Introduction / Project overview
Wardieburn in Edinburgh saw a comprehensive refurbishment of low-rise residential maisonette blocks under the ownership of City of Edinburgh Council. Selected as part of its housing improvement programme, the project addressed ageing building fabric and sought to improve both the thermal performance and visual appearance of the homes.
The existing blocks were clad and painted in a variety of vibrant and weather-faded colours (including purple, lilac, and pastel green) which had lost consistent appearance and coherence. The key challenges included delivering a system that:
- Achieved the required thermal efficiency (a U-Value of 0.19 W/m²K) as noted.
- Met robust fire performance and system specification requirements (non-combustible A1 mineral wool system)
- Allowed for bespoke colour matching and finish to satisfy the client and preserve local character
- Minimised disruption to residents during installation of the external wall insulation (EWI) system
The solution (Benx’s role / products)
The specification called for the SPS Envirowall Wall System 1 A1 Mineral Wool system (masonry substrate) with mineral finish to meet the U-value and fire performance targets. Colour matching was carried out over several site visits to ensure the new façade palette matched the client’s selection and aligned with the previous tone of the blocks. The installer was MP Group Scotland Ltd and the system supplier was SPS Envirowall (as you provided). The installation proceeded smoothly with bespoke detailing to adapt to existing building junctions and ensure efficient delivery.
The result / benefits
- Thermal performance improved to U-value 0.19 W/m²K, contributing to resident comfort, lower heating energy demand and improved fabric life.
- A refreshed and unified façade appearance across the blocks, overcoming multiple past finishes and faded colours.
- Successful collaboration between manufacturer, contractor, and client delivering a high-quality refurbishment with minimal resident disruption.
- The project is described on the INCA case-study as “strong example of how collaboration … can achieve both practical and aesthetic excellence in low-rise refurbishment.”
Follow this link to read more about our input into the Wardieburn project on INCA’s website: inca-ltd.org.uk