There are few more dramatic locations than the historic Jamaica Inn on windswept Bodmin moor in Cornwall. The former coaching stop has a history ranging from smuggling to alleged hauntings and is now a popular hotel and museum. However, the venue has outgrown the original 1750 stone structure and builders AD Williams were tasked with creating a new 16-room extension at its eastern end.
Situated at a height of 280m above sea level, the Jamaica Inn is exposed to some extreme weather conditions. Naturally such a challenging location, combined with the need to match the heritage architecture, meant this project demanded just the right design, product choice and installation.
When Heritage Roofing South West was contracted to apply a matching slate roof to the extension, it was apparently clear that only a reliable membrane offering unrestricted compliance with BS 5534:2014 would suffice. Accordingly, 225m2 of DuPont Tyvek Supro was applied as the underlay.
David Boyd of Heritage Roofing, said: “I’ve looked into the latest version of BS 5534 and I knew that not all membranes comply when you consider what the standard actually requires. Having the wind uplift resistance figure easily available, something you rarely see, made the choice of Tyvek Supro an easy one to make.”
According to Dupont, its Tyvek Supro product is the most durable roofing underlay available. It says recent tests show that Tyvek continues to perform for well after 20 years’ installation, whereas multi-layer products often lose the capacity to hold out water, with some failing after less than 5 years on the job.
Dupont says that the membrane meets all the requirements of Building Regulations (Parts L & C) but also BS 5534:2014, in all zones, altitudes and conditions, thus making it a good choice for wind, water and air management for long-term peace of mind. This performance, it says, comes together with carefully researched and clear guidelines, extensive experience and service, further enhanced by the development of a calculation tool for more easily specifying membranes that comply with BS 5534.
DuPont Tyvek building membranes are said to be unique in the market due to its high-quality single layer construction. Tyvek is reportedly naturally vapour-open, but also durably wind and water-tight. It is also said to be easy to install and offers long-term, proven reliability. Designed to protect the building envelope against the effects of weather and moisture, this family of membranes is also said to offer optimal air-tightness and can help to improve the thermal performance, energy-efficiency and interior climatic stability of a building.
Tyvek is reportedly designed to work as part of a holistic and optimal system with a range of other DuPont products for the building envelope, including the DuPont AirGuard advanced AVCL series, the DuPont FlexWrap tape, plus other specialised tapes and sealants.
