Sure Start Children's Centre, Havercroft School, Wakefield

Client: NPS Group Property Consultants
Type of works: supply and installation of Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM tapered roofing system.

A Wakefield school has become a focal point for its local community following a £400,000 refurbishment and extension, incorporating a Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM tapered roofing system.

The Havercroft Junior and Infants School’s new Sure Start Children’s Centre is housed in what was the school’s nursery building, a flat-roofed construction, which stood separately on the same site.

During the refurbishment, the nursery’s 190m² felt roof was stripped back to the decking and replaced with the Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM system, waterproofed with a Fatrafol 807 3mm fully adhered single-ply membrane. An extension, linking it to the main school, was also constructed.

Steve Whewall, Senior Architectural Assistant with NPS Group Property Consultants providing the full Ddesign service said that he had specified Thermataper for the job. He added: “There were thermal conservation considerations in our choice of design and materials and I’ve used Kingspan for years. There were some challenges with the build because we were creating junctions with an existing structure and I was happy to make use of Kingspan’s design service to solve these.”

The Thermataper range was conceived specifically to tackle common problems associated with flat roofs: lack of insulation; and damage caused by water ponding. The solution was to create an easy to install insulation board that had excellent thermal properties and simultaneously prevented water ponding through a tapered shape facilitating integral roof falls.

Thermataper high-performance thermoset PIR insulation, which comes in a variety of facings, can be used under most waterproofing systems. Kingspan Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM is recommended for use under fully adhered single-ply waterproofing using solvent-based adhesives (as well as for use under partially bonded built-up felt and mastic asphalt) and is ideal for both new-build and refurbishment as it can be bonded to existing decks or vapour control layers. This made it the ideal choice at Havercroft, where Thermataper TT47 LPC/FM was installed to both the refurbished and new roofing sections.

Thermataper systems can achieve thermal conductivity as low as 0.022W/m.K, making them one of the most efficient insulators on the market; and the boards can either be cut on site or supplied ready cut to plan, making them also one of the easiest and quickest to install. Kingspan Insulation supports all of its products with a comprehensive Technical Advisory Service for specifiers, stockists and contractors. This includes a computer–aided service designed to give fast, accurate technical advice.

Havercroft School’s new Sure Start Centre has become a resource centre for the whole community, described as: “a truly multi-use environment” by Mrs Anne Evans, Havercroft J&I Head Teacher. It offers the local people access to a range of support for families with children under 5.