Alumasc provided a comprehensive package of high performance roofing products to the Downe Hospital in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.

Designed by the URS / Scott Wilson Group, Downe Hospital is a £64million state-of-the-art healthcare facility, delivered by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust to provide a wide range of healing services to the local community.

Hydrotech MM6125 Structural Waterproofing and Derbigum Single Layer membrane were specified by the designers who had a good relationship with Alumasc’s Technical Team, following the successful use of their roofing products on a number of previous projects in Northern Ireland. The package provided a complete waterproofing solution supported by Alumasc’s unrivalled technical expertise and warranties.

13,000m² of Hydrotech MM6125 was installed by approved contractor Grainger Building Services, across various areas of the roof requiring a structural waterproofing solution. Lightweight, tough and flexible, BBA Accredited Hydrotech is ideal for protected roofs, plaza decks, green roofs, water features and access roadways. The system offers a unique formulation combined with reinforcement to guarantee lifetime performance.

9000m² of Derbigum Mineral in a light grey finish was installed on the flat roof areas. Derbigum is BBA Accredited and manufactured under ISO9000 & 14001 Quality and Environmental Management Standards. The system is available in a choice of finishes and colours including the fine mineral chippings specified for the hospital. Its many benefits include flexibility, excellent fire ratings, stronger reinforcement and suitability for all methods of application.

2000m of Alumasc’s Aluminium Skyline Copings have also provided an economical and easily installed finish to the parapets on all the flat roof areas.

For more information on Alumasc’s range of Structural Waterproofing systems, click here

A sensitive design solution by architects Isherwood and Ellis saw the redundant Grade B1 listed primary school converted into 30 self-contained apartments by building contractors Connolly and Fee Ltd for the social housing provider Connswater Homes. 

As a Grade B1 listed building, the facade could not be significantly altered, leading Isherwood and Ellis to specify Alumasc’s Heritage Cast Aluminium rainwater system with a black textured finish to replicate the school’s original cast iron system. The Heritage Cast Aluminium range is ideal for traditionally designed buildings and can be used for the direct replacement of cast iron, whilst offering all the benefits of modern aluminium casting techniques and factory finish.

The system, which was supplied by Alumasc approved supplier PFC Rainwater Systems of Newtownabbey in County Antrim, has minimal maintenance requirements and is lightweight, durable and easy to handle and fix. The moulded profile specified for Mersey Street was one of five profiles that are available in the range, alongside a choice of imperial sizes and RAL colours to suit all projects.

The Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland opened the new £3 million development in November and added: “This really is an impressive development and good news for the people of East Belfast. Not only does this innovative project provide much needed new housing in an area of high housing need, but it rescues a much loved historic building of local importance.”

For more information about Alumasc’s Heritage Cast Aluminium rainwater systems, click here

For details of Cast Aluminium ex-stock and lead times, click here

South Cheshire is amongst the country’s best performing FE colleges and required an innovative and contemporary facility to reflect its excellence and to embody its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Jefferson Sheard Architects designed a new 26,500sq metre curved building based on the concept of a village street, with individual departments functioning like shop fronts.

The curved facade on the nursery section of the building demanded a first class insulation system. Alumasc worked closely with Approved Installer MIB Facades to deliver an appropriate technical solution for the project.

Rob Sharrock, director of MIB, comments: “We were appointed to install the EWI on this particular section of the building and immediately recommended the Alumasc Swistherm system using 140mm thick Lamella Board finished in 1.5mm white Silkolitt render. We had total confidence that this system would perform superbly and be straightforward to install onto the cement particle board and SFS substrate. As expected, the system has achieved the required U-value of 0.23W/m²K.”

The Main Contractor at South Cheshire College was BAM Construction.

For further details on Swistherm, click here

For further details on the full range of Alumasc External Wall Insulation, click here

 The unique four-part calculator offers the following:

- Foul Drainage Calculator

- Internal Rainwater Drainage Calculator

- Flat Roof Calculator

- Rainwater Gutter Calculator

The new software can be downloaded here free of charge, it will then be saved on the users PC with an easy access direct from the Desktop Icon. Users will also benefit from quick NBS Specification generation which links directly from the from the calculator results.

Firestone RubberGard® not only met Caterpillar’s stringent environmental and insurance criteria, but was also installed to a tight time schedule during harsh winter conditions and without any disruption to business.

The Caterpillar facility comprises several buildings housing both warehouse operations and administrative offices over a total of 1.8 million square feet, providing comprehensive logistics services to a wide range of clients and distributes materials worldwide.
38,000m2 of Firestone RubberGard® was installed by Alumasc’s Approved Contractor Modern Roofs of Leicester.

The system specification will help to increase the roof’s insulation performance and improve heat retention whilst its ‘Enviro-ready’ design offers the potential to cope with any subsequent installation of green systems i.e green roofs or photovoltaic systems.

Now complete, the roof is already delivering tangible benefits in terms of an improved working environment inside the building.

Firestone RubberGard® EPDM membranes offer a unique combination of features and benefits which have been demonstrated on countless commercial, industrial and residential rooftops around the world. They comprise a fully cured membrane composed of EPDM polymer and carbon black offering unmatched resistance to ozone and UV radiation. As the membrane is inert and does not contain any plasticizers, its characteristics remain stable and unchanged over time thus providing a sustainable roofing solution offering Caterpillar the additional benefits of low life-cycle costs and minimal maintenance requirements.

Located in the town centre of Witney, Marriotts Walk incorporates flagship stores, a cinema, restaurants and 143 new homes. The scheme was designed and built by Simons Group and has recently won the prestigious ‘Sustainable Communities’ Award from the Royal Town Planning Institute South East Region.

Alumasc worked closely with Simons on the design of the rainwater system which needed to suit the character of the historic town centre whilst offering the performance demanded by a contemporary build project.

Carried out by Alumasc’s approved installer Northants Rainwater Systems Ltd, the resulting installation was a combination of Heritage Cast Aluminium, to complement existing architecture in the traditional areas, with Aqualine and Flushjoint for the newly built, more modern areas.

The package at Marriotts Walk also included Harmer Drainage Outlets and the Harmer SML soil and waste system which were supplied in the public facilities across the scheme.

For more information on Alumasc’s range of rainwater products click here.

For more information on Alumasc drainage products click here.

Hydrotech MM6125 Structural Waterproofing from Alumasc has been used on the Titanic Belfast Building - the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction.

Specified in favour of four competing systems, Hydrotech offered an innovative and practical waterproofing solution for the intricately shaped podium roof on Titanic Belfast, created by Civic Arts/Eric R. Kuhne & Associates and Todd Architects. The distinctive design of the building and surrounding podium roof, situated above an underground car park, presented a number of challenges to Alumasc and their Approved Installer Grainger Roofing which demanded a unique configuration of waterproofing system and expansion joint.

At specification stage, Alumasc demonstrated to the construction and design team how the waterproofing and expansion joint would work together to accommodate the changes of direction and elevation presented by the podium expansion gap.

Hydrotech is the ideal solution for podiums and highly detailed waterproofing schemes such as Titanic Belfast. The high performance bituminous rubber blend allows fast and simple installation at low temperatures, even over complex roof details. The robust system enables details such as up stands to be completed first allowing other trades to proceed. Highly site trafficked areas can be left until last to avoid the need for protection or the possibility of damage.

Opening in March 2012, the 14,000m2 Titanic Belfast building tells the story of RMS Titanic, and houses Northern Ireland’s largest dedicated banqueting facility. The project, built by Harcourt Construction (NI) Ltd, is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland Executive, Belfast City Council, Belfast Harbour and Titanic Quarter Ltd.

For further details on Hydrotech MM6125 please click here.

Managed by Merseyside-based housing association Helena Partnerships, the scheme, in the Moss Bank area of St Helens, comprises 107 British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF) homes, well known for their poor thermal insulation and environmental performance.

EWI makes a significant contribution to thermal efficiency and aesthetics, and as such, was a key element in Helena’s proposed programme of works, which also included new windows, doors and solar panels.

Helena’s design team specified Alumasc’s Swisspan EWI system incorporating 100mm of Kingspan Kooltherm® K5 External Wall Board insulation, which was installed by Alumasc’s Approved Installer Forrest of Preston.

The Swisspan system is used regularly for upgrading social housing to meet the Decent Homes Standard and non-traditional, “hard to treat” properties such as BISF, Cornish, Crudens, Unity and Airey. When used with Kingspan Kooltherm® K5, the result is a high performance, fully weather resistant and energy efficient façade.

The existing cladding systems at Moss Bank were non-structural; therefore the load of the new EWI system had to be directed to the structural stanchions of the properties. By design, Alumasc’s BBA Approved Swisspan EWI system is ideally suited to this type of application due to a horizontal galvanized steel rail system that can be mechanically fixed to the structural elements of the building, providing support for the insulation panels.

For more information about Swisspan and other EWI products visit: www.alumascfacades.co.uk/external-wall-insulation/swisspan

Designed by architects Lovell Ozanne and Partners, the Hougue a La Perre housing development is situated on the northern outskirts of St Peter Port and is managed by Guernsey Housing Association. The project entails the development of 77 houses and flats constructed in 2009 on the site of the former Grand Bouet bus depot in order to create a sustainable and attractive neighbourhood.

The ZinCo green roof from Alumasc was specified for the podium deck above an underground car-park, which forms a courtyard for use by the residents. The green roof will offer notable ecological and amenity benefits, providing a natural habitat for plants and wildlife, whilst also helping to reduce air and noise pollution, cutting carbon emissions and assisting with rainwater retention and attenuation.

To find out more about Alumasc’s Green Roof systems, click here.

But never a company to rest on its laurels, Alumasc is fully aware of industry changes that affect everyday working methods and continually strives to offer the best products and the best service on the market today.

In a move designed solely for the benefit of Contractors and Merchants in the building industry, an extensive range of Alumasc’s most popular Aluminium and Cast Iron rainwater systems has been made available ex-stock with an unrivalled lead time of 3 days.

With huge stock levels of over £2million being available at any one time, never before has Alumasc’s service been so perfectly tailored to the needs of modern building projects. Furthermore, in an industry first, for projects carrying tight deadlines Alumasc offers an Express Delivery – Next Day Service.

An extensive range of Alumasc’s Apex Heritage painted and primed Cast Iron Rainwater is also available ex-stock, offering the most well-used profiles, namely Half Round gutters in 4”, 4½” and 5” diameters and rainwater pipes in 2½” and 3” diameters, in a high quality 2-pack epoxy primer and top coat finish. Now also available in a range of 8 standard colour options.

Designing your system, identifying the right product and getting it delivered to site, has never been easier – or faster – thanks to Alumasc.

To read more about Alumasc’s ongoing product and service development, click here.