CPD Specifier May 2015 issue January 2015 | Page 17
Roofing
Kemper System enables
Barnsley Town Hall
to keep heritage intact
With its Portland Stone facade and its classical
architecture, Barnsley Town Hall is one of South
Yorkshire’s most distinctive landmarks and best
loved buildings.
When Barnsley Council commissioned a project
to refurbish the roof as part of a programme of
improvements to the building, Kemper System
not only had to ensure that the roof was upgraded
successfully without any disruption to council
services but also had to complete the scheme
without any impact on the rest of the building.
Explains Victoria Ramwell, Technical Sales
Representative of Kemper System: “The project
involved installation of a new warm roof system to
enhance the thermal performance of the building as
well as providing a new waterproofing surface.
“The town hall remained occupied throughout the
programme and the building not only involved
challenges in terms of the roof build up and
complexity but also has delicate features that we
had to protect during the works, affecting the way in
which the programme was designed.”
To address these challenges, the Stratex warm roof
system with Kemperol 2K-PUR liquid waterproofing
membrane was specified by Kemper System.
Kemperol 2K-PUR is solvent-free and odourless;
ideal for use in occupied buildings where the
odours from solvent based or so called low-odour
products can be disruptive. Kemperol is also cold
applied and therefore can be installed without hot
works or the fire risk associated with them.
KEMPER SYSTEM
The existing roof build up consisted of asphalt,
followed by a screed and a further layer of asphalt.
Barnsley Council were keen to reduce the weight
on the roof and so the top two layers had to be
removed before installing the new roof.
The remaining asphalt surface varied in condition
and a new vapour control layer had to be installed
over large areas of the roof surface before
installation of Kemper System’s Kempertherm
insulation board. A tapered insulation scheme was
chosen to aid with rainwater drainage.
Stuart Hicks, Marketing Manager from Kemper
System explains: “The Stratex system is designed
to enable the installer to choose between
mechanical or adhesive fixings for the insulation
and initially the contractor planned to use
mechanical fixings.
“However, it was clear when the installation team
started to drill pilot holes that the vibration could
cause damage to the internal decor and potentially
the ornamental glass dome inside the building. As a
result, adhesive was used to fix the insulation.”
As the level of the new insulation was above
the lower edge of the glass on the large lantern
rooflight, and so as not to interfere with the
structure, a drainage channel was created around
the roof light and lined with the Kemperol 2K-PUR
membrane.
TEL: 01925 445532
WWW.KEMPERSYSTEM.CO.UK
Stuart continues: “The complexity of the roof meant
that it would have been extremely difficult to install
a new waterproof surface with anything other than
a liquid membrane.
“In addition to the roof light, above the internal glass
ceiling dome, and the channel we had created
around it, we had to contend with a high parapet
wall and the outlets that come out of it, numerous
skylights, a central plinth and two plant rooms on
the roof.”
The Kemperol 2K-PUR liquid system enabled the
contractor to install the waterproofing to the exact
contours of these roof details and seamlessly
incorporated all adjoining areas and drainage
channels into a single monolithic membrane.
Applied wet-on-wet in a single process, the liquid
resin saturates a reinforcement fleece and cures
to form a tough, flexible substrate that cannot
delaminate. After completing the entire roof, red
aggregate surfacing was applied to designated
areas to create non-slip maintenance walkways.
“We needed a roof refurbishment that would
improve the town hall’s performance and protect
against water ingress” comments Tony Taylor
from Barnsley Council. “The solution from Kemper
System not only answered these requirements
but, being sustainably sourced and solvent-free,
also conformed to our environmental objectives
and ensured that we could carry on using the
building as normal without any unpleasant odours
or disruption.”
READER ENQUIRY NO: 21
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