Project Description
Facade upgrade for 100 homes at Meadows Estate, a social housing community in Hounslow,
The task: Properties in the Meadows Estate social housing community in London were in need of an upgrade to improve insulation, aesthetics, carbon performance, and living conditions. With funding secured from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to undertake the necessary modernisation work, Places for People and contractor United Living Group needed an expert and dependable facade company to form part of the project team.
The solution: Eden Facades was chosen to upgrade the facades of 100 homes in the estate. Focusing on improvements in insulation, waterproofing, and aesthetics, we employed a high-performance thermal insulation system, specifically the PermaRock Mineral Fibre External Wall Insulation (EWI), with a thickness of 230 millimetres.
The team meticulously prepared the existing facades by levelling the flutes before overlaying the EWI system, ensuring a seamless and aesthetically pleasing finish. Regular site inspections by PermaRock ensured proper installation of materials, maximising their effectiveness and longevity.
Challenges overcome: The project encountered various challenges, and our team demonstrated resilience and dedication in overcoming each hurdle. One significant challenge arose when another specialist facade contractor went into administration mid-project. In response, we promptly assumed responsibility for their section of the project – upgrading the facades of an additional 35 properties – ensuring continuity and maintaining high-quality standards across the estate.
Another challenge was working while residents were still residing in the properties. This required our operatives to behave respectfully towards residents throughout the project. Our team excelled in this regard, maintaining cleanliness throughout each stage of the works, and adopting a polite and discreet manner with residents.
The access we have to such a skilled and dedicated workforce made it possible for us to adhere to the client’s ambitious timeline, with us deploying up to 30 operatives on-site at any one time. We also addressed delays from collaborators swiftly, minimising disruptions and ensuring the project remained on track.
Finally, mitigating the impact of adverse weather conditions – part of the project took place over the winter months – required expert planning and resource management from our site manager to ensure uninterrupted project progression.
Collaboration and impact: Our contribution formed a part of a broader effort to upgrade the properties on the estate, which also included upgrades to windows and doors.
Residents provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, noting significant reductions in energy bills and improvements in noise and vibration pollution due to the estate’s proximity to Heathrow Airport.
“Eden Facades is a great contractor to work with,” says Leanne Edmond, Decarbonisation Project Manager at United Living Group. “The team’s compliance and quality is second to none. They really pulled it out of the bag to deliver for us. They’ve done a lot of work with our health and safety team too.”
Steve Mountford, Site Manager at Eden Facades, comments: “This was a fantastic project to work on; it has been so rewarding to see how the improvements we have made are benefitting the community so profoundly. As a team, we encountered each challenge with poise and determination, and I am proud of myself and my workers for achieving such an outstanding outcome, that delivers tangible benefits for both the environment and for residents. We hope to be involved in future stages of the upgrade programme at the Meadows Estate so we continue to provide an exceptional standard of work for the community.”
If you need an experienced and professional cladding specialist, please get in touch by calling 01268 744199 or emailing office@edenfacades.co.uk. You can also use our contact page.