Styrofoam and insulation
Preparing an EPS insulation enquiry for an entire building project
A good request for quotation for EPS insulation lets you compare offers without guessing what lies behind a trade name. Separate the façade, foundation, floor and roof. For each part, state the thickness, quantity and required properties. Also specify the packaging method, documents and delivery date. A single line item “EPS insulation for a house” leaves too much room for error. Prepare separate line items for locations where EPS works under different conditions. A wall in an ETICS system, insulation in contact with the ground and a floor substrate have different requirements. They should not be combined into one quantity just because the boards have a similar colour. Also record separately the different thicknesses used in the same building element.
How should the order be divided into building parts?
Give each item a simple description of where it will be used. This could be the main façade, the plinth, a basement wall or a garage floor. The contractor and the supplier should understand these names in the same way. For unusual shapes, attach a drawing. This applies in particular to roof slopes, where cubic metres alone do not describe the required set.
Which parameters should be entered instead of a general name?
The basis is the project requirements. For thermal insulation, state the limiting lambda and the thickness, not just the phrase ‘warm EPS’. On the façade, the parameters required by the ETICS system are also important, including tensile strength perpendicular to the board faces. In the floor, properties related to load transfer are needed.
In contact with the ground, the scope of application and the declared water absorption must be checked. For acoustic EPS, dynamic stiffness and compressibility are important. Do not, however, randomly add all the symbols from the internet. Require the properties and levels that are needed in the given location. This makes it easier to assess genuinely equivalent offers.
Do not treat CS(10) as the permissible load of the finished floor. If the project requires data on long-term behaviour, these should also appear in the enquiry. The seller should not guess loads from the name of the room. A garage in a dwelling and a place under a heavy shelving unit may require separate solutions.
How should thickness, edges and packaging be described?
Enter the thickness of each layer in millimetres or centimetres and use one unit consistently. For two floor layers, giving their sum is not enough. The component thicknesses and quantities are needed. Also check the board format, the edge type and whether the selected version is provided for in the project.
Ask for the number of boards, the coverage area and the volume of a pack. Packs of different thicknesses do not have to have the same volume. For tongued-and-grooved boards, it is important to distinguish the external dimension from the area resulting from the schedule. The packaging data should relate to exactly the offered variant, not the whole brand.
Which documents should be obtained with the offer?
Ask for the technical data sheet and the declaration of performance specific to the proposed product. These will allow you to check whether the description in the offer corresponds to the actual parameters. If the documents give different values, an explanation is needed before ordering. You should not choose the one that looks more favourable on your own.
For the façade, also check the insulation system documentation. A matching lambda alone is not enough to allow any substitution of insulation. The conditions of use cover the entire system, including bonding, fixing and external layers. In the quote, it is worth noting that any substitute requires verification of compatibility with that system.
How do you set the price and delivery terms?
Ask for the price in the same unit for all items and for a clear indication of whether it is net or gross. Separate the cost of material, transport and unloading. Establish the minimum order and how full packs are settled. A seemingly cheaper quote may require more packaging units or an additional delivery run.
The delivery date should match the works and the storage location. For a large project, it is worth considering splitting into stages. Agree vehicle access, the method of collection and protection of the material after unloading. These are practical purchasing conditions that affect cost and the risk of damage just as tangibly as a discount on the invoice.
What should you check before accepting an order?
Compare the supplier’s response with your own list of requirements, item by item. Check whether thickness, type, edges or quantity have changed. Any missing information should be clarified in writing. This also applies to a proposal for a different board when the ordered material is not available within the required time.
Keep the approved quote together with the design and later labels. This way, accepting the delivery will consist of comparing specific data. If different people handle the order, give them the same version of the schedule. A change of thickness agreed only by phone is easily lost between the client, the merchant and the contractor.
Well-known EPS manufacturers include Termo Organika, Austrotherm, Sonarol and Polstyr. Their offers should be compared by the properties of specific boards and the requirements of the project.
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