Building Fabric; Groundworks
Proctor Air® provides peace of mind for apartment residents during essential reroofing works
A
significant challenge when working on the roof of any existing, occupied building is protecting the people inside
the building without the full roof system in place. Tat challenge is multiplied when the building in question is large and work has to be carried out in sections over a longer period of time. At Hatchemeadow apartments in
Northumberland, a key performance characteristic of Proctor Air that helped to address these challenges was its water holdout. Tat, combined with its vapour and air permeability, offered long-term peace of mind for the building owners, as well as apartment residents. Te roof included an area of solar PV panels,
so the new roofing system had to be capable of providing weathertightness and condensation control in several different circumstances across the single building – all while residents remained in occupancy during the work.
USING PROCTOR AIR AS PART OF A ‘BELT AND BRACES’ SOLUTION James Roy, senior quantity surveyor at Wensley Roofing, describes the replacement roof system as a “belt and braces” approach. “Te specification used Proctor Air over the
raſters, followed by counter battens, tile battens, and a new pantile finish,” he explained. “We even
HMM04_A Proctor_Building Fabric -
Roofing_HPAdv.indd 1
about leaving the underlay exposed for short periods of time. “Te belt and braces approach has made labour
a challenge on this project,” said James. “But with the Proctor Air membrane in place, we’ve been comfortable leaving it exposed for a couple of days if necessary, knowing that residents in the apartments below are still protected.” Tis reassurance is possible because Proctor
used butyl tape over the nail holes to provide a complete seal against rainwater.” At the time of writing, Wensley Roofing are
about halfway through the reroofing work. “Some of the residents were having to use buckets to catch leaking water,” said James. “Since installing this new system the leaks have now stopped, and there has been some bad weather.”
HOW HAS PROCTOR AIR HELPED THE REROOFING PROCESS? Te attention to detail required to deliver the thorough specification, coupled with the size of the Hatchmeadow apartments roof, has naturally restricted the pace at which the work can be delivered. As a premium roofing membrane, Proctor Air has helped to alleviate any concerns
Air is rated W1 under EN 13859-1, with over 1m Head of Water, and has hydrophobic additive in all three of its layers. Its water resistance meets the guidance of NFRC’s Technical Bulletin 6. Additionally, the membrane can be leſt exposed to UV for up to three months. Proctor Air allows the underlay to be used on
roofs featuring solar PV, as long as a ventilated batten space is provided. Tis is in addition to tightly-jointed slates, tiles and metal sheet, all of which would also normally be considered vapour impermeable. Because the Hatchmeadow apartments
specification featured a counterbatten layer, Proctor Air could be used with confidence across the entire roof, including under the existing area of PV panels.
01250 872 261
proctorgroup.com/products/proctor-air
25/04/2024 12:01
38 | HMM April/May 2024 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
