Icynene spray foam insulation for vaulted Church roof restoration
Christ Church, South Manchester
Contractors working on the restoration and modernisation of an early 20th century Church in Manchester, were faced with a difficult insulation challenge to reduce on-going heat loss through the double skinned roof above the worship area, comprising a ceiling vault, roof void and dual pitched roof over.
Originally built in 1931, Christ Church, on Parrs Wood Road, South Manchester, had deteriorated over the years and needed major restorative work to bring it back up to an acceptable standard.
Timber framed additions to the original structure were nearing the end of their working life and access facilities were felt to be unsatisfactory. Consequently, Architects Mattin MacLean of Buxton Spa, were brought in to oversee the work which included reconfiguration of the building, removal of the problem areas and general upgrading of the Church, including the installation of underfloor heating and other essential services.
Part of the works involved insulation of the roof void above the barrel-vaulted worship area and semi-circular apse. Project Architect, Roddie MacLean explains. “We saw heat loss through the fabric of the building as a major issue. A new underfloor heating system, driven by an Air Sourced Heat Pump was specified, so it was important to also upgrade the insulation levels - particularly to the roof area”
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He continued: “The problem we faced was the curvature of ceiling areas. Conventional, rigid board insulation could not be made to fit and we couldn’t guarantee that layers of flexible, mineral wool insulation would actually stay in place after installation. We needed an insulation material that would follow the curvature of the vaulting and fill the voids created by the complex geometry of the apse dome and roof structure above.”
SPRAY APPLIED INSULATION
Locally based Main Contractors, Armitage Construction, brought in specialist insulation contractors, Green Horizon Energy Solutions to assess the project. They suggested a spray applied, foam insulation system from Icynene.
Matt Lawford of Green Horizon takes up the story. “Icynene is a spray applied system that expands instantly on application. It’s specifically designed to get into difficult to fill areas where traditional insulation materials just don’t work. It closes off gaps and holes, reducing air leakage, but because it has a soft, yielding texture, it puts only minimal pressure on the structure so its just right for work on historic buildings like this.”
Green Horizon used Icynene’s Foamlite LDC 50 system, which is an open cell foam that allows the building to breathe naturally, resisting internal condensation.
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