Galion Ltd

When regional housebuilder, Galion Ltd was looking for a way to speed up the construction process without compromising on using traditional masonry materials for its Jarmany Hill site, it turned to H+H’s Celcon Vertical Wall Panels.

Celcon Vertical Wall Panels are storey-high panels of aircrete that are craned into place for a fast build with the reassuring characteristics of a high-performance, durable, masonry structure.

Galion Ltd is building five large, detached houses with uninterrupted views over the Somerset countryside towards Glastonbury Tor. With a reputation for building individual properties to a high specification, the quality of the build is a strong focus for the company.

Tim Barnes, Managing Director of Galion Ltd explains why H+H Vertical Wall Panels were chosen for the site: “One of the unique features of our houses is that we use local, natural stone walling for the external envelope of the properties. These are slow to build, especially when we’re using a traditional masonry build method as we are restricted to a maximum of six courses before laying the masonry to the same height.

“With the traditional method it was taking 8 to 12 weeks to get to the point where we could put the roof on a house. The joy of using H+H Vertical Wall Panels is that we can get the roof on in around 8 days – it’s a huge advantage for us.”

Constructing the watertight external shell of a house so quickly allows the internal trades to start work much earlier, reducing the build schedule significantly. When building large homes like the 2,800 square foot houses on the Jarmany Hill site, this time saving is particularly pertinent.

Galion Ltd is working with Acorn Innovation Build Ltd whose carpenters were trained by H+H to install the Vertical Wall Panels. It was a fairly straightforward transition for them as they already use a crane to install timber floor cassettes and roof joists.

Matt Shuttleworth, Director, Acorn Innovation Build commented: “H+H Celcon Vertical Wall Panels is a new system for us but as a company we are always interested in different methods of construction. I have to say, so far we are very impressed with this one.”

Tim Barnes is equally impressed, saying: “I’m struggling to see a downside to the system. Everyone who has seen it has been impressed and I think once other companies see contractors building with it they’ll wonder why they’re not using it too. We’re already planning to use the system at another site that will be breaking ground soon.”