Solar panels have formed an ever-expanding feature of the UK roofscape, and regulation changes, allied to the Government’s Future Homes Standard, intend to make UK new homes ‘zero carbon ready’ by 2025. The prospect is for roofs to become a mainstream element of the renewable energy economy.
As concerns about inadequate roof fire barrier installation grow, Marley’s Roof Defence can help housing association specifiers deliver guaranteed protection against the spread of hidden roof fires.
Building Regulations require that new homes are built with fire protection measures to delay the spread of fire and allow crucial time to escape. So, when a roof is compartmentalised between adjoining homes, fire barriers are seen as an integral safety feature, to prevent the spread of flames and smoke in case of a fire.
A combination of wall and roofing membranes from Glidevale Protect has been specified and installed on a new build social housing scheme built by Countryside Properties PLC, working in partnership with the affordable housing provider, emh group.
The Protect TF200® breather membrane, branded as Countryside Properties, has been used on all external walls to offer protection during construction and to allow water vapour to escape into the external wall cavity, minimising the risk of condensation within the structure. All pitched roofs across the site feature Protect VP300, the LR vapour permeable underlay, providing a secondary line of defence to the roof covering, ensuring water tightness and suitable wind uplift resistance to meet the wind zone requirements of the site’s location.
The preference from the ‘Health and Safety Executive’ is that access to high level areas are either restricted or prevented with plant placed at ground level. However, when access is required for complying with roof warrantees and also the clearing of debris with other maintenance issues, this is often impossible to achieve.
To find out the solution, Housing Association Magazine hears from SAFETYWORKS & SOLUTIONS MD Marco Norman, the UK’s leading ‘Safety at Height ’ experts...
As part of a wide scale refurbishment project from Enfield Council, Langley Structures Ltd delivered a series of Flat to Pitched (FTP) roof conversions across multiple residential premises in New Southgate. This project recently won RCI’s Pitched Roofing Awards for ‘best use of a flat to pitch system’.
The project saw the conversion applied to seven buildings located on Bowes Road, Cross Road and Massey Close in Enfield, as part of the larger ‘New Southgate’ refurbishment being carried out in the area. Approved in 2010, the New Southgate regeneration project provides quality homes, local shops and community services across the neighbourhood.
Langley Structures worked alongside Playle & Partners LLP’s, who provided lead architectural services as well as project management, contract administration, quantity surveying and principle designer roles. ENGIE, Langley Structures’ Approved Contractor, delivered the regeneration solution.
Social housing is in the spotlight with new regulations and standards set to significantly increase the accountability of landlords when it comes to the condition and performance of the properties, they have responsibility for. Here Stuart Nicholson, roof systems director at Marley, discusses how whole roof systems could be one way to reduce their supply chain risk and improve roof specification effectiveness.
Several initiatives, including the recent publication of the Government’s Social Housing White Paper and the Building Safety Bill are precursors to a general tightening of the rules, regulations and standards associated with building construction and condition.
In particular, the Social Housing White Paper is set to place increased scrutiny on the safety and quality of social housing and ultimately make social housing landlords far more accountable for their properties in the eyes of the law.
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