R-value (insulation) typical straw bale houses have very thick walls and thus are well insulated. Snow is roughly R-1 per inch. Brick has a very poor insulating ability at a mere R-0.2 per inch; however it does have a relatively good thermal mass. Note that the above examples all use the U.S. (non-SI) definition for R-value. When determining the overall thermal resistance of a building assembly such as a wall or roof, the insulating effect of the surface air film is added to the thermal resistance of the other materials. In practice the above surface values are used for floors, ceilings, and
Construction Industry Council its membership means that CIC (like a small number of other bodies, including Constructing Excellence) can speak with authority on issues connected with construction without being constrained by the self-interest of any particular sector of the industry. As representative of the views of professionals, it has a seat on the government/industry body, the Strategic Forum for Construction. The Construction Industry Council developed and operates the Design Quality Indicator (DQI) tool to measure the design quality of buildings. CICAIR Limited, a specially created wholly owned subsidiary of the CIC, is the sole body authorised to approve Approved Inspectors to undertake building