Cembrit B5 has been used as the roofing material on a recently completed barn conversion project in the Hampshire countryside. Located in the beautiful village of Itchen Abbas near Winchester, the project has seen the transformation of a traditional, single-storey stable building into two beautiful new homes built for 21st century living. Designed by Cover Storey Architects of Havant, the building work was carried out by Hampshire-based contractor, Ascia Construction and the roofing by G+M Services from Gosport.
Once part of a busy farm, over the years the stable buildings had gradually fallen into disrepair through lack of use and neglect. With such a stunning location, the client recognised that a conversion to residential use was an attractive possibility and appointed the architect to draw up suitable plans. The building was outside the area considered by the local planning authority as suitable for residential development, so were insistent that any conversion would need be undertaken without significant alteration or extension and be designed in keeping with the traditional agricultural look of the building.
The project was managed on a day-to-day basis by Will Heatley of Ascia Construction and overseen by contracts manager, Andy Small, who was keen to deliver a project that put the original building centre stage: “This was a great project to be involved in,” he commented.
“There were lots of complex technical issues, such as keeping the original roof trusses in place while we carried out the work, which meant that nothing was particularly straightforward. That said, when we found B5 from Cembrit and chose it as the roof covering it was a very smooth process from design through to installation. We were able to take advantage of Cembrit’s wide range and get the sheets at the correct lengths for the rafters, so time on-site was kept to a minimum. The finished roof delivers the exact ‘agricultural’ look we were after and the client and planning authority are absolutely delighted with the finished result.”
Incorporating the latest technological advances, B5 offers a metric corrugation profile that is a more modern look than the traditional 3-inch profile and can be used to a lower pitch and with smaller overlaps. B5 sheets and fittings allow designers to clad all types of building in a Class A2 fire-rated, rust and rot-proof material that has been in our built environment for decades.
Cembrit companies have been manufacturing corrugated sheets since 1910 and B5 is created using Portland cement, together with a formulation of superior blended synthetic and cellulose fibres. Offering a colouration process, B5 is also 40% wider and offers a better coverage per sheet than traditional solutions. It is available in 11 lengths from 4′ 6″ to 10′ and Cembrit offer a complete range of accessories.
