Weber Render Gives School "Glamour" Appeal

Published by Jackie Biggin for Weber in Education

The new RokebySchool, in the London Borough of Newham, has two prime objectives: to deliver exemplary teaching while achieving high thermal performance with wow! factor aesthetics.  A simply magnificent new school facility has been built for a learning generation that deserves the best. The buildings are attractive, super-efficient, warm and well organised illustrating how schools should be built.

Aesthetically and technically, RokebySchoolis benefiting from the Saint-Gobain Weber External Wall Insulation (EWI) system which sheaths the building in high performance insulation, keeping in the warmth in winter and shielding the structure from glaring UV rays in summer. Outside this thermal shield, the Weber External Wall Insulation system provides an attractive acrylic, textured finish. The hand applied finish provides a pleasing protective cover and final weatherproof outer skin that protects the barrier from pollution, water and dirt.

The Weber EWI system at this East London school was applied by MPG Facades Limited, a specialist subcontractor. Over 2000m² of the weber.therm XM EWI system has been installed at Rokeby School. The 80mm of phenolic insulation is applied to the x-board fixed to the steel support structure. The insulation is fixed using weber.rend LAC lightweight adhesive mortar and screw fixings. Further skims of weber.rend LAC bonds the meshcloth substrate to the insulation forming a sound base structure for the final render. Edge trims are also bonded in at this time to protect corners and window apertures before a primer coat is rolled onto the basecoat. A final 6mm-8mm of the acrylic textured finish weber.plast TF is applied to the walls to give an attractive and weatherproof finish. Two tones of colour – from a palette of 230 – were used to create an appealing colour scheme that will allow youngsters to register with their surroundings without being distracted by too dramatic a colour scheme.

“This was a great project to work on,” says David Guyette of MPG Facades. “It has to be the neatest, safest site in Londonand everyone on the team is pleased to have worked on the project. I felt there was a great bond on site with the sole aim of delivering a great school for the future. The Weber EWI system is really easy to work with. It comes to site ready to work. We board out the insulation; skim on the basecoat, finish the window apertures so that the building can be glazed and then we apply the Weber acrylic textured finish which looks great even as it is applied. Weber is setting the standards for our schools.”

weber.therm XM EWI is available in all insulation types with acrylic, dry dash aggregate, brick-effect or mineral finish.  It has full BBA certification with excellent fire, windloading and impact resistant properties and is also EST Recommended.  The system is quick and economical to install, with application of the finish coat by hand or pump machine, saving on-site labour and scaffold costs to achieve a maintenance-free finish.

Further information about the Saint-Gobain Weber External Wall Insulation systems and render solutions is available on tel: 08703 330070 or visit www.netweber.co.uk.