Building Envelope Case Study: Chivas Brothers Maturation Facilities, Mulben and Keith, Banffshire

An ambitious refurbishment project, featuring approximately 190,000m2 of Panels and Profiles solutions. Bonded warehouses on the two sites now benefit from enhanced levels of protection.

The Chivas Brothers maturation facilties in Mulben and Keith service about a dozen nearby malt distilleries. Each unit is a bonded warehouse, secured to Customs and Excise requirements. Malt whisky casks remain on the sites for a minimum of three years, but more typically 8, 12 or 15 years.

Three types of wooden barrels are stored in the units: -

• Butt – holds approximately 500 litres.
• Hogshead – approx. 250 litres.
• Barrel – approx. 190 litres.

About 2% of stored whisky is lost per year, due to natural evaporation. This is rather affectionately termed “The Angel’s Share”. Although the exact amount varies annually depending on atmospheric conditions, 2% is typical, meaning that approximately 20% is lost naturally, over a decade.

Malt whisky storage is a cyclical process. Casks are taken out of the warehouse at the appropriate maturation date and sent for bottling. They are then refilled and returned to the Mulben and Keith sites, and the whole maturation cycle begins again.

The 190,000m2 refurbishment of bonded warehouse building envelopes at the Mulben and Keith sites has been a major undertaking, by any measure.

Bill Lamb, Chivas Brothers’ Senior Bulk Operations Manager (North), outlined the motivations for the project.

“The refurbishment project is primarily intended to modernise a number of our warehouse facilities to continue to provide safe storage for our whiskies over the coming decades.”

“Although we do lose a quantity of whisky due to natural evaporation of ethanol, which is a very gradual process, this does not lead to a corrosive environment. We store our casks in both steel racked and palletised warehouses , which require to be well ventilated and dry to avoid corrosion of the mild steel hoops.

“A major factor in our plans, however, was that the selected Tata Steel roofing and cladding systems would give us a long building life between 30 and 50 years.”

Each of the Mulben site’s 36 2,000m2 existing warehouses were re-clad in R32 profile on the roofs and C32 profile on the walls. Both products feature 0.7mm double sided Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® with a Merlin Grey external finish and Hamlet for the internals.

The two refurbished warehouses at Keith both feature approximately 20,000m2 of the Trisomet® 333 System insulated panel system, again in Merlin Grey/Hamlet double-sided Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®. Featuring a straightforward side-lapping detail, the Trisomet® 333 System affords faster installation and a broad pan trapezoidal pre-finished steel external profile.

The system provides optimised water drainage, strength and durability. Its autohesively-bonded polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation uses the latest foam technology, providing exceptional thermal performance from a relatively shallow foam core, enhanced environmental benefits, together with fire performance approved by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB). Backed by a Confidex® guarantee and available in 40 standard colours, Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® combines outstanding performance with unrivalled reliability and impressive sustainability credentials.

Made in the UK to ISO 14001, for a lower carbon footprint, Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® is the most durable pre-finished steel on the market. It incorporates advanced coating technology, providing superior corrosion resistance, especially in challenging environments, with twice the colour and gloss retention of standard plastisol products.

Building Envelope Case Study: Hawarden Business Park, Flintshire

Two commercial units at the Hawarden Business Park in Flintshire are a veritable showcase of building envelope products from Panels and Profiles.

Buildings 2 and 3 both feature a mixture of Trisobuild System built-up construction, using four different profile types, and Trimapanel® System, the architectural wall panel system.

Situated six miles west of Chester city centre and within two miles of the A55, Hawarden Business Park is being developed through a partnership between Welsh Assembly Government and UK Land & Property and Pochins.

It is one of the Welsh Assembly Government’s most important strategic employment sites in North Wales. Located on the edge of Hawarden Airport and close to the Airbus UK factory at Broughton, the business park extends to 40.5 acres, with planning consent for considerable further expansion.

This masterplanned development can accommodate individual buildings up to 23,225m2 on fully serviced plots set within a landscaped environment and linked by all-new site infrastructure.

The Park’s buildings enjoy a BREEAM Very Good environmental assessment rating and are all equipped with a cutting-edge fibre-optic network. Another key element is the pristine appearance of the external envelopes of each unit, reflecting the high-tech nature of the surrounding area.

Lester Fabrications & Cladding were tasked with constructing the building envelopes for Plots 2 and 3, which needed to precisely match the aesthetics of existing surrounding units.

Lester Fabrications & Cladding responded to the challenge by selecting a wide range of Panels and Profiles products, deploying a combination of the Trisobuild System built-up system and the Trimapanel® System insulated panel system.

On the roofs, an insulated Trisobuild System built-up solution featured 3700m2 of R32 external weathering profile in Colorcoat Verso® 0.7mm in Goosewing Grey and 3700m2 of RL32 internal liner profile, in a white polyester finish, in tough 0.7mm gauge to safely accommodate roof traffic during the installation phase.

Colorcoat Verso® offers a superior alternative to leathergrain plastisol finishes. It uses a unique coating formulation and is supported by a guarantee for up to 30 years, providing improved performance at a competitive price. It is manufactured with a unique and subtle “C” emboss, providing instant visual reassurance that the product has been manufactured in the UK by Panels and Profiles.

The walls feature 2,300m2 of C32 profile in Colorcoat Prisma® 0.7mm in Oyster, plus 550m2 of 13.5/3 profile in Colorcoat Prisma® 0.7mm in Metallic Silver, for an attractive colour and profile contrast.

Further visual interest is added by the incorporation of 1000m2 of 70mm thick Trimapanel® System insulated architectural wall panel system in Colorcoat Prisma® in Alaska Grey.

The Trimapanel® System specification at Hawarden Business Park included mitred corner panels for exceptionally crisp corner detailing.

Trimapanel® System achieves the very highest levels of flatness, thermal and environmental performance, airtightness and structural capabilities.

Entirely manufactured in the UK utilising Colorcoat® materials for a minimised carbon footprint, Trimapanel® System provides the ultimate package of durability, fire performance, superior aesthetics, design
flexibility and outstanding environmental credentials.

Carrying full LPCB and FM fire performance approval, the system’s secret-fix joint design facilitates a quick, easy to install option for both horizontal and vertical cladding, with weather tightness far surpassing the requirements of BS EN 12865.

Trimapanel® System comprises a pre-finished steel liner profile, a Zero-ODP polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation core and a micro-rib Colorcoat® pre-finished steel external weathering profile.

Colorcoat Prisma® was used exclusively on the walls of Buildings 2 and 3. Versatile, lightweight and strong, it is an ideal choice for contemporary, long lasting colour.

Offering outstanding UV resistance, Colorcoat Prisma® gives first-class colour and gloss retention, following comprehensive natural weathering testing in a variety of contrasting climates.

The complete colour range of Colorcoat Prisma® has been classed as Ruv4 in accordance with EN 10169:2010, the highest classification available, providing reassurance that buildings will retain their true colour for longer.

Building Envelope Case Study: London Victoria Station

The Grade II-listed original roofs over the Eastern “Kent” side of London Victoria Station had protected travellers for 150 years, but required extensive renovation.

Network Rail commissioned an up to the minute solution, complementary to the original design, featuring 10,000m2 of Panels and Profiles’ products.

London Victoria Station is one of the busiest railway terminals in the UK. Victoria is the start or end for over 70 million journeys a year.

There are effectively four railway stations on the site: two serving main line routes in south eastern England, one underground station serving the District and Circle Lines, and one deep-level tube line station.

The station has dedicated platforms for passengers travelling to Gatwick Airport on Gatwick Express Services. The area around the station has also become an important interchange for other forms of transport: a local bus station is in the forecourt, and a terminal for nationwide long-distance road coaches at Victoria Coach Station is nearby.

A Grade II listed building, the mainline station serves a range of longer-distance destinations in Kent and Sussex, including Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Eastbourne, Canterbury and Dover.

The station has a segmental tied arch roof with light iron tie rods arranged polygonally between radian iron struts. It comprises two spans, the first of which is 38m by 138m, the other is 39m by 117m.

After 150 years of protecting the travelling public from the elements, the original pitched roofs on the concourse and two main barrel-vaulted roofs over the Eastern “Kent” side of the station had reached the end of their working lives.

Network Rail obtained Listed Building Consent for the roof refurbishment through the City of Westminster and English Heritage.

The £35 million roof refurbishment at London Victoria presented special challenges, as Alan Clarkson, Project Manager for main contractor May Gurney, explained.

“This was a complete structural refurbishment, not just cosmetic. We were working to original 1860′s drawings, which were all found to be incorrect as the work progressed.

“The biggest challenge was in enabling the station to continue normal operation during the refurbishment, isolating it from the roof works.

“To facilitate this, a temporary roof was constructed under the existing structure to prevent debris from falling onto the station concourse. It also helped that the project was undertaken in 1200m2 phases.

“Panels and Profiles products were part of the formal project proposals from a very early stage.”

Installation contractor Everlast Waterproofing Limited fitted R46 profile to the two approximately 40-metre span, over 100 metre long main barrel-vaulted roofs, to a 26 metre radius curve, incorporating stippolyte obscure glazing, to match the original patent glazing system.

The replacement roof featured R46 profile in double-sided Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®, with a Goosewing Grey finish on the external face and a Straw finish on the internal face. The R46 profile was selected by Network Rail due to its ability to span approximately 2.8m from purlin to purlin.

On the concourse, the existing felt roofing laid on timber purlins was replaced by steel purlins and C19 profile in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® in Goosewing Grey, laid over purlins at nominal one metre centres, with an internal PM13 profile in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® in Straw, providing a like-for-like tongue and grooved boarding effect when viewed from the underside.

The existing translucent corrugated sheeting was replaced with stippolyte glazing mounted within a patent glazing bar system.

The internal colour choice of Straw was arrived at following extensive research into the concourse colour scheme, to ensure that replacement colours accurately interpreted the original Victorian paints.

Colour matches were also achieved on decorative spandrels, gutter mouldings, the maintenance access system, columns and low-level canopies.

Backed by a Confidex® Guarantee and available in 40 standard colours, Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel combines outstanding performance with unrivalled reliability and impressive sustainability credentials.

Made in the UK to ISO 14001, for a lower carbon footprint, Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® is the most durable pre-finished steel on the market. It incorporates advanced coating technology, providing superior corrosion resistance, especially in challenging environments like the station, with twice the colour and gloss retention of standard plastisol products.

“The roofing profiles were fixed to wrought iron tied arch trusses,” continued Alan Clarkson.

“We had to grit blast up to 30 layers of old paint off the trusses, as well as undertaking considerable fatigue testing.

“The roof and wall profiles from Panels and Profiles performed exactly as we hoped they would. Their fast installation properties enabled us to keep on track with the project. It was a trouble-free installation that was the least of my problems.

“The project has been successfully completed without any effect on train services.”

Building Envelope Case Study: Carlson Filtration, Butts Mill, Barnoldswick, Lancashire

Carlson Filtration Ltd was established in 1923 and has been based at Butts Mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire since 1950. The company has developed a strong market position in filtration equipment and filtration media in various forms, from depth filter sheets to high performance cartridges.

From the whisky, wine and brewing industries through to the clarification of fruit juices and filtration in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, Carlson Filtration develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of products to suit all applications.

Originally built in the 1800’s, but extensively altered since then, the company’s home was a former textile mill and, as Managing Director Brian Gabbett explained, it was not without its share of problems.

“It was a typical old fashioned factory with a northlight roof and all the associated access and logistical disadvantages. The northlight roof was supported by cast iron columns. We had a very low roof height, limiting our storage capacity. The rooflights also suffered from UV degradation and had been replaced many times.

“The thermal efficiency left a lot to be desired too. At times it felt like we were heating half of Barnoldswick in the winter. The roof leaked and we had to issue umbrellas when people visited us in wet weather, which was embarrassing of course.

“Then about four years ago, we were approached by a developer with a view to purchasing the site and building a supermarket. This was a complicated exercise. Planners ultimately turned down the proposals, but we had carried out a range of feasibility studies that raised questions about our future direction.

“We are part of a small international group and looked at a number of strategic issues. The outcome of our deliberations was that it was clear that the output and activity of the UK operation was vital for our group’s future.

“We therefore recognised that we needed to find a permanent solution to the problems we had experienced with the existing building. In the past we had patched the roof up, with only limited success. So we asked consulting engineers to look at a long term answer.

“We could have undertaken further extensive repairs, but gradually began to consider an entirely new building.

“One of our key objectives was to remain in production, as we couldn’t afford to be out of commission for an extended period.

“We then examined a radical answer that would enable us to remain on the existing Barnoldswick site – building a new factory facility over the old one, enabling us to maintain production as work continued.

“We started building work in May 2010. Indeed production was only ever halted for a few hours as the foundations and steelwork was started.”

Once the steelwork was in place, a crash deck and safety netting was installed to maintain a safe working environment during roof construction. Following this, 100mm deep Trisomet® 333 System roof panels in Colorcoat® LG in Mushroom and 80mm deep Trisomet® 333 System wall panels in Colorcoat® LG in Merlin Grey were installed by Norwest Industrial Roofing Limited of Lowton, Warrington, Cheshire. The installation took place prior to Carlson Filtration’s traditional summer fortnight shutdown, which was extended by a further week to enable demolition of the old mill to be completed and services to be installed.

Colorcoat® LG pre-finished steel is an ideal solution where good performance is required at a competitive price. It has a leathergrain plastisol finish with an abrasion resistant top-coat and good corrosion resistance. It is available with a performance guarantee for up to 25 years.

Week three of the shutdown saw HVAC, electrical and safety equipment installation. Cladding rails were simultaneously assembled to make way for the 80mm deep Trisomet® 333 System wall panels.

Featuring a straightforward side lapping detail, the Trisomet® 333 System affords faster installation and a wider-spaced trapezoidal steel external skin, providing optimised water drainage, strength and walkability. Its autohesively bonded polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation uses the latest foam technology, providing exceptional thermal performance from a relatively shallow foam core, enhanced environmental benefits, together with fire performance approved by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB).

The Trisomet® 333 System is ideally suited to fast track projects such as Carlson Filtration. It is manufactured under factory-controlled conditions, facilitating an “all-in-one” modular panel that enables the speed of construction to be increased, allowing the project to be completed within the required timescales, bringing overall savings in terms of cost and time.

Norwest Industrial Roofing Project Co-ordinator Wayne Briddon was full of praise for the speed and efficiency of the Trisomet® 333 System installation: “The fact that we were installing the system during a factory shutdown made a fast, problem-free build programme essential. Trisomet® 333 was therefore a perfect choice for this project, providing us with a far better solution than a more traditional built-up system, especially in terms of its rapid and extremely straightforward fixing properties.

“It was competitively priced and we liked working with it, encountering no problems at all. The completed building looks really good.”

Reflecting on the project, Brian Gabbett commented: “One key benefit we now have is the superior building height that has been afforded by having to construct the new structural steel frame over the old building. We now have a building height that ranges from 6.2 metres at the lowest eaves to 8 metres at the ridge. This has significantly increased our warehousing capacity.”

Panels and Profiles launches enhanced Trimapanel® System

Trimapanel® System, the insulated micro-rib architectural wall panel system has just been extensively re-engineered to achieve the very highest levels of flatness, thermal and environmental performance, airtightness and structural capabilities.

Entirely manufactured in the UK utlilising Colorcoat® materials sourced from Colors, Shotton for a minimised carbon footprint, Trimapanel® System now provides the ultimate package of durability, fire performance, superior aesthetics, design flexibility and outstanding environmental credentials.

Carrying full LPCB and FM fire performance approval, the system’s secret-fix joint design facilitates a quick, easy to install option for both horizontal and vertical cladding, with weather tightness far surpassing the requirements of BS EN 12865.

Trimapanel® System comprises of a pre-finished steel liner profile, a Zero-ODP polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation core and a micro-rib Colorcoat® pre-finished steel external weathering profile. It can be specified in a wide range of colours, in Colorcoat HPS 200 Ultra® and Colorcoat Prisma® pre-finished steel as standard.

The system is available with the unique Platinum System Warranty, combined with Confidex® and Confidex Sustain® guarantees for a CarbonNeutral solution, providing unrivalled peace of mind for up to 40 years.

Trimapanel® System is manufactured using responsible sourcing and traceability of all component materials. All steel elements are produced within the UK through our production, strip processing, galvanising, coating and profiling facilities. The system’s carbon footprint is further minimised by the manufacturing process being situated adjacent to the Colorcoat® and galvanising lines.

Available in three cover widths, Trimapanel® System is an ideal partner for the Trisomet® 333 System insulated panel, providing a comprehensive single-source roof and wall cladding solution, all covered by the unique Platinum warranty.

The system also includes a wide range of flashings, ancillaries, an integrated window system, and fabricated corner and curved panel options. Primary fasteners for securing the Trimapanel® System to structural steel have been purpose-designed to provide high speed fixing and structural security with reduced risk of over compression, along with minimal thermal bridging.

All Trimapanel® System steel elements are 100% recyclable. The insulation and steel can be separated using existing shredder plants after which the materials can be recovered or recycled.

In common with all our building envelope solutions, Trimapanel® System offers a full technical support service, including extensive design assistance, both online and in the field.

Detailed information is now available at the Trimapanel® System micro-site at
www.trimapanel-system.com

Building Envelope Case Study: West Huskisson Docks

Situated near the mouth of the celebrated and evocative River Mersey, Liverpool’s historic Huskisson Dock dates back to 1852. Originally dealing with timber, it gradually developed as a grain trading centre and also provided berthing facilities for passenger ships on North American routes.

After being destroyed During World War Two, Huskisson Dock underwent extensive rebuilding after the war. In 1960 a quarter of a mile long grain store was constructed, running along almost the entire length of the dock.

However, over the years, the building had fallen into a state of disrepair.  Owners Peel Ports decided to give it a new lease of life with complete refurbishment of the external building envelope.

Refurbishment specialists Lester Fabrication and Cladding were appointed to carry out the work, who recommended metal roof and wall cladding profiles by Panels and Profiles, in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®.

Made in the UK to ISO 14001, for a lower carbon foot print, Colorcoat HPS200Ultra® is the most durable pre-finished steel on the market. It incorporates advanced coating technology, providing superior corrosion resistance, especially in challenging environments, with twice the colour and gloss retention of standard
plastisol products.

Project managers at Peel Ports agreed with the assessment and recommendations of Steve Lester and his colleagues and ordered a total of 24,000m2 of  metal cladding profile in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®, consisting of the 0.9mm thick  R32 profile on the roof and the 0.7mm thick C32 profile on the
walls.

Colour choice was Merlin Grey for roof and walls. A contrasting Black finish was chosen for associated trims and flashings and above service doors. Steve Lester and his team began to prepare the building for its new envelope by removing the existing profiled aluminium roof sheeting and cleaning the old purlins before they could accommodate the R32 profile.

“We then broke down the concrete between support columns on the lower half of the walls. This enabled us to incorporate rooflights to improve internal daylighting levels.”

“We fixed miles and miles of new cladding rails to the structure to accept the new walls in the C32 profile.”
Reflecting on the completed project, Steve Lester observed: “The roof and wall profiles look superb. The building is unrecognisable compared to what it looked like before refurbishment.”

Corus Advocates The Right Choice, Not The Light Choice!

Designers and contractors need to be aware of the high risks and potentially catastrophic consequences of using lighter gauge steel liner profiles in site-assembled building envelope systems.

The drive to cut costs is increasingly leading to the selection of liner profiles made from inferior materials that do not meet non-fragility standards and could even lead to a loss of life, if used as a working platform during construction.

To encourage correct specification and procurement practice and promote site safety, Corus Panels and Profiles has just published an article entitled “Make the right choice, not the light choice”.

Click here to download a PDF of the article.

Click here to download the Colorcoat® Technical Paper on steel gauges and the building envelope.