look and feel of the cottage. Having worked with a number of products in the past, and bearing in mind that Alan would carry out all the work himself, the specification of each product was key. Alan's priority was to make the job as simple and as quick as possible.

"Ease of installation and timing is essential in any working environment, but when working on your own home, it is important that you can fit the work around your own timetable. With OsmaGold, it is incredibly flexible enabling you to come back to a job when you need to, which is very important." commented Alan Styler.

For Alan, previous experience of working with copper pipes and other pipework, was a major influence in the specification. OsmaGold push-fit pipe joining technique can save up to 70% of installation time.

Constructed out of Polybutylene-1 (PB-1), OsmaGold requires fewer joints and less fittings and is extremely lightweight making installation around corners and in confined spaces much easier. Polybutylene pipe bends easily and without damage to a minimum radius of approximately eight times the outside diameter. This flexibility is retained even at low temperatures without kinking or collapse of the pipe wall.

Alan continued: "Being 25% lighter than copper, the OsmaGold pipes are much easier to handle as well as being highly flexible, making the installation process much faster than traditional plumbing methods."

Additional benefits of the OsmaGold pipe range include its low thermal conductivity in comparison with metal based products, ensuring they do not become excessively hot to touch and so that the heat is less likely to be transferred to the cold water pipes. At the opposite end of the scale, the pipe's construction allows for flexibility even at sub-zero temperatures, and is unlikely to be damaged by freezing.

Pipes constructed out of Polybutylene, retain mechanical properties over a wide temperature and pressure range. The material's flexibility, allows for the absorption of thermal expansion along the length of the pipe to ensure stress loading is reduced at fixed points whilst limiting any creaking. The pipe can also be maintained at low temperatures without kinking or collapse.

The OsmaGold range includes pipes in 10, 15, 22 and 28mm nominal diameters and a full range of fittings for domestic water supply and central heating systems.

Alan commented: "I am really pleased with the way in which the installation progressed. The OsmaGold system is easy to install and the piping so easy to cut and shape that I wouldn't even consider using copper pipe again."

Alan continued: "From start to finish, the installation process took one week, and in my opinion was even easier to install than electrical wiring. The installation guide and information on the product range was easily downloadable from the Wavin Plastics' website and provided a step-by-step guide for the entire system."





Wavin Pipes Up Modern Solutions for Luxury Homes

For a prestigious housebuilder like Persimmon Homes, specifying products for its new developments is not done without extensive research and quality assurance. So when the company embarked on its recent luxurious housing development, Elmfield Park, near Newcastle, it was Wavin Plastics' reputation for excellence that ensured it was called in to provide all above and below ground drainage products and plastic plumbing.

Part of a state-of-the-art extension to Newcastle, based just four miles from the City Centre in Gosforth, Newcastle Great Park will combine 80 hectares of commercial developments and 2,500 homes nestling in over 440 hectares of parkland. Designed to integrate the ecological aspects of living and working in the 21st Century, Persimmon will build 88 family homes in the initial phase representing the very best in modern living.

Among the products selected for the houses is the innovative OsmaGold plumbing system, which is designed to provide flexible solutions for modern building techniques.

Manufactured from polybutylene, the Osma-Gold range includes pipes in 10, 15, 22 and 28mm nominal diameters and a full range of fittings for domestic water supply and central heating applications.

For Persimmon Homes, traditional plumbing pipework was unworkable with the TJI joist system adopted to install the flooring in the housing units. OsmaGold therefore offered a flexible solution, whilst push-fit joints ensured its suitability and compatibility with the TGI joist system.

"Ease of installation and flexibility were imperative factors when choosing a suitable plumbing system for this particular development", explained a spokesperson for Persimmon Homes. "Being 25% lighter than copper, the OsmaGold pipes are inherently flexible and can be cabled around obstructions meaning the system was much quicker to install than traditional plumbing methods would have been. Furthermore, minimal maintenance and a number of health and safety benefits made OsmaGold an ideal choice for such a project".

In addition, the Osma RoundLine Rainwater system was chosen for installation on all of the new Persimmon Homes to drain surface water from the roof areas into the drainage system. Both attractive looking and cost effective, Osma RoundLine is a PVC-U 112mm system suitable for use in the domestic market.

Finally, Wavin's OsmaSoil system is also being installed to provide reliable soil and waste facilities. Both the OsmaSoil ring-joint system, which is simple to use and offers a quick effective solution by means of push-fit joints, and the OsmaSoil Solvent Weld System have been used by Persimmon Homes.

"We have worked with Wavin Plastics on a number of our developments and have been extremely pleased with the ease of installation and cost effectiveness of the products", concluded Persimmon Homes' spoke person. "With a market-leading reputation to maintain, Persimmon Homes cannot compromise on quality. We therefore need to ensure all components that complete our houses are manufactured to extremely high standards. Newcastle Great Park is an ongoing project that will be completed over a number of years and we very much look forward to working with Wavin in the future".

Wavin's Osma products are available through its nation-wide network of merchant distributors.






The Future is Plastic

Plastic is clear choice for plumbing and drainage in the House for the Future Today's plastic has proved that it is going to be used well into the future for plumbing and drainage in our homes - following the selection of Wavin Plastics' OsmaGold and OsmaDrain plastic pipes and fittings for use in the Welsh House for the Future. Constructed at the Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff, the House was completed in Autumn 2000 when a family moved in for one week as part of a BBC TV documentary on the project. The House opened to the public in Spring 2001. Commenting on behalf of the architects, Jestico + Whiles, Jude Harris said; "The House takes its place in history as a natural evolution of traditional Welsh housing, responding to local conditions, the climate of Wales and the availability of materials". Commissioned by the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, the brief was to produce a house, which could form a prototype for future living.

A combination of traditional crafts and the latest technology have been used to create this unique property. Given that sustainability was a key criteria, the choice of materials was crucial; the frame has been constructed from locally grown timber, blocks are hand made from clay reclaimed from the site, the wall insulation consists of wool and newspapers and a rainwater collection system is in place. Wavin Plastics' OsmaGold plumbing and OsmaDrain drainage systems are manufactured from polybutylene and polypropylene and therefore met all the sustainability and environmental requirements of the design team at Jestico + Whiles, the sponsor and builder, Redrow and the energy consultants ECD Energy and Environment. Polybutylene requires less energy input in extraction, conversion and manufacturing than copper and also remains more efficient in service as it does not attract limescale build up in the same way that copper does. Additional benefits associated with Wavin's OsmaGold products were its ease of installation, particularly through the timber structure, its light weight and flexibility, which was necessary for a house designed to change and respond to the differing domestic structure and work patterns of its occupants. Peter Tyldesley of Wavin commented, "This has been a fascinating project for us - with every aspect requiring a great deal of thought.

For example, the hot water for the central heating is created by copper coils connected to heat pumps being sunk 35m into the ground and the domestic water is heated by solar panels on the roof, which meant the heat calculations were rather different to the usual ones we do. "Also as a company, Wavin takes its environmental responsibility very seriously. In addition to being accredited to ISO14001, we are one of Europe's largest recyclers of plastic and are continuously developing products that use water and energy in the most environmental and efficient way. So being involved in such an environmentally significant project is a brilliant opportunity for us." Given the innovative, high-tech and environmentally-beneficial components which have been incorporated, perhaps the most surprising thing about this unique three-bedroomed house, which can be quickly adapted to incorporate a granny-flat, teenagers den or apartments for sub-letting, is the cost. Estimated at costing just £120,000 to create, the unique Welsh House for the Future not only highlights the sustainability of modern plastics, but also brings hope for the future of house prices! Wavin Plastics is a leading manufacturer of plastic pipes and fitting for the utilities, civils and building products markets. It is part of the Wavin Group, one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial plastic products and one of the largest producers of plastic pipes and fittings in the world. Founded in 1955, the Wavin Group today operates in 26 countries and employs over 4,500 people across Europe and South East Asia. Wavin Plastics operates a Quality Management System, which is accredited to BS EN ISO 9002 and is listed in the BSI register of Assessed Capability.





Osmagold - a Flexible Friend for City Projects

When, plumbing and heating contractors, City Projects were tasked to install the pipe work for a new steel-structured building, the first of its kind in the UK, it turned to the Wavin Plastics to provide a flexible and reliable plumbing solution. The Lanarkshire Nursing Home, which is currently being constructed for Wellcare Homes Ltd in Shawsburn near Larkhall, will contain 63 units in total. Laid out over four floors it is a new concept in nursing homes. Each resident will have his or her own 'flatlet' with a bedroom, bathroom and living area. There will also be communal facilities consisting of four day-rooms, a main recreational and dining room and two hydrotherapy suites.

The building itself is an entirely steel structure clad with special panels imported from Italy. The design, which originated in New Zealand and has never been used in the UK before, is intended to facilitate a quick and easy construction. Ideal for Wellcare Homes that intends to build an additional four homes across Scotland in the next five years. Jim Kelly, managing director of City Projects, explained: "I specified the use of Wavin's OsmaGold plumbing system because it suited the needs of this unique building. The pipe's inherently flexible nature allowed us to weave it in, out and around the steel structure taking the water and heating systems to all areas of the building. "We have worked with OsmaGold before and have had a good success rate. It has caused us none of the problems that have occurred with when we used other plastics plumbing systems in the past. This project is progressing extremely well and is on track for completion in October."

City Projects is using 15mm, 22mm and 28mm OsmaGold pipes and fittings for all of the buildings hot and cold water and heating systems. Manufactured from polybutylene, the OsmaGold range is 25% lighter than traditional materials such as copper, it is easy to handle and quick to fit. Ideal for projects with a tight schedule. Osma fittings employ a push-fit jointing technique: a unique 'm' ring seal ensures the integrity of the joint, while a grab ring provides a secure mechanical connection. Wavin's OsmaGold products are available through its nation-wide network of merchant distributors.



Wavin Plastics Ltd

Parsonage Way
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN15 5PN
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1249 766600
Fax: +44 (0)1249 766671
Web: www.wavin.co.uk