Using fibre cement profiled sheeting to put roofs over people’s heads as opposed to pedigree livestock is being endorsed by a multi award-winning firm of architects specialising in the housing association sector.

Walter Menteth Architects specified Marley Eternit’s fibre cement profiled sheeting, which has traditionally been used in agriculture, for a multitude of residential projects including the RIBA award-winning Bloomfield Court for Ujima Housing Association.

His London practice also specified the unconventional sheeting for High Cross Road in Haringey, north London – Ujima’s £1.6 million hostel and sheltered accommodation complex for mentally disabled people who are accommodated in a four-storey tower of eight units plus ancillary accommodation, and 12 houses and two flats arranged in a courtyard setting.

A major feature of this development was a two-storey bund – an earthwork created from the rubble of the old hostel and site preparation - that insulates the complex from the noise and pollution of the neighbourhood. This scheme won a Housing Design Award, a National Homebuilders Design Award Commendation and a Housing Design Award Citation.

The £400,000 Gwynne Road development in Battersea, south London, also for Ujima, won a Housing Design Award and a Civic Trust Award.

This scheme of eight rental properties including two ground-floor disabled flats, lies close to a large multi-storey estate, with a high railway embankment to the rear, and uses strong contrasts of texture, materials, colour and form to the extent that it was described as a “jewel of a building that shines out from its drab inner city surroundings.”

The thermal and acoustic performance of the sheets are just two reasons why Walter Menteth Architects specified fibre cement for the roofs at Gwynne Road and High Cross Road.

“It is more massive and thermally more stable than metal roofing which, in our eyes, all contributes to better performance,” said director Walter Menteth.

But there are many more reasons why fibre cement sheeting has a big profile in this practice.

“Unlike metal profiles it doesn’t drum and we like the compatibility of corrugated systems with other materials and corrugated profile types such as GRP etc. It can breathe and is vapour permeable. It doesn’t give the problem of super cooling which can occur with metal sheet systems in a ventilated roof (excessive condensation on the underside),” he said.

“It is also low cost and has a low embodied energy. The reinforced system deals with fragility issues [Class C non-fragile], there is better understanding of it by the roofing trade and this has made its use more widespread,” he added.

“It is a simple, efficient product which makes a valued contribution to our projects.”
In addition, it provides excellent acoustic insulation with substantial mean airborne sound reductions, because the sheeting is a cementitious product with no metallic content, there is no risk of corrosion, it is minimally affected by frost or climatic temperature changes, and there is a significant range of colour finishes.

Walter Menteth has also used Marley Eternit’s fibre cement profiled sheeting on the £400,000 Warburton Terrace, Walthamstow, east London – six self-contained flats with support accommodation for low-care mental health community residents.

Email: jaynearkell@marleyeternit.co.uk

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News Categories : Fibre Cement Profiled Sheeting
Roofing Systems Acoustic Insulation