Porotherm UK Reviews 14

This is a review reversing the poor rating I gave yesterday on the communication performance of Porotherm’s UK subsidiary and distributor. E H Smith have now been in communication via Phil Griffiths, and will be sending me the necessary information to ensure mainstream insurers fully understand this excellent traditional clay-based block product. Well done E H Smith.

Having built a few jobs with porotherm in the south west I have to say this is the build of the future it has so many advantages to traditional build; On houses you can build the inner skin up to plate put the roof on and then carry on with internal trades whilst brickies wrap the external bricks around the outside, or use the 365mm blocks for passivhaus buildings like flats where we built 26 flats over 5 floors in 13 weeks with all internal walls porotherm except concrete blockwork lift shafts.
Bricklayers can lay up to 500 blocks a day with no mess and minimal wastage.

We are working on a large luxury retirement home complex where Porotherm is being used, other jobs with traditional blockwork have been put back due to bad weather but Porortherm site is on programme just saves us a lot of haste of rescheduling loads, installers & cranes.
Walls have gone up very quickly & we have had no problems with fixing on to single skin blockwork.
We are please to be working with Porotherm on this project & really impressed with progress & I have mentioned product to other contractors who have also shown an interested in the product.
Kevin Irons
Flood Precast
floodprecast.co.uk

Keystone Lintels are delighted to be partnered with the Porotherm Masonry system. Having developed a lintel solution that has been specifically designed to be used with the porotherm system, Keystone are confident in and committed to the benefits of the system. Porotherm is a unique construction method which offers real benefits to builders providing increased thermal performance. We are delighted to partner with EH Smith who share our commitment to developing innovative solutions for builders which help them to comply with the ever changing building regulations

After setting out the first course this method of laying is much quicker than traditional blocks . Their are no mortar droppings that can fall into the cavity, so their is no need to use cavity battens or similar methods to keep the cavity clean. Also there is less waste due to the bonding, this does not have to be half bond as traditional does

We recently carried out a new house build and thought we would try out porothrem blocks the brickies were not that keen at first but once we got into it they soon started to change there minds.the speed of the build was very impresive hence the title the times they are a changing .

When using Porotherme compared to the regular block walling. My own personal measurements in the cost value reconciliation records, provide evidence of a significant reduction of m3 waste sent off site. More than double output m2 of walling per operative. It does not crack like blocks (I will not name them) that’s sold as light weight and thermally efficient. It’s always in stock, which is an added bonus.

As a self-builder, I chose the product for its strength, stability and thermal qualities. It has neglegible moisture or thermal movement so no cracks to spoil the plaster and decorations. Good thermal mass helps give stable room temperatures. A bonus is speed of construction, much faster than laying blocks in traditional mortar. You can go house-high in a day and even lean ladders against the wall after a couple of hours.

Product support, both technical and practical, was great, I even got to try laying the blocks myself at EH Smith's training centre. That's what really sold it, although I did have bricklayers build the real thing.

First time using porotherm and have nothing but good things to say about it. Yes it takes a while to get used to but it really is a great product.
Be sure to speak with the guys at EH Smith for all your needs.
For plastering of Porotherm please call Owen at Dacorum Plastering. The man spent 4 years spraying plaster on them in Germany, cracking results.

I recently used Porotherm for the first time. Was a bit nervous doing it but the service and attention to detail from Smiths was really good. Finished ahead of schedule so really pleased. Would recommend.

Using Porotherm on domestic projects has allowed us to deliver high performance construction without the need for complicated detailing and building methods. Better insulation qualities and the 'breathable' nature of a clay product result in a wall suited to the future demands of buildings that must reduce energy use and improve comfort.

It's ideal for the self-builder too, with training support making it easy to learn how to construct using the thin joint system.

The product is great and the support from the team is exceptional. If it’s technical they can help, if it's day to day use on site they can help or put you in touch with someone who can.
We were able to get deliveries very promptly. After the first delivery for extra banding to be put on the pallets as we use tower cranes, on the next delivery it was done, you cant fault service like that. The product it self seems quirky at first but once you get to grips with the few differences and you get your trades to buy in then to be honest it is just like block work except much, much faster. We actually achieved 11m2 per hour on a long corridor wall- that speaks for its self. In summary it’s really good. You can make or break your job in the first course laid, you HAVE to ensure the first course is laid level and true other wise you will have problems.
From a Site Managers point of view its clean, fast and efficient. The Health and Safety benefits outweigh a lot of the others, you don’t have wall ties sticking out, you don’t have lots of rubble giving slips trips and falls, risk of manual handling injury is reduced, dust is reduced, wastage is reduced so is water usage. As with anything it has its pro’s and con’s but I have to honestly say Porotherm has far more pro’s. I am personally Looking forward to my next site which is using Porotherm again.

The system certainly increased project efficiency by speeding up the build process on site, thus reducing the overall programme and associated labour costs. Also the inherent qualities of Porotherm such as product longevity, thermal efficiency/ airtightness, fire resistance, breathability etc. not only sits well with our sustainability targets but reduced the need/ any further cost of additional products. EHSmith responded quickly and were helpful throughout. We are already looking at working with this system again in upcoming projects.

My builders introduced the system for our business extension and it took only 2 weeks to complete! With a traditional block it would have take around 3.5 weeks. Meaning I saved money on build overheads and the benefits included: dryer, faster and above all sustainable! anything to help the environment and sustainable future is a bonus. I highly recommend! Thanks Porotherm