Doherty Finegan Kelly
DFK Consultants were the specialist engineers to Kore Insulation for the design of the high performance insulated raft foundation systems constructed at the high quality Hawks Bay residential development in Rathnew, Co. Wicklow. The project comprised a multi-phase housing scheme of contemporary dwellings, requiring robust and efficient foundation solutions suited to site-specific ground conditions. DFK carried out the detailed design of reinforced concrete insulated raft foundations, ensuring effective load distribution, control of differential settlement, and long-term structural performance. Working in close collaboration with Kore and the wider design team, DFK delivered compliant, practical, and buildable foundation solutions, contributing to the successful delivery of a high-quality residential development. The benefits of using Kore insulated raft foundations comprise of virtually eliminating all thermal bridging by wrapping the entire foundation in a continuous layer of EPS, providing a fully engineered system offering u-values as low as 0.10W/m2K. There is further cost saving on concrete volumes (up to 40%) where the contractor can go from blinding layer to concrete raft completion in a matter of days, thus reducing material & labour costs. This system suits underfloor heating where studies have proven 3 times more heat retention and 13% less energy usage compared to traditional screed layer in a typical flooring solution whilst also reducing embodied carbon up to 30% compared to a traditional foundation system.
Hawks Bay, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow
