MEET THE TEAM: Amaret Chahal, regional specification manager
It’s time for the latest in our occasional Meet the Team series – in which we give our customers some insight into what drives our specification and sales crew.
This time it’s the turn of regional specification manager Amaret Chahal who loves the challenge of finding the right thermal solution for customers with tricky challenges.
Amaret gives a couple of examples where she’s helped tackle complex issues through a combination of using her own in-depth knowledge of how Actis Hybrid products help combat thermal bridging and calculating the best-performing and most cost-effective system through accurate U-value calculations.
“I was recently working with someone whose new-build had a very complicated truss design in the roof. The manufacturers had designed it with trusses in different directions, so it was very difficult to offer a solution with insulating vapour control layer HControl Hybrid going underneath the rafters. So we had to think about different options. Eventually we decided on Hybris and BoostR Hybrid in the pitched roof and HControl Hybrid underneath the ceiling.
“This isn't a usual specification, but by doing the right calculations to see any condensation risks and the biggest gap between Hybris and HControl we were able to offer a solution that suited him practically. We did this so that he didn't need to change the roof design and he could use the full system.
“I’m also working with an architect who originally needed a U-value of 0.12, although building regs only require 0.13, because the original specification was for PIR board in the roof and walls with expensive thick, insulated plasterboard and solar PV panels. The PIR board elements would have meant that there was a break in insulation at the junction. But because we have a wide range of psi values, developed through BM TRADA, we worked out that if they used the full Actis Hybrid system, which eliminates thermal bridging at junctions because the products provide a continual line of insulation, they could improve their SAP test and relax their U-value. This would hopefully also eliminate the solar element, and enable them to achieve a U-value of 0.13. This is one example of the sort of thinking we do to improve the specification and save customers money.”
Amaret, who in her spare time likes racing fast cars, baking, and competitive reality shows, also enjoys presenting Actis’ two CPDs and its SAP training session.
“I like to think I’m the CPD queen,” she says. “I really enjoy presenting them in person, but obviously we’ve been mainly doing them on Zoom lately. This requires a bit more creativity to make sure they are full of energy and that people interact and get involved. We’ve got our RIBA-approved session on using reflective insulation to address the performance gap and another on building regulations compliance. We also have a shorter session on SAP which goes down very well at our LABC roadshows.
“I also enjoy the fact that as a young woman of colour I have the opportunity to share my knowledge and technical understanding on all types of specifications, both simple and complex. Also, the Actis team in the north is all-female and I love that we are women working in a demanding industry which is traditionally male dominated,” said Amaret. “And no, I’m not too glam to climb a ladder!”