Technitherm Provides Flood Resilience Solution in Rochdale

The Boxing Day flooding in 2015 left Wardleworth in Rochdale badly effected after levels of the River Roch peaked following on from torrential rainfall.Whilst other more economical flood measures were being considered it was decided that funding related to energy efficiency could also be spent on the effected properties.

Rochdale Borough Council appointed Caribou Warmth to extract the mineral wool and replace with a product which meets the council’s requirements to provide the properties with a measure that provided improved thermal efficiency for the residents as well as flood resilience for the future. 99 properties made up of mid-terraces, end terraces and bungalows were left damaged by the flooding and in need of the existing mineral wool cavity wall insulation replacing.

After the extraction of the old damaged insulation a 30 working day period was put in place for new cavity wall insulation to be fitted. The criteria for the scheme was that the insulation must be practical for the flood risk position and be eligible to have the cost paid through funding.

The Solution

Technitherm® was chosen as the best solution. It has a closed cell structure meaning once installed in the cavity it will not allow water ingress through the cavity onto the inner leaf of the cavity wall, providing flood resilience to the properties. Technitherm® will also improve the thermal performance of a property and once a cavity is filled it will adhere to both the inner and outer leaf of the cavity wall completely filling the cavity and so eliminating air leakage.

Technitherm qualifies for funding through the flood resilience grants as it complies with BS85500: 2015 which advises ‘only closed cell polyurethane insulation can be used in in flood risk areas’. However rather than use flood resilience grants, Caribou decided to install Technitherm through Green Deal Communities funding. By doing this not only were Caribou able to install Technitherm into the walls improving the energy efficiency and flood resilience of the property, it meant that the flood resilience grants could be spent on other flood resilience measures meaning those properties in flood prone areas could have a more complete defence system in place.

The product comes with BBA and LABC accreditation plus has passed the BRE’s Flood Resilience Testing so was the perfect solution and was installed by one of Isothane’s approved installers within the time scale set out by the council and Caribou. As the product is installed from the outside there was minimum disruption to the residents of the area.

“It has been really useful to couple the energy efficient cavity wall insulation whilst also providing flood resilient protection to these properties in Wardleworth. Technitherm gives these properties structural stability and is non-absorbent should the walls become wet. The residents are pleased that they were assisted in such a little time-frame and Rochdale Borough Council now have a cost-effective method of insulating their properties at risk of flooding.”

Megan Eastwood, Client Relationship Manager, Caribou Green Warmth LLP