Rea Street, located in Central Birmingham are Residential flats owned and provided to residents by Birmingham City Council. Following a recent, annual building survey, the decision was made that a full building envelope refurbishment needed to take place to further prolong the building’s life, improve thermal efficiency and improve the inhabitant’s lives.
Flat Roof System:
During the roof inspection survey that was carried out by Alumasc and Rio Asphalt various remedial repairs were identified to the main area of the roof. Localised strip and replacement was performed to allow the existing mastic asphalt substrate to be retained and maintain waterproofing integrity throughout the refurbishment of the fully occupied maisonettes.
Surface preparation and conditioning was carried out to provide a suitable substrate onto which the Caltech UV BUR system could be applied.
This system comprised of a vapour control layer, PU Insulation and Adhesive, Caltech Preparation Layer and finally the Caltech UV (UV Resistant) Cold Applied Liquid Waterproofing. A cut to falls insulation scheme (warm roof) was utilised not only to bring the building’s U-value down to an average 0.18W/m2K but also vastly improve drainage flow to the outlets and reducing ponding water. This system provided Birmingham City Council with a 25-year system warranty.
Alumasc’s BBA Approved Caltech UV was selected due to the system’s highly durable properties that excel over 25 years. The seamless nature of the application and flame free (cold applied) installation was also essential for this fully occupied building to be refurbished successfully with minimal disruption. 700m2 installed in total by Rio Asphalt and Paving Co Ltd.
External Communal Walkways:
Over the years there had been substantial deterioration and degradation to the anti-slip coating to the external walkway areas thus becoming a health and safety hazard. Alumasc’s BBA Approved Caltech QC Liquid Waterproofing was utilised due to the products Quick Curing attributes.
This provided little inconvenience to inhabitants of the building as the system is fully cured within 30-40 minutes. The system also included quartz anti-slip granules to provide residents with a safer walkway.
Rooftop Edge Protection and CDM:
Aluamsc’s Surefoot Guardrail system now provides future protection to users of the flat roof when inspecting the or carrying out future maintenance. The free-standing, counterbalance design of the Guardrail system is ideal as it requires no drilling through the newly installed waterproofing thus guaranteeing the roofs’ waterproof integrity.
The system is supplied in kit form ready to build and the modular components are quick and easy to link together bringing the flat roof area in-line with current CDM regulations.
Facades/Walling:
As part of the refurbishment, Birmingham City Council and Acivico aimed to improve the thermal efficiency of the overall building, therefore, Alumasc VBriQ Pro External Wall Insulation (EWI) System was installed with the new Warm Roof System thus fully encapsulating the building.
This system is fully BBA certified and consists of a Mineral Wool Insulation and Acrylic Brick Slip finish. A Silkolitt Silicone Render finish was used on the communal side of the building.
With the inhabitant’s safety being of paramount importance this system provided the perfect solution having obtained a Fire Rating of A2-s1, d0 (limited combustibility material) and is therefore safe to be installed above 18m. The VBriQ system provide the external façade with an incredible look giving it the new build feel.
The fundamental requirement for the new building façade is to resist impact loads. Building façades must cope with a variety of load conditions during their lifetime from self-weight and wind loads to everyday bumps and scrapes. These loadings must be accommodated by the EWI system without risk to the safety of the occupants or those around the building. VBriQ meets these requirements having achieved Category I impact resistance to ETAG004. 360m2 installed by Knowles and Madden.
Benefits of Alumasc’s single source building envelope solution
Exploiting the combined expertise of Alumasc Roofing and Facade Systems allows a truly single source building envelope that we believe is integral to a system of this nature. Alumasc’s nationwide network of registered contractors combined with our own site monitoring team(s) ensures compliance with the warranty and codes of practice are observed through to completion. One point of contact and one installation team provides a single source building envelope to the successful completion of the works thus limiting potential split responsibility.
The holistic approach to the design allowed for interfacing to be performed pre-contract allowing for installation on time, on budget and without compromise in terms of quality.
Split responsibility may result in the use of various trades and contractors, which in turn may lead to installation errors, damage to materials or negative warranty implications. The Alumasc Single Point Warranty limits this.
Alumasc’s single point warranties assure Birmingham City Council that if they require any further support in relation to this project in future it can be swiftly and efficiently provided from one single point of contact. This also includes details designed by Alumasc or any workmanship queries.
To find out more about Alumasc’s liquid waterproofing systems Click Here, for more Alumasc Facade Systems information Click Here. Alternatively to speak to our technical team call 03335 771 500.
