Roofing, Cladding & Insulation Top that! When it comes to roofing, the choice of materials needs to be carefully considered to match existing buildings, local vernacular, or just some tough h<strong>and</strong>ling! We look at three primary school projects that have chosen three different solutions. Abington Primary School (Welsh Slate) photo Chris Green Acontemporary take on the traditional Scottish vernacular has been topped with roofing by Welsh Slate (www.welshslate.com), part of the Lagan Group. Some 1,000m2 or 19,000 Penrhyn Heather Blue Celtic-grade 500mm by 300mm natural slates were specified by South Lanarkshire Council for the new £3m Abington Primary School, the authority’s fifth project using Welsh Slate. Welsh Slate had been used previously on Lamington <strong>and</strong> Leadhills primary schools <strong>and</strong> Lanark Memorial Hall, <strong>and</strong> is currently being used on West Coats primary school. “We liked the colour <strong>and</strong> the quality of finish <strong>and</strong> the fact there is no rusting or staining,” explained Architect Chris Green, of South Lanarkshire’s housing <strong>and</strong> technical resources department. “We have used it previously when looking to get a matching slate for the Scottish ballachulish slate which is no longer mined. “Slate roofs with stone <strong>and</strong> rendered walls are in keeping with the local vernacular - slate roofs with painted timber open eaves is a traditional detail seen on many buildings in the local area.” At Abington, the Welsh slates were installed by Braisby Roofing for main contractor CCG (Campbell Construction Group) who completed within 44 weeks. The 25˚ duopitched roof required a larger slate size than usual to give the necessary overlap. The new school is part of South Lanarkshire’s £800m school modernisation programme <strong>and</strong> was constructed on l<strong>and</strong> adjacent to the former school building to offer new, enhanced facilities for pupils in their first years of primary education. A total of two classrooms are provided alongside a separate space for nursery pupils. New office facilities are provided for faculty staff as well as a dual-function gymnasium. This gymnasium space has been designed to be utilised as both an indoor sports area as well as operating as a dining room during the lunch hour. Out of school hours, the space operates as a community hub with highspecification lighting <strong>and</strong> sound equipment installed to the stage area at the rear of the hall. Externally, pupils have ample playground space adjacent to a fully-enclosed, all-weather sports pitch. Abington utilised a CCG off-site manufactured closed-panel timber solution for the construction, inclusive of windows, doors, insulation <strong>and</strong> service zones. Locally-sourced stone was used for the exterior alongside a specially-designed entrance that utilises different colours of glazing to create a unique atmosphere for pupils in the main hallway. The building also has solar PV panels <strong>and</strong> a ground source heat pump that further enhances the energy efficiency of the building. When a single sourced solution was required to replace the flat <strong>and</strong> pitched roofs at Gorse Hill Primary School in Stretford, near Manchester, Trafford Council turned to global waterproofing <strong>and</strong> roofing leader IKO plc (www.ikogroup.co.uk). The old roof had suffered damage, some from v<strong>and</strong>alism <strong>and</strong> some from normal wear <strong>and</strong> tear. IKO’s Ultraprevent built-up bituminous system was specified for all flat roof areas, while IKO Polimar, a cold applied liquid, was used to deal with intricate details. Most importantly, all 16 dormers were redesigned using IKOslate, robust <strong>and</strong> durable polymer tiles with a natural looking finish. “The old roof was easily accessible to pupils retrieving lost footballs - or just larking about - <strong>and</strong> the tiles had become cracked <strong>and</strong> broken,” explained Paul Thompson, Divisional Sales Manager of IKO plc. “IKOslate was specified as the ideal solution for the pitched roof. Using traditional slate, wastage from breaks while cutting can be as much as 10%, but this doesn’t arise with IKOslate. There’s no need to over-order to allow for breakages, <strong>and</strong> little waste to dispose of – making IKOslate a very economical product.” It’s a green product too - IKOslate is manufactured from mineral reinforced 99% recycled <strong>and</strong> re-engineered materials. The tiles are safe to cut on site, don’t need specialist tools to fix <strong>and</strong> any offcuts are 100% recyclable. Martin Richards of JDK Roofing, the contractor on the project was very impressed. “It’s a brilliant product,” he said, “second to none when it comes to schools or buildings with accessible roofs. IKOslates are much lighter than traditional slates, easier to h<strong>and</strong>le <strong>and</strong> there’s much less waste. ” Redl<strong>and</strong>’s Regent (www.redl<strong>and</strong>.co.uk) tiles <strong>and</strong> components were selected for the second time by a primary school in Milton Keynes when they wanted to match the roof of an extension to the original building. Germ<strong>and</strong>er Park School was built in the 70s which makes it one of the first primary schools to be built in the then newly-formed town of Milton Keynes. During construction of the original school building, the powers that be decided to use Redl<strong>and</strong>’s Regent tiles to adorn the roof. With that same roof still going strong decades later, the decision was made to use the same tiles for the extension. Due to a growing deficit in the number of school placements available in Milton Keynes, Germ<strong>and</strong>er Park School wanted to add two more classrooms opening up an additional 45 places for the local children. “We were asked to match the roof tiles with the rest of the building, since the original roof had lasted so well <strong>and</strong> still looked good, we decided to go back to Redl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> use the Regent again,” Roofing Contractor at Russell Roofing, Lee Roberts told us. “The project took a week in total <strong>and</strong> used 180m2 of Regent tiles along with mono ridge <strong>and</strong> cloak verge tiles. Having used Redl<strong>and</strong>’s tiles on a number of jobs in the past, I find them very easy to work with <strong>and</strong> will often recommend them to a client.” Regent tiles are best known for their durability over extended periods of time whilst maintaining a visually strong aesthetic. Additionally, they are ideal for use on extensions as they can be laid at pitches as low as 12.5˚ as opposed to the common minimum pitch of 17.5˚. 10 <strong>Refurb</strong> retrofit magazine Nov 2016 R2
Top image: Gorse Hill Primary School (IKO plc) Bottom image: Germ<strong>and</strong>er Park School (Redl<strong>and</strong>)
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