Alumasc’s economical roofing solution, Derbigum Olivine, has been used in the refurbishment of a Middlesex School.
Opened in 1951, Mount Stewart Junior School in Harrow is a community school for boys and girls aged 7-11. Due to on-going issues with leaks and water ingress, the decision was made to re-roof the entire campus, comprising seven roofs of various construction types, totalling 2,500m2.
Alumasc and its registered contractor M&J Roofing were tasked with re-roofing the large roof areas in only eight weeks, to ensure minimum disruption to the school, its teachers and pupils. Budget constraints dictated that the solution needed to ensure not only waterproofing integrity, but also longevity and minimal long-term maintenance costs.
Alumasc says Derbigum Olivine was the perfect solution to meet these requirements, as well as offering additional ecological benefits brought about by a naturally-sourced Olivine mineral layer. During rainfall, the Olivine membrane makes contact with CO2 present in the atmosphere, resulting in a chemical reaction that neutralises the CO2 to provide a positive impact on climate change.
There were a number of detailing issues that had to be resolved on the project, particularly regarding the sloping roofs which varied greatly from area to area. On some roofs there were areas of ponding water, and with the school’s budget not allowing for a tapered insulation scheme, Alumasc instead designed tapered gutters at the roof perimeters to integrate with the new flat board insulation overlay and assist the drainage to the Alumasc gutters and downpipes.
Speaking about the installation, Richard James from M&J Roofing said: “The large barrel sectioned roofing area was very complex in its installation, especially when it came to fitting the insulation. Using Derbigum Olivine allowed us to achieve a good fit to this challenging area, and resulted in a highly respectable finish. We installed the first ever Derbigum Olivine system back in 2013 and, since then, the system has quite rightly grown in popularity. It not only offers unique CO2 neutralising properties, but also has the longest product guarantee in the marketplace.”
Derbigum Olivine offers a market leading warranty of 40 years and is subject to minimal long-term maintenance requirements.
