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Kingspan’s Kooltherm K5 External Wall Board was used on a major refurbishment project for Wigan and Leigh Housing that not only improved their tenants’ outlook but will also help to reduce their heating bills.
Main contractors G & J Seddon Ltd undertook the project, which involved the extensive refurbishment of five 1960s tower blocks in Scholes Village near Wigan town centre. The work included installing external wall insulation with a decorative render finish, new roofs with improved insulation, replacement windows and doors and repairs to balconies and gables. Remarkably the work was carried out with the tenants still in residence, and an important part of the success of the scheme was their involvement in the design and planning aspects.
One of the primary reasons the residents were able to stay in their homes was the decision to use Kingspan’s Kooltherm K5 External Wall Board, which minimises disruption for the building occupier and has no impact on habitable space.
Kooltherm K5 is a premium performance insulation board with lambda values as low as 0.020 W/m.K, which means that desired U-values can be achieved with the thinnest of insulation boards when compared with any commonly used insulant. It has a closed cell construction, so is not adversely affected by the weather. It is also lightweight and easy to handle and install
For the Scholes Village project, over 15,000 m² of 60mm thick Kooltherm K5 was mechanically and adhesively fixed to the substrate. A basecoat was then applied to the insulation boards with a fibreglass mesh suspended within it to offer the system additional reinforcement. The system was then finished using a cement free WBS Silicone ‘K’ textured render. The complete system, designed and supplied by Wetherby Building Systems Ltd, is certified by the BBA.
Bob Deane, Managing Director of Wetherby Building Systems Ltd said: “This has been a really high profile project for us. Our installers, Skyline Construction Services Ltd, prefer to use Kingspan products when working on high rise projects as they are so much easier to handle, and they are thinner so better U-values can be achieved. We have been able to completely transform the appearance of these flats, and greatly improve their energy efficiency at the same time”
The residents who have benefitted from the upgrade so far have indicated that they are delighted with the results, both from an aesthetic and from a warmth point of view. Lower energy bills far into the future should ensure that they stay that way.