Features
Protection from all the elements - Fire, hurricanes and cyclones and temperature.
Produced from inert gypsum plaster, Rapidwall has a 1 hour fire rating when unfilled or a 4 hour fire rating when filled with concrete.
By using a simple tie down system, the roof is secured through the cavity of the wall to the foundation giving it significant protection against high winds.
Further, Rapidwall has a high thermal insulation and when the hollows are filled with insulation even greater thermal properties are achieved.
Saves energy and the environment
In his thesis, Ecologically Sustainable Development - Approaches in the Construction Industry, Robert Omahen, University of Regensburg concludes that:
"Rapidwall offers huge savings in embodied energy - 66% for domestic buildings 40% for commercial buildings."
He further states that, Rapidwall uses "fewer raw materials but doesn’t compromise on load bearing capability and the total CO2 saving of Rapidwall, for residential dwellings in Australia would be about 63% or 3.91 million tonnes compared to brick."
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High quality finish
The manner in which Rapidwall is manufactured means that both sides, the internal and external surfaces, are finished to a very high quality thereby dramatically reducing construction and finishing time.
Furthermore, the clean dry construction process eliminates the need for bricklaying and most plastering.
More cost effective than other building products
The following chart is based on the construction of a 130m2 demonstration house in Mumbai, India.
| Materials used | Rapidwall Building | Conventional Building | Saving in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cement | 16 tonnes | 32.55 tonnes | 50.8 |
| Steel | 1800 kg | 2779 kg | 35.2 |
| River sand | 20 m3 | 83.37 m3 | 76 |
| Granite metal | 38 m3 | 52.46 m3 | 27.56 |
| Bricks | - | 57200 | |
| Rapidwall | 500m² | - | |
| Water | 50000lt | 200000lt | 75 |
| Built Area | 143m² | 154.45m² | 8 |
| Labour | 389 man days | 1200 man days | 67.59 |
| Construction Time | 21 days | 120 days | 82 |
| Total Weight of superstructure | 170 tonnes | 490 tonnes | 65 |
| Construction Cost | $US 26,800 | $US 36,980 | 27.5 |
| Embodied energy in kWh | 82921 | 215400 | 61.5 |