Nine Acre Court, a prominent Salford tower block, has undergone a major £3m thermal and aesthetical transformation using EWI solutions from Wetherby.
Built in 1972, Nine Acre Court is a 50 meter tall, 18-storey building that dominates the local skyline, but was in a state of disrepair. According to the Indices of Deprivation 2010, this particular area of Salford sits within the top 3% of deprived areas. Once CESP funding became available to the lowest 10% of deprived areas, it was possible for the tower block to undergo a significant transformation.
Social Housing provider Salix Homes, which manages the property, was looking for an exterior design which would add colour and character to make the tower block stand out and improve the look and feel of the surrounding area. After considering several options including rain-screen cladding and curtain walling, the Epsiwall system from Wetherby was selected as a more cost-effective and energy efficient solution.
The Wetherby Epsiwall system comprised 60mm Kingspan K5 EWB insulation, which was encapsulated with an alkali resistant mesh to offer increased tensile performance. The system was finished using Staffordshire blue brick slips for the ground floor and then a mix of white, red and grey WBS silicone render was installed to the upper elevations to achieve a bright, panelled facade.
With the exterior almost unrecognisable, the energy efficiency of the property was also greatly improved. Following the EWI installation works the U-Value was reduced from 1.38 Wm2K to 0.27 Wm2K, exceeding building regulations. In addition, the tenants in the 139 individual dwellings have seen a significant reduction in their heating bills after the energy efficiency of their home was improved by 43%
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