Barking & Dagenham Refurbishment

The solid wall mid-rise properties on the Beacontree Estate were one of the first to benefit from sustainable redevelopments through the ECO scheme delivered in London. London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council wanted to ensure that every product and material used would provide energy efficiency, quality, durability and long term performance. This in mind, they turned to the UK leading manufacturer and system designer of External Wall Insulation, Wetherby Building Systems.

These typical solid wall properties were hard to heat and suffered from damp penetration through the walls. The exteriors were in a poor state of repair and the area suffered from the tired façade of these buildings. To significantly boost the thermal performance of the properties, Wetherby’s Epsiwall system was specified: The perfect solution for use on solid masonry construction, employing specific reinforced renders, EpsiTherm insulation with a glass fibre reinforcing mesh and a silicone thin-coat render.

 Wetherby approved installer Concordia Construction successfully applied 6500m² of WBS Epsiwall system to seven blocks of flats on the Beacontree Estate. The BBA approved Epsiwall system used on this project incorporated Wetherby’s EpsiTherm (enhanced EPS) insulation. This is sufficiently resilient and flexible that no allowance needs to be made for thermal expansion in the method of insulation.

The regular site visits from the Wetherby Technical Team quashed any on site detail issues, which were dealt with accordingly alongside main contractor Mullaley and Concordia Construction.

The combination of Epsitherm and Phenolic was proposed following a technical assessment. The dual approach to the external wall insulation was crucial to the delivery of an effective refurbishment, with both products working together to overcome the logistical challenges of the tight spaces on the developments. The main challenges posed by the project were the multiple balconies and walkways. While a thickness of 90mm of EpsiTherm was used throughout the dwellings, Phenolic (Also part of the Epsiwall system) with a reduced thickness of 60mm was introduced to create a hybrid system which would be the solution to difficult areas, whilst still achieving the required U-Value.

The properties were finished with the application of WBS 1.5mm Silicone ‘K’ Finish. This product is an excellent finishing coat to external wall insulation; this low maintenance product available in a variety of colours benefits from anti-crack capabilities and is exceptionally waterproof. This is by far one of the most popular finishes that WBS can offer their clients, giving dull and tired looking structures a new lease of life.

According to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council, 2014 Energy Action Area Implementation Plan, they have set an overall target for reducing CO₂ emissions by 11% by 2020. Therefore the impressive 1151 carbon tone saving on this project was a tremendous start as result of the installation of Wetherby’s External Wall Insulation System.

Residents have been overjoyed with the transformation made to their homes; now being warmer and more energy efficient.