A former textile factory in Lillyhall, Cumbria is being converted into a ‘cutting-edge learning environment’ £4.2m training facility. Due to open in September, the building will provide education for up to 500 students in energy, engineering and technical skills. Cumbrian Roofing Solutions has used Protan’s prefabricated system to completely refurbish the 6,500m2 roof. Once complete, the facility is expected to be the UK’s largest and most advanced manufacturing training centre.
Cumbrian Roofing Solutions has been sub-contracted to create the roof, and has used 6,500m2 of Protan SE1.2mm polyester reinforced PVC prefabricated membrane in dark grey.
Protan’s prefabricated system involves factory-welding of the membrane in Protan’s purpose-built manufacturing plant, with Protan’s in-house Proplan software calculating the most efficient usage of material to minimise waste. On site, all the contractor has to do is fix along the edges and abutments, and detail around penetrations etc. Protan says it produces a range of factory-formed detailings to further simplify the process.
Studies show that the prefabricated roof membrane can cut site welding by up to 70% on a typical 10,000m2 roof, compared to standard 1m wide membrane rolls: equivalent to 7,000 linear metres less of on-site welded joints, with associated reduced labour time and cost.
Yet the Protan prefabricated system is cost-competitive with conventional mechanical fixing of standard overlap single ply roof membrane.
Cumbrian Roofing’s Darren Brown explained: “Single ply was specified for the roof. It was therefore logical to take advantage of the benefits of Protan’s prefabricated system: it delivered a cost-effective solution, especially in terms of labour.”
