Solid Wall Housing - Broxtowe Borough Council

Client Broxtowe Borough Council
Specifier Broxtowe Borough Council
Substrate Solid Brick
System PermaRock Mineral Fibre External Wall Insulation Systems
System 2
Finish PermaRock Silicone Ultra K & R Finishes
Finish 2 PermaRock Brick Effect Render
Project Overview:

 

Background:

This scheme, commissioned by Broxtowe Council, entailed making energy efficiency improvements to 180 occupied properties under the Efficiency East Midlands Framework.

 

The Brief:

An important consideration on this project was delivery speed. Funding opportunities were scarce at the time but the project stakeholders recognised that they could complete the initial phase quickly, there may then be an opportunity to draw down additional funding. Consequently, in addition to the usual system design challenges, PermaRock’s technical team worked closely with the client and the installer to address early planning consent issues.

One such issue was colour. The brickwork on the existing properties had weathered and local authority planners were concerned that a new, standard brick effect render might look out of character with the neighbourhood. The chosen finish would therefore have to be adapted to give it an 'aged' effect.

 

Design & Specification:

The external wall insulation system chosen for the scheme was PermaRock's Mineral Fibre system, which is based on non-combustible stone wool insulation, together with a Silicone Ultra K-Finish and/or brick effect render finish.

By producing samples and visualisations, PermaRock and the wider project team were able to satisfy the local planning department so that work could proceed without undue delays or risks to funding.

 

Results:

The use of pre-cut insulation materials helped to improve the speed of completions. PermaRock and the main contractor carried out property-by-property surveys, enabling PermaRock to produce the necessary detailing off-site in optimal factory conditions. This enhanced quality control, while the bespoke detailing made installation work both quicker and easier.

As part of the scheme’s collaborative approach, PermaRock technical staff also inspected the installations as work progressed, ensuring that they were being fitted to the correct specification. This supplemented the inspections routinely carried out by site managers and the funding provider, E.ON. This shared effort helped to keep a strict focus on quality, which ultimately produced a 100% handover success record with zero defects.

Work progressed well ahead of the original schedule, and this created a window of opportunity for an extension. E.ON agreed to provide further ECO2 funding and, consequently, the project team was able to complete installations to a further 53 homes, bringing the total to 223.

Backed by a 25-year SWIGA guarantee, the insulation systems have yielded appreciable energy savings and should enhance residents’ living conditions for many years to come.

The project was subsequently shortlisted by Efficiency East Midlands for its 2019 Building Communities Awards, under the category of Project of the Year.

The success of the scheme also led to the same stakeholder team winning subsequent projects for Broxtowe BC, including fitting external wall insulation to a further batch of occupied homes.

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