Normand House Case Study

Normand House is a refurbishment project and is part of a £500 million scheme set by Bron Avon Housing Association, to upgrade social housing accommodation to align with the requirements of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

The Objective

The original objective for the first part of this scheme, was the refurbishment of two blocks of social housing in Coed Eva, Cwmbran. Due to poor condition of neighbouring blocks, it was agreed to increase the original works to include the adjoining sites.

P&P Building and Roofing Contractor were appointed by Bron Afon to carry out the refurbishment works, to renovate the four blocks utilizing SPSenvirowall’s high-quality external wall insulation systems and render materials.

Carried out over the duration of eight months, P&P and SPSenvirowall successfully installed 3,500m2 of 90mm grey EPS insulation, which provided the residents with a more comfortable living environment by improving the thermal performance and in turn reduce their fuel / energy bills. A silicone top coat was then applied to give a smooth rendered finish providing the customer with a more aesthetically pleasing dwelling.

The Challenge

With every large refurbishment project comes a number of challenges and while external wall insulation is a significant undertaking, it presented minimum disruption to tenants which was key during the duration of the work.

Before applying external wall insulation, all cavity insulation that had previously been installed was removed and high impact reinforcement mesh was used to further protect communal areas. All blocks are of three story cavity brick and block construction. The building steps back at the parapet areas with timber frame and internal light weight block. All framework voids were insulated with quilt to reduce the dew point and areas requiring extra fire breaks were identified. Originally the only choice of colour was cream, however it was decided that some colour creativity was necessary to break-up the large neutral “wall of cream” by finishing inset areas with a light grey for a more pleasing aesthetic.

The Benefits

The newly refurbished buildings are a huge improvement to the original brick buildings, leaving tenants delighted with reports of the huge difference in their living conditions due to the insulation making their homer warmer and more comfortable to live in whilst saving on fuel bills.

Prior to the works carried out the u-value calculation was 1.2w(m2k) and was much improved when the insulation works achieved 0.28w(m2k) when completed in August 2016. Bron Afon are also delighted in the works carried out. Delivery of the project was on time with minimal disruption to the tenants and are delighted with how P&P worked closely with SPSenvirowall to ensure the requirements and needs of this project were met.