Press Release, 01 March 2006
A major development incorporating the renovation, extension and complete re-roofing of the primary school in Ballyholme near Bangor in Co. Down is being built using the energy-efficient Tyvek® Supro roof membrane from DuPont.
Situated on a quiet street, just minutes away from the picturesque Ballyholme Beach, the development is the first major face-lift the primary school received since it was first constructed in the 1950s.
The project is taking place on a very challenging site over five phases between July 2004 and January 2008, and all of this while the school is open for business.
For many years the thriving 600-pupil mixed school had been bursting at the seams and overly dependent on a range of prefabricated buildings that were used as classrooms. The aim of the project is to create a new school that is a complementary blend of the original school buildings and a modern extension.
One of the key features of the project is a dynamic glass link that connects the existing school to a new assembly hall that will be a major asset to the school and to the local community.
Another is the dramatic new 1800 m² roof, which was designed by Tim Neeson, a senior architect with the South Eastern Education Library Board. He says that energy efficiency was one of the key factors in deciding to specify Tyvek® Supro. "The design of the new roof is very focused on achieving the maximum in energy savings. We specified Tyvek® Supro because it means the entire school now has a breathable warm roof, which offers major benefits in terms of reduced heating costs."
"In flagship projects such as this school, not only must we meet all current Building regulations, including new energy efficiency guidelines, but set an examples in terms of quality," he adds.
Neeson also believes that by specifying the roof membrane from DuPont the building is much more attractive as a result. "We have used Tyvek® before on other school projects because it can effectively disperse water vapour before it forms into harmful interstitial condensation. It also eliminates the need for unsightly eaves, batten or ridge ventilation, so the roof is more attractive as a result."
The primary school development has been built to the highest specifications by the main contractor O'Hanlon Brothers Construction Ltd. Based in Coalisland in County Tryone they have a 35-year track record in the business. Building the school they used a steel frame with brick and block construction, and they incorporated Tyvek® Supro within the non-ventilated roof systems and on the vertical faces of the walls.
"We use Tyvek® because it is lightweight, clean and pleasant to handle, making a roofer's job easier, and is simply draped over the eaves in the traditional manner," says Colm McVeigh, a Quantity Surveyor with O'Hanlon Brothers Construction.
The new trussed roofs features lead flashing, valleys, ridges and dormers, but no conventional ventilation or plastic accessories. These are rendered obsolete by the energy-efficient non-ventilated roof system pioneered by DuPont™ Tyvek®, which has revolutionised the roofing sector.
The DuPont™ Tyvek® non-ventilated roof system has been fully approved by the British Board of Agrément (BBA Certificate No. 04/4101) and Irish Agrément Board (IAB Certificate No. 04/0157) for use under tiles or slates on open rafter or fully supported pitched roofs. Its main advantage, besides avoiding interstitial condensation, is that it dramatically reduces the energy consumption of the house, saving a significant amount of money for the house owner and reducing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions from the building by several tons, helping to achieve the targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol. This benefits not just end users, but the planet as a whole.
Tyvek® comes with a 30-year guarantee and is distributed throughout Ireland by Insulation Distributors Ltd. For further information, call Dublin 01 623 4541 or Omagh 028 8224 6220 or visit www.tyvekhome.com
For further information please contact:
Peggy Beicht - Media Relations
DuPont Building Innovations
L-2984 Luxembourg
Tel: (352) 3666 5945
Fax: (352) 3666 5021
Email: peggy.beicht@lux.dupont.com
