Etex (Exteriors) Cedral Lap weatherboard cladding has been specified as part of a multi-million pound project by Birmingham City Council to help renovate the city’s social housing stock.
Cedral Lap was chosen by the council and installed by Broad Oaks Building Solutions, who worked with the lead contractor Wilmott Dixon, to carry out major refurbishment work to existing social housing properties across the city.
The project, which took a full year to complete, involved replacing weathered, damaged or perished timber and uPVC cladding, soffit and fascia boards. Cedral Lap was installed in White and Dark Oak throughout to help create visually appealing homes that were both durable and required minimal maintenance.
Bob Mendonca, Commercial Manager, from Broad Oaks Building Solutions, commented: “Birmingham is one of the biggest local authorities in Europe, and has one of the largest social housing stocks. The economics and lifespan of products being specified are therefore absolutely critical due to the pressure on the refurbishment and maintenance cycle of the homes.
“Cedral was chosen for this significant project because of the whole life cost benefits of the product. It’s extremely durable and long lasting, and this, coupled with the visual appearance of the solution, made it a stand out product for this scheme. We also carried out a destructive test on Cedral, to see how the product would react to a heavy weight being thrown against it. Cedral performed excellently.”
Birmingham City Council’s social housing includes terraced houses, semi-detached properties and low-rise blocks of flats. Following the pilot in Lifford Close, Kings Heath, Cedral has since been used on two schemes to date, including The Brandwood Estate and a smaller scheme in the Soho district of Birmingham.
Bob continued: “We are extremely pleased with the results and how easy it was to work with Cedral. It can be easily fitted to existing properties and I know the tenants, and I believe the city, are extremely pleased with the results.”
Matt Castles, Cedral Area Sales Manager for the West Midlands, added:
“When renovating and building social housing properties, one key factor to keep in mind is that the properties must be low maintenance, which means less upkeep for both the proprietor and the council. Cedral requires minimal maintenance and no painting, which is a major benefit if you consider that some alternative weatherboard materials require regular painting.
“Birmingham City Council were looking for something that was low maintenance and easy to install as they were renovating many houses and replacing the existing cladding, meaning Bob and his team could keep on schedule and to strict project timescales.
“The solution also meets fire classification A2-s1,d0 to EN13501-1, meaning it is ideal for complying with social housing building regulations regarding fire resistance, particularly with respect to party walls and firebreaks.”
For more information on Cedral from Etex (Exteriors) visit: www.cedral.co.uk