Approximately 20,000 Westerland fibre cement slates from Cembrit have been used on the Ministry of Defence’s Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) project at Woolwich Barracks.
The redevelopment of the Barracks has provided high-standard accommodation for non-married military personnel as part of Project SLAM:
a construction project launched in 2003 with the objective to upgrade over 20,000 bed spaces, utility and common areas and ancillary facilities across the country.
The redevelopment of Woolwich Barracks has created six new accommodation blocks providing over 400 en-suite rooms in total, with an emphasis on the project being as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.
The project has also incorporated disabled bed spaces, remodelling three standard rooms into two rooms that comply with DDA regulations for comfortable but functional provision.
Richardson Roofing was selected as one of the contractors for this project and, having worked with Cembrit before, selected its Westerland slate for the job.
Heinie Basson, project manager at Richardson Roofing, commented: “This was an important project for us. The Woolwich Barracks is a local landmark and we wanted to ensure that our customer, and the local community, was happy with the end result.
“Cembrit’s Westerland slates are an attractive roofing product and one which we were confident would provide a traditional look in keeping with the surrounding environment. These slates are also extremely cost effective, another reason why they were the ideal choice for this project.”
Cembrit’s Westerland slate has a surface texture and dressed edge similar to that of natural slate but does not need grading and sorting prior to installation and no power tools are needed to re-size the slates, making them an economic alternative to natural roofing materials.
The slates are finished with a semi-matt acrylic coloured coating to the top face and edges and a tinted high performance binder to the back face.
Westerland slates are manufactured in accordance with a quality assurance system to BS EN ISO 9001 standard and to the requirements of BS EN 492: 2004 product specification for fibre cement slates and their fittings.
Westerland slate has been awarded the BBA Certificate No. 03/4041.
