Sika-Trocal, leading supplier of single ply roof membranes, has helped to waterproof a new school building for primary school pupils in Cambridge. Queen Emma Primary school has been designed to provide an attractive, robust and adaptable environment which is stimulating and conducive to excellent standards of work and learning.

“The fast track nature of the build programme was challenging and therefore a roofing system that could be quickly installed was required,” comments Pete Hollingworth, Sika-Trocal’s National Sales Manager. “Our proven track record in the education sector
reassured the client that the demands of the project could be met, whilst also providing an economical and high performance system that would aid in the management of the building’s ‘whole-life’ costs.”

Laid out over two floors, the school building is divided into four distinct areas each expressed differently and detailed to reflect its purpose. Sika-Trocal’s Licensed Contractor TR Freeman Ltd. installed the roof and vertical perimeter coverings on the timber frame building and completed the works in just 12 weeks - well ahead of schedule.

Queen Emma Primary School is also notable for being a sustainable building with eco features including a ground source heat pump, rainwater harvesting and a water drainage system incorporated into a wetland area. This meant Sika-Trocal’s low embodied energy membranes were the perfect solution to help complement the building and support its high Green Guide and BREEAM ratings.

Sika-Trocal provided a 1.5mm thick Type S membrane in Light Grey, installed using the unique Sika-Trocal laminated metal discs and a thermally broken fastener, which provides a rapid and economic roofing solution by securing both the membrane and insulation in one go, reducing the fasteners required for the project by 40-60% and speeding up installation.

The roof comprises six differently shaped areas, and the first stage was to put a vapour control layer over the roof deck, followed by 120mm thick PIR insulation board before finishing with the Sika-Trocal membrane. This was mechanically attached to the main roof area, extended through the upstand and terminated with a Sika-Trocal capping detail utilising Sika-Trocal metal. This design ensured a fully watertight system to the whole roof area, without the need for an interface with a third party metal capping system