BISF Property in Wakefield benefit from £2.1m Refurbishment
The Wakefield District Housing £2.1m external structural repair project to 143 BISF (British Iron and Steel Federation) houses in three areas of Wakefield, Flanshaw, Hemsworth and Chequerfield was finally completed in October 2013.
The refurbishment programme saw the houses completely transformed by the Henry Boot Construction team who removed the corrugated steel roof panels, replacing them with modern tiles, applying external insulated render as well as constructing brand new lean-to roofs and external GRP canopies over the front doors of each of the properties.
The original external wall finishes were completely stripped away right back to the internal boards and re-studded with new timber studding and plywood facades, they were then re-covered using a mixture of insulated smooth render and a simulated brick render which gives the properties a fresh modern appearance, ensuring longevity for the future.
The scheme required meticulous planning to ensure the tenants were not left without any form of insulation for any period of time.
Tony Shaw, Henry Boot Construction Eastern Region Director
“This particular project for Wakefield District Housing complements our recent accreditation as a Green Deal
Installer and ECO framework partner for British Gas. This is exactly the sort of work that both of these initiatives are designed to deliver. Our work for Wakefield District Housing underlines our commitment to working with social housing providers to improve social housing stock and reduce carbon emissions and fuel bills in low income households.”
Local BTEC students involved in project gain valuable experience.
Juliette Sycamore Centre Manager from Elite Training
“We work with and recently hosted a number of BTEC Construction students on these sites as part of our commitment to developing young people in the industry. The pupils learn about every stage of the build process on their site visit developing a greater understanding of the works carried out by the different trades on site”.“The pupils showed a real interest and all agreed that they now have a better understanding of construction in particular the involvement of different trades from operative to technical roles. They feel the visit has benefited them greatly and will certainly assist them in their BTEC course”
The work was procured through Lot 38 West of the EN Procure Elemental Works Framework, with a total project value of £2.1m, works began on site in October 2012 and were completed in October 2013.
Hi Grangey, from my research to date it would appear that EWI alone would factor in about £7-8K and roof replacement £4-5k so taking the higher figure of those two values, the pricing is not far off.
In this case it appears that much more work than usual went into removing the old external wall coverings to create a new facade base with plywood, this in itself would incur further cost over and above a typical EWI retrofit which would be applied onto the existing wall covering.
I think this is by far one of the best looking refurbishments to date and the Henry Boot fitters should be congratulated for a great design.
I would be interested to know how much non WDH tenants were charged to be included into the scheme and if this was subsidised under ECO or any other funding.
It seems that the only way to obtain high subsidies at the moment is to be part of a housing scheme. I do wonder if private residents themselves could set up a group scheme to obtain similar funding.
From my previous post on applying for EWI by way of the Green Deal, it’s proving far more difficult that we imagined but fingers crossed.
Marc :0)
So this works out at £14,700 per house.
The results look fantastic! A good ROI from the utility bills? I doubt it, but certainly a sure fire way to add marketability and curb appeal to your house. Considering the cost (not accounting for any disruption) of reinsulating a BISF from the inside will cost cira £3k for insulation alone (on the basis of 100mm celotex- 75mm @ £30 a board, plus 25mm @ £15 a board), plus all the of studwork (id estimate at least £1,000 for this), plus plasterboard and fixings (about another £1k), not to mention the plastering (3kish), outhouse roof (500-800), main roof (3-4k), not to mention the redecoration effort required inside, actually I would say thats a pretty decent deal.
With that said… theres no point having a modern outside if youre inside is still dated so its swings and roundabouts if you look up in your bedroom at hardboard ceilings, but if this was a standard price for all BISF homes (which sadly it wont be), for those that haven’t taken reinsulation steps yet and are still stuck with the original roof etc I’m sure this kind of finish would prove attractive to many BISF owners, particularly if a healthy proportion of the cost can be spread using the green deal.
Great post thanks