Many older urban residential and commercial buildings have unused empty roof space that could be converted into extra apartments, offices, rooftop gardens or leisure areas, but traditional heavy construction materials add far too much extra dead load to the original old building structure. Most of these buildings were never engineered to support the weight of a full new brick built top floor extension, so construction would require extremely expensive structural reinforcement work that costs more than the new extension itself. The EPS Cement Sandwich Panel solves this problem perfectly, as its ultra light weight allows builders to add a full new top floor without major structural upgrades to the existing building.

A full 100 square meter new rooftop extension built entirely with EPS Cement Sandwich Panel walls and roof panels weighs less than 8 tons in total, which is around one seventh the weight of an equivalent brick built extension. This extra low weight means the original building’s existing foundation and structure can safely carry the new load, in most cases without any need for expensive underpinning or steel frame reinforcement work. This cuts the total cost of a rooftop extension by more than 50% compared to traditional construction methods, and reduces total project timeline from 6 months to less than 6 weeks. Since all panels are pre fabricated off site, almost all construction work can be done on the roof without creating large amounts of noise and dust that disturb residents or workers in the floors below.

The EPS Cement Sandwich Panel rooftop extension also delivers excellent thermal performance, so the new top floor space never becomes the overheated unlivable space that plagues old traditional top floor apartments. The panel blocks solar heat from the roof, keeping the new indoor space cool even on the hottest summer afternoons. Many urban property owners use this application to add 1 or 2 extra new units to their old apartment buildings, creating extra rental income or extra living space for extended family members, all while fully complying with local building safety codes and urban planning regulations.