Rowcon Type I & II Timber Framed House

Manufacturer: Rowlinson construction Ltd.
Period Built: 1961-70  Number Built: 1700 
Construction Type: Timber Framed

Rowcon Type I Identification Characteristics:
2-storey terraced houses.
Medium pitch gale roof covered with tiles or flat roof covered with bituminous felt.
Front and rear external walls of painted plywood, with brick piers at separating walls.
Gable wall of brick or concrete blocks returned around corners.
Some houses have concrete block pier at the separating wall.

NOTES FOR SURVEYORS
Localised wetting of bottom rail of timber frames and adjacent cladding.
Localised decay of door and window frames.
Voids in concrete fill in separating wall.
No breather membrane to external wall timber frame panels.
Whilst research has led us to believe that a number of Rowcon houses were constructed in Calderdale, although none have yet been identified.
The image below shows a Rowcon Type I construction.

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Rowcon Type II Timber Framed House

Name: Rowcon Type II
Manufacturer:  Rowlinson construction Ltd.
Designer: K.H. Edmondson Number Built: 1700
Construction Type: Timber Framed
Period Built: 1966 – 70

Rowcon Type II Identification Characteristics

2-storey terraced houses.
Mono-pitch roof covered with tiles.
Front and rear external walls of brick with horizontal timber boarded panels above doors and 2 storey feature panels with aggregate render below windows and tile hanging at gable apex.

Rowcon Type II Constructional Diagram – Image source courtesy BRE

According to research data, the following Local Authorities are listed as holding a number of Rowcon properties, however this requires further verification:

• Bradford:             19
• Kirklees:               5
• Leeds:                  42
• Wakefield:          20

NOTES FOR SURVEYORS
Localised decay of timber window frames.
Lack of fire stopping in external wall cavity at separating wall.
Voids in concrete fill in separating wall.
The system was also used for flats.

In general, there is very little resource information available regarding the Rowcon constructions. This may be partly due to the low number of houses that were constructed. 1700 dwellings if considered to be a fairly low volume level in the construction market.

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