Swift to install and vandal resistant, the BMI AeroDek lightweight metal roofing tiles enabled contractors to replace the failing roof at St Helen’s Sutton Academy with minimum disruption, bringing it up to 21st century standards, while maintaining its modernistic appearance.
Covered against failure to provide a weatherproof roof with BMI’s 40-year insurance-backed product guarantee, the 5,200m2 roof is the first phase of the re-roofing project, yet it is a case of ‘spot the join’ as the coated zinc aluminium galvanised steel tile panels closely match the existing concrete tiles.
“It’s a good all-round package for the school: a well-known product backed by a strong guarantee,” said Stuart Jenness of surveyors Lancaster Maloney, who commissioned the roof.
Catering to 1,200 pupils, the school gained academy status in 2010 and then qualified for aid from the Education & Skills Funding Agency to replace the original roof, which had been failing and was allowing rainwater into the classrooms below. The academy commissioned Stockport-based Lancaster Maloney to draw up the school’s Capital Funding Application to replace the original roofs in BMI AeroDek Robust Plus.
Stuart, the associate in charge, had to find a product that met a number of challenges: to find a tile suitable for a very low pitch of just 14o, that would match the existing tiles – as the roof could only be refurbished in phases; and one that would easily accommodate the complexities of the many hips, valleys and vertical elements.
Matching existing roof coverings is one of the strengths of the BMI AeroDek range of tiles, as all the tiles have a stone granular finish that is ceramically colour glazed with coloured silicates, which give the tiles exceptional colour stability. The granular surface is designed to diffuse light in the same way as products made from naturally occurring materials. In the case of Sutton Academy, the Pepperstone colour was used, but Anthracite is also available to mimic the aesthetic appearance of slate.
BMI AeroDek tiles can be installed on roofs of any pitch, from as low as 10° to vertical, and they weigh just one-seventh of an equivalent concrete tile. They are also faster to lay as they are produced in tile strips, so they require fewer fixings.
Each tile strip is contoured to both overlap and interlock strongly, so top and bottom fixing occurs naturally with every BMI AeroDek profile. This means that BMI AeroDek roofs will withstand the harshest of weather, even severe winds that are prevalent, for example, in the Shetland Isles.
Also, ideal for use with flat to pitch roof conversions, lightweight BMI AeroDek tile strips are dry fixed throughout, and complemented by an extensive range of lightweight roofing accessories including eaves, ridge and tile ventilation systems.
