Wraptite external air barrier brings performance and quality to new city quarter development

Wraptite, the vapour permeable external air barrier from A. Proctor Group, is part of the high-performance residential building specification in the new Glass Bottle Dublin city quarter development, which is transforming 15 hectares of a former glass bottle-making site. 

Phase 1 comprises three individual buildings containing around 570 apartments, a new creche and 400m2 of retail space. The external wall build-up is a fairly typical light steel frame structure with a sheathing board and external finish. It was designed and specified by Dublin-based architectural practice Henry J Lyons, which specified the Wraptite external air barrier. 

Wraptite can be positioned to the external side of the structure, moving the airtightness barrier away from the internal services zone, simplifying detailing and reducing the number of penetrations through the membrane. Allowing the passage of moisture vapour also eliminates condensation risk. 

Wraptite can also be used as the sole membrane in a wall build-up, subject to the appropriate condensation risk analyses being carried out. At Glass Bottle, the specification included an internal vapour control membrane as part of a belt-and-braces approach. 

The residential apartments feature mechanical heat recovery ventilation, so an airtightness target of less than 3m3/hr/m2 is desirable. The better the standard of airtightness achieved on the project, the more efficiently the heat recovery ventilation will operate. 

The Wraptite membrane is a simple, self-adhesive solution, with the added benefit of Wraptite Tape being used for particular areas of detailing. 

Subcontractor Platt & Reilly was responsible for installing Wraptite. Project Manager Ionel Danaca said: “We’ve found Wraptite the easiest membrane to work with. It’s the quality of the membrane and the quality of the adhesive; not just that it is a self-adhered membrane, but the strength of the bond itself is superior.” 

proctorgroup.com/products/wraptite