Your Homes, Newcastle

Background

Your Homes housing estate in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, approximately 32,000 square metres in wall area and comprising approximately 400 homes, should have been an attractive living option in the North East of England. Instead it was unappealing to potential residents, an eyesore for surrounding neighbours, and in desperate need of modernisation.

Every property within the estate was well below-par in terms of thermal performance rating, making it extremely difficult and expensive for tenants to heat, especially with rising energy costs in today’s climate. The homes were dated in appearance and the client wished to achieve the highest fire safety classifications currently available for residential properties.

The main project requirements for the Walker estate low rise refurbishment were to:

- Significantly improve thermal comfort for residents

- Achieve a high performance in the fire classification of the façade system

- Deliver a consistent modern, clean, more appealing aesthetic across all 400 homes

- Complete a refurbishment to PAS2035 standards as required by the Government Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2 (funding the scheme)

K Systems teamed up with JDDK Architects, Straight Line Construction and Sykes Specialist Contracting to complete the refurbishment and transform the scheme from run-down residences to in-demand dwellings.

Our Service

At the outset, K Systems engaged in a thorough scoping process. A detailed site survey was performed, including a condition inspection of the walls and pull-out testing for the insulation fixings.

This inspection revealed that the properties featured nofines concrete wall construction. This discovery necessitated meticulous attention to detail and precise calculations to select the correct insulation fixings and specifications for the EWI system.

K Systems Site Surveyors were on site twice per month throughout the project. These site visits included on-site technical guidance to the installers, opportunity for K Systems to evolve the system specification and design, and the issue of reports, with evidence of installation quality and supporting photographs. The site surveillance was critical to ensuring the project was delivered to standard, on time, and within budget.

Your Homes and JDDK Architects, responsible for coordinating the PAS2035 requirements, were completely satisfied with the measures implemented by the K Systems teams on this refurbishment.

Technical Project Details

Upon finalising the project scope, K Systems recommended the industry-proven Mineral Wool insulation system to revitalise the aged façade and significantly enhance the thermal performance of the properties.

K Systems’ Mineral Wool insulation is renowned for its exceptional thermal performance and resistance to fire. This made it an ideal choice for the refurbishment, effectively addressing residents’ heating issues while preserving the building’s solid foundation.

The technical benefits of the K Systems 110mm Mineral Wool system that made it perfect for this refurbishment include, its high level of fire resistance and non-combustibility, with an A2,s1-dØ classification, exceeding the minimum requirements for lowrise residential buildings in England.

During the project scoping process, it was discovered that the 400 homes were highly vulnerable to cold-bridging issues, which could have led to significant problems for residents, such as dampness and mould.

K Systems addressed this issue during the refurbishment by using XPS (extruded polystyrene) insulation below the DPC, including behind doorsteps. This rigid foam provides a strong, yet lightweight and flexible insulation solution that is highly resistant to water absorption and therefore is ideal where exposure to water could be detrimental to most typical insulants.

Incorporating XPS insulation into the project enabled K Systems to complete the refurbishment in accordance with PAS2035 standards, a specific requirement from Your Homes and the SHDF Government fund.

Other elements of the refurbishment assigned by K Systems which ensured the refurbishment adhered to PAS2035 standards included:

- Insulation of all windows and door reveals using 30mm mineral wool

- Sealing of all insulation with compriband tape at abutments such as window frame soffits, in addition to the typical mastic seals at material interfaces

- Replacement of existing electric and gas boxes with new insulated boxes to eradicate cold-bridging within the EWI installation – this PAS2035-accepted and economical solution was key to minimising the disruption to residents.

With the EWI fulfilling the requirements and objectives of Your Homes, K Systems’ focus then turned to another of the client’s bespoke requests – the finish. The exterior of all 400 homes was weather-beaten and sun-washed, creating a mis-matched appearance and varying shades of grey. Given the size and stature of the housing estate, this made the whole Walker area an extremely unattractive prospect for potential residents and caused discontent amongst existing tenants / homeowners.

The client tasked K Systems with specifying a finish that would not only restore the pristine aesthetic of each home but actually uplift the entire social housing scheme to create a ‘new-development feel’.

A K Systems silicone render finish in shade ‘pearl’ was applied to all 400 homes to achieve the consistent, bright, fresh exterior requested by the client, significantly uplifting the entire area of Walker.

The Your Homes housing estate was transformed from properties with substandard living conditions into an appealing array of PAS2035 compliant homes. These upgraded residences are now energy efficient, warm, comfortable, robust, and visually attractive, with U-value ratings improved from 1.75W/m²K to 0.28W/m²K, fully meeting the client’s requirements and aspirations.

“K Systems has been instrumental in assisting Your Homes Newcastle from the project’s inception to its completion. The team meticulously prepared the specification and ensured all details were aligned with current Building Control Regulations.

K Systems’ commitment was evident through numerous site visits conducted before the tender process, during construction, and upon completion. The team performed detailed spot checks, provided photographic evidence, and verified batch numbers of materials and the service delivered was outstanding, resulting in a highly successful project that we fully endorse with complete satisfaction.”

John Henderson, Your Homes Newcastle