Shrink-wrap temporary roof protects social housing

Project – Albert Road Plymouth Community Homes

Client – JEM Scaffolding

Purpose – Shrink-wrap temporary roof providing weather containment

Materials – 300µm Flame retardant shrink-wrap

Working for South West housing association Plymouth Community Homes (PCH), Mi-Space, B&C roofing, JEM Scaffolding and Tufcoat have been responsible for a five-month schedule of remediation work to four blocks of accommodation in Albert road, Plymouth.

Preliminary work began on the properties to replace fascias and soffits in April, however, initial surveys reported damage to roof timbers which required the roof to partial removed to allow the joists to be spliced.

The challenge for PCH was to create minimal disruption to the tenants whilst carrying out the works.

Mi-Space and JEM Scaffolding have multiple experiences with PCH contracts but for this was the first inhabited site Tufcoat had worked on for the housing association.

With an emphasis on efficiency, Tufcoat provided a full shrink-wrap encapsulation of the temporary roof and top lifts which enabled all trades to work on the project overlooking Devonport dockyard unaffected by weather.

A public access staircase was also specified for each of the blocks, to maintain tenants’ means of entry and safety. Tufcoat used a flame retardant shrink-wrap to protect the tenants from the weather whilst accessing their homes during the project.

JEM Scaffolding, Contracts Manager, Martin Daw commented “We are finding that more principle contractors are choosing shrink-wrap over other products now, helping to increase efficiency and  improve their operations with no loss of productivity due to bad weather”

Rewards from regional supply chain

The Albert road flats, roofing replacement programme has been the latest in a series of projects, which has seen Tufcoat work alongside JEM Scaffolding, installing shrink-wrap to provide weather protection and containment.

The rewards of this local partnership are evident not only by the growing specification of shrink-wrap on more regional projects but an understanding of the products capabilities and application methodology, which is producing high-quality encapsulations.