Blake House was built in 1922, part of the William Blake estate in the London Borough of Lambeth. The property and estate take its name from the famous poet and artist who lived in the area at the end of the 18th century. The building, in recent years, had suffered several roof leaks that had resulted in costly reactive remedial works being carried out.
These reactive fixes can often be ineffective at solving on-going issues and provide no long-term assurance that the roof structure will not eventually become compromised and fail, resulting in a costly roof replacement.
To avoid costly issues, the roof should be managed as an asset. Just as with other assets that the organisation owns, the roof should be strategically managed throughout its lifecycle from introduction through operation and maintenance, to refurbishment including placement upgrading to current regulative standards.
Langley were approached to carry out an extensive roof condition survey, the survey looks at the condition of the roof and grades it from urgent need of attention, to no action required, it also determines any areas of non-compliance to Building Regulations and areas of fire risk. This is all collated within a comprehensive report which also contains an in-depth risk assessment.
The survey confirmed that the flat roof area needed urgent attention to ensure no further damage would occur to the structure of the roof and to the dwellings below.
M.H. Goldsmith & Sons were the contractors completing the refurbishment, who worked collaboratively with Langley to complete what was specified to rectify the roof leak issues.
The specified system was Langley’s CP-20 Paracoat Cold Polyurea system. It is safe, reliable and quick to apply, causing minimal disruption. An ideal system for the residents within Blake House who remained in-situ throughout the project.
The system is fully compliant to Building Regulations and has been independently tested and certified by the BBA, confirming Broof(t4) classification under BS EN13501-5. A Broof(t4) classified system is referred to as ‘unrestricted’ or ‘low vulnerability’ and therefore has no minimum distance requirement between adjacent buildings.
In regards to the installation, the structure of the roof included a number of complex details, such as upstands, access doors, rooftop penetrations and perimeter details. By using the wet on wet, fully reinforced liquid system, its simplified waterproofing around these details which allowed a consistent and reliable seal to be formed. Due to a flame-free installation process, the system eliminated the risk of fire from hot works to provide safety for residents and peace of mind for the local authority.
The roof itself is accessible to residents and is used as an outdoor space. Once the system was installed it could withstand foot traffic within hours, ideal for balconies, walkways and rooftop terraces.
Paul Murtagh, Assistant Director of Housing for the City of London Corporation said “We were looking for quality, cost-effective waterproofing system that could be applied quickly, safely and with minimum disruption to residents. The Langley Paracoat Cold Polyurea System fitted the bill and, we were particularly impressed by the ease and speed of the installation”.
Dennis Goldsmith, Director of M.H. Goldsmith and Sons explained “We needed a waterproofing system that could be applied quickly and efficiently but would also provide a high level of durability.
“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”.
To view information on our RBM, liquid and hot melt system range offering, including the CP-20 Paracoat Cold Polyurea System, register and download our Flat Roofing Guide here:
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