HEAVY WEATHER PROTECTION FOR VOYAGE

Voyage, a stylish new Multi Million riverside development in Ipswich is being protected from all that the elements can throw at it by alkorPLAN®, the single-ply waterproofing system from manufacturer, RENOLIT.

Described as the towns ultimate new destination, Voyage comprises a mix of luxury apartments, live/work and affordable homes, interspersed with ground floor commercial units and covering an area, set alongside the river Gipping, a tranquil stretch of waterway that flows into the tidal river Orwell.

Design/ build developer, Fairview New Homes Ltd appointed RENOLIT approved contractor Bracknell Roofing to provide protection for each of the seven phases of the flat roof development. Bracknell Branch Manager, Mervyn Aldridge explains the background: “A great deal of emphasis was placed not only on the quality of single-ply system installed but also on the workmanship and skills employed to complete this highly prestigious 10,000 m² roofing project. After all’, he points out, ‘each roof is protecting anything between 25 to 35 properties below it, and for many years to come, so it was essential we used only the best materials and put our top installation operatives to work on it.”

A dedicated team of four full-time roofing specialists, headed by Steve Baxter, himself a fully qualified single ply installer of some 25 years experience, has spent several months working on the project where attention to detail has been of paramount importance. Steve explains, “The roof build up comprises softwood truss beams fixed at 406 mm to 507 mm centres on top of which was placed 19mm thick x 120mm x 240mm plywood boards, each secured with a minimum of 25 screw fixings. Overlaying this came an alkorPLAN® Vapour Control Layer followed, at a 90° angle to the decking, by 110 mm Kingspan insulation boards which were mechanically fixed by special telescopic tubes to prevent cold bridging with fittings each to a minimum depth of 15 mm into the underlying boards. Next came the charcoal-coloured alkorPLAN® 35176 roofing membrane, again mechanically fastened at carefully measured 225mm centres along each side sheet, which is then overlapped by a minimum of 100mm and heat or solvent welded to the next single ply sheet. In this way’, continues Steve, ‘we have been easily able to lay over 80 sq metres of roofing per day, keeping us bang up-to-date with a fairly tight build schedule.”

“Detailing has been a doddle”, says Steve. “Each operative has been able to completely waterproof up to 20 soil and air vents per day as well as a variety of other roof penetrations, including access hatches and safety systems.”

Vertical wall abutments have been finished using 300mm x 3m lengths of alkorMETAL chased as flashings 25mm into the brickwork and secured with aluminium rivets every 350mm. On all metal-to-metal joints a junction strip, with a minimum 50mm unwelded centre section, has been fitted to allow for expansion and contraction. “It can get pretty hot up there in the sunshine and as the development is fairly close to the East coastline it can be pretty extreme when its cold and windy, so this made it doubly important to take special care with detailing”, he explains.

“We found some of the finishing around parapets a little bit tricky but in all are very pleased with the look of the finished job, we are more than happy to work with the alkorPLAN® system which we find is easy to install and gives us a lot less problems than alternatives,” Steve concludes.

As the final phases of the project nears completion much has already been pre-sold or let so this is one Voyage that is clearly in demand.