For the
refurbishment of the roof on Blake House, a City of London Corporation owned
housing development in Lambeth, Langley Waterproofing Systems’ Paracoat Cold
Polyurea Liquid Balcony and Walkway System was used to provide a safe, reliable
and quick to apply waterproofing solution that would help minimise disruption
for residents.
Blake House, built
in 1922, is part of the William Blake Estate. Located in the London Borough of
Lambeth, the property and estate takes its name from the famous poet and artist
who lived in the area at the end of 18th
Century.
In recent years, the
building has suffered several roof leaks and, significant costly remedial work
has been carried out to address issues of water ingress. A recent survey of the
roof identified further areas of concern and confirmed that the roof coverings
had reached the end of their effective life.
The project went to
tender and M.H. Goldsmith & Sons Limited, a specialist Langley approved
roofing contractor, was appointed to undertake the renewal of the flat roof.
The work included the 900 square metre roof area, which is accessible for
residents to use as an outdoor space and amenity area.
Dennis Goldsmith,
Director at M.H. Goldsmith & Sons, explained: “We needed a waterproofing
system that could be applied quickly and efficiently but would also provide a
high level of durability. As the residents would remain in the building
throughout the work it was also important to ensure complete safety and
minimise disruption. The fast curing Langley Paracoat Cold Polyurea system was
an ideal solution for this project.”
The structure of the
roof included an abundance of details, such as upstands, access doors, rooftop
penetrations and perimeter details that added a high level of complexity to the
installation. The cold applied, wet on wet, fully reinforced liquid system
simplified waterproofing around these details and allowed a consistent and
reliable seal to be formed in all areas of the roof. Due to a flame-free
installation process, the Paracoat Cold Polyurea system eliminated the risk of
fire from hot works to provide safety for residents and peace of mind for the
local authority. The Langley system can also be installed with a slip
inhibiting finish, fully compliant with BS 7976 Pendulum tests and is therefore
particularly suitable for areas with high foot traffic such as balconies,
walkways and rooftop terraces.
Furthermore, once the
Langley Paracoat Cold Polyurea system is installed, the roof can withstand foot
traffic within hours. With the work taking place during the spring, one of the
key advantages of the system was that it allowed the contractor to minimise the
impact of the weather on the progress of the work. Using a fast curing system
that could be installed in lower temperatures if necessary, the operatives on
site were less dependent on sustained good weather. As a result, the
application of the waterproofing was completed in eight weeks with a further
four weeks required to complete the remainder of the works, reducing the amount
of disruption for the residents in the building.
Paul Murtagh,
Assistant Director of Housing for the City of London Corporation, said: “We
were looking for a quality, cost effective waterproofing system that could be
applied quickly, safely and with the minimum of disruption for our residents.
The Langley Paracoat Cold Polyurea system fitted the bill and, we were
particularly impressed by the ease and speed of the installation and the
quality of the finished product.”
Dennis concluded:
“We were impressed by the Paracoat Cold Polyurea system, it has proved to be a
high-quality system that we will be using on future projects. Langley provided
full training to our installation team prior to the works and remained on site
during the initial stages to provide support, as well as the usual weekly
inspections. We found it quite simple to use and as a result the install went
very smoothly.”
In June, M.H.
Goldsmith & Sons was awarded Langley’s Contractor of the Month for its work
on Blake House.
