Designated Defective in England & Wales - Legislation Repealed in Scotland.
These houses are frequently Referred to a Lindsay or Whitson Fairhurst Construction, although it should be noted, that the Whistson Fairhurst house is an individual construction in its own right, as the opposing property types utilised completely different external wall construction methods & materials despite sharing a virtually identical inner PRC frame
Designers: Robert G Lindsay A.R.I.B.A (County Architect) & W A Fairhurst
Sponsor: Ayrshire County Council.
Manufacturer: Whitson-Fairhurst, U.K.
Years built: 1945–54
Number built: 750
Construction Type: Precast Reinforced Concrete
Site of Prototypes: Dalrymple, Ayr.
Approximately 750 Ayrshire County Council houses were built in south west Scotland just after WWII. This system was sponsored and ordered by Ayrshire County Council from the housing manufacturer Whitson-Fairhurst who already manufactured a house of the same name (Whistsun-Fairshurst).
The Ayrshire or Lindsay house as it is more commonly known, is effectively a revised or modified version of the Whitsun-Fairhurst house and the two construction types should not be confused with each other. Ayrshire County Council ordered 750 'Lindsay' houses, whilst the Whitson-Fairhurst built over 3400 of their own version.
Identification
Built as 2-storey semi-detached houses only. Having a steep pitched gable roof covered with tiles. The loft-space has single window into roof-space at gable wall.
The external walls are roughcast rendered throughout.
CONSTRUCTION
The Ayrshire Council or Lindsay house as it is also known, shares the same basic Precast Reinforced Concrete structural frame as the Whitsun Fairhurst PRC house.
The Precast Reinforced Concrete frame is erected first, onto which external foamed concrete panels are added. Internally, metal frame panels are installed to accommodate plasterboard facing and glass insulation.
U values of external wall: U=0.14.
Substructure: Concrete pad foundations employing square shaped
rebate to receive PRC column bases.
Concrete strip footings with brick under-building & Damp Proof Course.
Frame: Having 6" x 6" Precast Reinforced Concrete (PRC) eaves height columns* but columns at centre of the house are jointed about 2' 6" above first floor level.
PRC perimeter beams are joined to columns via reinforcing loops that protrude from the rebated end of the beam and fixed onto metal lugs that protrude from face of column and concrete cover to joint.
External walls: Rendered storey height 2" foamed slag concrete panels with a 2" cavity. The storey height light steel frame is tied to the external masonry leaf that is infilled with glass fibre insulation and lined with plasterboard.
Separating wall: Consists of a 3" foamed slag concrete slab cavity wall lined with plasterboard.A 2" cavity present except where it has been broken to allow for the enclosure of a column located halfway along the wall.
Partitions: Consist of a light steel frame, lined with plasterboard.
Ground floor: Timber boarding on timber battens on PRC beams.
First floor: Timber boarding on timber battens on PRC beams.
Ceilings: Plasterboard.
Known Variations:
External walls are sometimes clad seperately with rendered brick.
Some properties were found to have no concrete infill to the beam and column frame joints.
The Inner leaf of some external walls were found to have been constructed from timber frame panels.
Some properties have concrete ground floors.
Some properties found to have timber joists to first floor.
Notes for surveyors.
Corrosion of steel reinforcement bars in concrete found.
Carbonation of concrete possibly affecting structural stability.
