Client: Southport College
Location: Southport, Merseyside

Over the past decade Southport College have maintained a programme of roof replacement, gradually converting the majority of their flat roofs into more sustainable pitched roofs. For this particular project the college’s science block was the chosen objective and Alpha Roofing were chosen as the appointed principal contractor.

The college sought a viable solution that would allow them to not only increase the life-cycle and efficiency of the science blocks roofs, but which would also take advantage of the block’s south facing slope and allow for the use of solar panelling (photovoltaic products).

As with all roofing projects time and health & safety are of the utmost importance, and in the education sector these themes are even more imperative as there is a requirement to ensure that the college’s students are not put in any danger, and also that their studies and classes are not interrupted or affected. This meant that all works needed to be carried out during the college’s summer break, so Alpha Roofing’s project managers had to ensure that all suppliers and interested parties were fully committed and able to complete their tasks within the given timeframe.

With the exception of timing, this was a relatively straight-forward project, and as Alpha Roofing have numerous years of experience in completing similar projects, the team were very confident of supplying exceptional results.

Appointed as Principal Contractor for the scheme, Alpha Roofing Systems arranged several design meetings with the supply chain, estates manager and CDM co-ordinator to ensure that all parties were fully briefed and fully understood their part in the process.

Enabling works which included a full independent scaffold began in the weekends leading up to the start of the summer holidays, allowing critical construction to begin on the first Monday of the break.

For the flat roof to pitched roof conversion structure Alpha worked alongside Dibsa Structures to complete and finalise a design for a lightweight steel conversion frame. The frame was erected in the first 3 weeks of the holidays, allowing plenty of time for the coverings to be complete by the end of the summer break.

After consulting with numerous suppliers, Metrotile emerged as the chosen supplier for the coverings and PV (photovoltaic/solar panel) products, with a view to providing a 10KW system.

The whole project was completed on time and within budget, allowing the students of Southport College to return to their studies with zero interruption to their schedule.

The college’s science block now has a converted pitched roof which will provide much more protection to the building and throw up less maintenance issues throughout the building’s lifecycle. On top of this the 10KW photovoltaic system was commissioned, allowing the college to feedback into the national grid, reduce their carbon footprint and save on energy costs.

Client: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
Location: Bowdon, Cheshire

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is a consistently high performing and popular school with a positive attitude towards growth and remodelling. This helps them to maintain an effective learning environment for their pupils.

Flat roofs have been a problematic area for the school and regular repairs and high level maintenance have proved costly, ineffective and disruptive.

The school’s estates team were looking for a roof replacement solution that would reduce long term maintenance and ideally remove their flat roofing footprint.

Part of the construction work needed to be undertaken during term time so careful consideration to manage noise, safety and disruption had to be made, and a principal contractor who had the experience and knowledge to oversee and manage the construction phase was required.

Designs for a flat roof conversion were identified as a priority to develop, specify and cost.

 

Alpha’s experienced operational team worked with the school and system manufacturers to develop detailed roof conversion plans whilst the commercial team looked at the budgets and phasing.

A lightweight steel structure was used to create the newly designed roof layout which was covered with lightweight roofing tiles. Plastic guttering, fascia and soffit were used to complete the roof.

Acting as principal contractor for the scheme, Alpha Roofing Systems managed all elements of the construction phase and ensured a fully completed health & safety file was handed over to the school on completion.

 

The project was completed on time, within budget and without incident over two separate phases of work.

An impressive new roofline has been created which completely transforms the aesthetics of the building and will provide a virtually maintenance free roof for years to come. The lightweight roofing tiles in brindle matched sympathetically with the surrounding buildings.

 

Client: Liverpool College
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside

Over the course of many years the flat roofs of the canteen and science blocks of Liverpool College had suffered quite a bit of deterioration and as a result of this deterioration roof leaks were starting to become a regular occurrence. The college decided that it needed a long term solution to the problem so as part of a major refurbishment scheme, which also included a complete internal re-fit of the kitchen and dining area, Alpha Roofing were brought on board to provide a sustainable, efficient and cost-effective resolution to the roofing problems.

As with all roofing projects time and health & safety are of the utmost importance, and in the education sector these themes are even more imperative, as there is a requirement to ensure that the college’s students are not put in any danger and also that their studies and classes are not interrupted or affected. This meant that in this case all of the work had to be carried out during the college’s summer break, so strict time restrictions were in place in order for the college to be cleared of all construction activity before the students returned.

As there were a number of other elements to the project apart from the roof works there were major challenges involved in ensuring that all internal works which were being carried out at the same time could be undertaken safely and remain dry throughout the roof refurbishment process.

Alpha roofing consulted with the college and with the appointed designer for the refurbishment scheme, advising on the roofing options available and providing budget costs to aid design decisions.

The final solution involved stripping the existing roof back to its substrate, laying a cut to falls insulation system designed for the scheme and covering with a multi layer high performance membrane. The fascia, soffit boards and render were also refurbished by Alpha to complete the external appearance.

Working closely alongside the appointed designer and the internal works contractors, the flat roofing and roofline refurbishment was completed on time and within budget to great success. The college now has a fully refurbished canteen, dining area and science block with a fully functional and efficient roofing structure that has greatly improved the life-cycle of the buildings and substantially reduced the threat of any ongoing maintenance problems.

Client: Loreto Grammar School
Location: Altrincham, Cheshire

Loreto Grammar School’s management team were looking to completely re-roof the science block on their much valued and loved school building in Altrincham. Situated on the outskirts of the busy Cheshire town, Loreto Grammar provides a first class educational facility to girls, and the centuries-old school building, which is steeped in history, is an important feature that needs to be carefully maintained.

One of the many challenges that the design team faced was the fact that the school needed to be completely functional during the construction phase of the works. As well as the need for a new roof to provide a long term weathering solution, it was also necessary to upgrade the structure to current building control measures, in particular meeting compliance with part ‘L’ of the building regulations.

The existing roof coverings were in a severe state of deterioration and needed to be completely stripped and removed. The science block below was in use throughout the works and the area around the site compound was adjacent to foot traffic and a major thoroughfare for the school. Additionally the main entrance to the car park was in constant use providing logistical problems for Alpha’s deliveries, storing and access/egress to the roof for site operatives and materials.

Clearly keeping the building watertight throughout the works was a major priority as well as ensuring the safety of all the staff, pupils and visitors.

Alpha’s design and logistics team had some serious issues to contend with and a lot of discussions and negotiations were needed to install safe systems of work and to programme the scheme to ensure the roof would be renewed with minimum disruption, and with the safety and welfare of everyone concerned at the forefront of all activity.

The works commenced with the scaffold being erected over several weekends, and deliveries scheduled for early mornings. The stripping began and the team participated in anticipation to see if the weeks of planning, discussions and meetings would come to fruition.

Alpha’s site team toiled in very difficult conditions to carefully remove the existing coverings and install an insulated built up system that would provide a 20 year insurance backed warranty. In conjunction with the installation of the new roof the rooflights were renewed and new air-conditioning units were installed, greatly enhancing the learning environment below.

This challenging scheme was completed earlier than programmed and having had no incidents or problems reported throughout, the school felt totally justified in the appointment of Alpha Roofing. The Loreto team were so impressed with the Alpha team that further phases of works were negotiated and a strong working partnership has flourished.

The finished roof offers a true reflection of Loreto’s standing in education circles and was another successful project in the portfolio of Alpha Roofing.