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Cembrit Slates Turn Heads in Dursley

Easy to install Cembrit Moorland Blue/Black slates have been used on phase two of St Modwen’s new build housing development in Dursley, Gloucestershire. Chosen for their attractive appearance, and following a successful phase one, the Moorlands were once again supplied by Willis Westcott and installed by Mcdonnell-Price, a local roofing contractor.

The properties at Littlecombe have been built using a blend of modern and traditional materials which gives the development a timeless appeal. The Moorland Blue/Black slates provide a contrast with the light coloured fascia materials and surrounding greenery. This clean appearance is enhanced by the first class installation work carried out by McDonnell-Price across the development, which features roofs with Velux windows and many vents and valleys, alongside several pitch variants of between 30 and 45 degrees. Brandon McDonnell, of McDonnell-Price is very satisfied with the end result:

“I’m pleased with the way the project came together – everything just seemed to click into place. We like Cembrit’s Moorland slates and with a project like this, one that involves a lot of detail, it was good to have a slate that is lightweight, as well as easy to cut and fix. I also like the way dark Blue/Black colour stands out and nicely defines the roof lines against the surroundings.”

Moorland 600×300 slates were supplied by Willis Westcott, a large roofing supplies merchant in the region, as well as ‘doubles’ for the verges. The slates are fixed with two copper nails at the top of each slate with a copper rivet supporting the bottom of each slate. Moorland slates have an appearance close to that of natural slate. Their smooth surface and authentic dressed edges lend themselves to all manner of prestigious applications. They are manufactured to the highest European standards and are lightweight, pre-holed, suitable for all types of projects, easy to handle and install, durable and an economic alternative to natural roofing materials.

Moorland slates are manufactured using Portland cement together with a non-asbestos formulation of superior blended synthetic and cellulose fibres. Moorland slates are pigmented during production and are fully compressed. They are finished with a high quality, semi-matt acrylic coloured coating to the top face and edges and a tinted, high performance binder to the back face.

For further information visit www.cembrit.co.uk, email sales@cembrit.co.uk or tel: +44 0208 320 1184.

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Glendyne complements prestigious new property

Cembrit Glendyne, a top of the range natural roofing slate from Canada, has added distinctive style, character and impressive performance to a newly built private house in Flintshire.

Situated in a well-established area of Northop Hall village in Flintshire, the newly built property is constructed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding countryside. The property is a four bedroom detached house which features an attractive pitched roof with five pediments, five velux windows, two valleys and some lower roof slopes.

Jewson, a leading builders’ merchant supplied 240m2 of Cembrit Glendyne to the project through its branch in Buckley. Having worked with Cembrit before, Flintshire-based roofing contractor, Daniel Crossley selected 508×254 blue-grey Cembrit Glendyne natural slates for the project and installed approximately 4,000 slates on the roof of the house and 500 on the garage roof. The slates have been fixed using copper nails in line with best practice for natural slate fixing and long-term durability of the roof.

“With all the gables and pitches, the roof was certainly a challenge from an installation point of view,” says Daniel Crossley. “We chose Glendyne for the project due to its consistency, as that makes it easier to install, as well as the aesthetic appearance and durability. The end result is impressive and Glendyne really brings out the character of the property.”

Glendyne is a high quality slate that combines first-class performance with all the inherent beauty of natural slate, making it the ideal ‘natural’ choice for specifiers and roofers. Available exclusively from Cembrit in the UK, Glendyne is a distinctive blue-grey colour. The Glendyne quarry is one of the most modern slate quarries in the world. The quarry operates a quality management system based on EN ISO 9001 which is externally audited. This standard is adhered to rigidly, as are all quality standard procedures required by each regional market the quarry supplies. Glendyne, like all natural slate from Cembrit, is tested to BS EN European standard, BS EN 12326-1:2014 which requires many of the laboratory tests (‘type testing’) to be performed at least annually and the factory production control (FPC) performed and recorded as a matter of routine by the producer.

For further information visit www.cembrit.co.uk, email sales@cembrit.co.uk or tel: +44 (0) 208 320 1184.
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Cembrit’s Brazilian scores on cricket ground

Two cricket teams in Nottingham now have a new home, thanks to Cembrit and its Alpina natural slates, as the aesthetically pleasing material has completed the look on a newly built cricket clubhouse.

Called the Field of Dreams, the new cricket clubhouse is based at the Meadows Recreation Ground in Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment. The project, which received a £150,000 Sport England grant, was the vision of the Trent Bridge Community Trust. With the original pavilion being old and dilapidated, the new clubhouse was built to provide four changing rooms, a kitchen, disability access, rooms for officials, and external viewing area.

Nottingham-based architect, Maber worked with construction giant, Willmott Dixon, while J Wright Roofing, was sub-contracted to provide an economical roofing system. Familiar with the benefits of Cembrit’s roofing products, J Wright Roofing specified and installed approximately 8,500 Alpina grey/green natural slates. Supplied quickly and efficiently via leading distributor of high-quality natural slates, East Midlands Roofing Supplies, the roof was installed within a month.

“This was an exciting project to be involved in, as it attracted the support of many local businesses and benefited from fundraising efforts” explains Jason Wright, Managing Director of J Wright Roofing Ltd. “The aim of the project was to ensure that cricket continues to be played at this site for the next 100 years. Thanks to the durable and high performance features of Cembrit Alpina slates, the roof will last the lifetime of the clubhouse.”

Alpina is a Brazilian natural slate, selected from the finest deposits and produced at some of the best facilities in Papagaios, Brazil. It is available in two colours, graphite and grey/green and in a variety of sizes. With its flat surface and pleasing shade variations, Alpina slate can be relied upon to create an attractive, high-performance roof.

Alpina slate is a tough natural material which has been tested to ensure it meets the current national standard, BS EN 12326-1:2004. Alpina slate has virtually no unstable minerals such as pyrites, graphite, carbon and un-oxidised irons and will withstand the most severe weather conditions: they are unaffected by sunlight, ultraviolet light and even acid rain. Laid correctly Alpina slate will last the lifetime of a building and are ideal for use on any type of project.

For further information visit www.cembrit.co.uk, email sales@cembrit.co.uk, or for a copy of the technical data sheets, tel: +44 (0)20 8301 8900.
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Using Cembrit Alpina natural roof slates is a breeze on the Devon coast

Cembrit’s Alpina natural slates have been used to great effect in the redevelopment of an award-winning holiday park in North Devon. The aesthetically pleasing material harmonises seamlessly with the coastal surroundings.

Located on the coast of North Devon, Woolacombe Bay Holiday Village is a seaside resort which lies at the mouth of a valley in the parish of Mortehoe. Voted as Britain’s Best Holiday Park in 2015, the development is a popular destination for family holidays. A recent construction project saw £4m redevelopment and extension of the resort’s entertainment complex. This included a brand new roof with the Cembrit Alpina slates providing an impressive, stylish roof covering.

Woolacombe Bay Holiday Village welcomes thousands of visitors every year, many attracted by its close proximity to the Tarka Trail and Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park. The old entertainment complex was a listed, low rise (single storey) deep plan, flat roof, brick building constructed in the 1970s. Designed by Peregrine Mears Architects, the project presented an interesting design challenge – how to create a large building that is a suitable extension to a listed building. This called for a sensitive, imaginative design approach. In order to break up the mass of the building and at the same time, reflect something of the form of the original structure, a series of pitched roofs was created, with the form being influenced by the beach huts on nearby Woolacombe Beach.

Cembrit’s Alpina natural slates have been chosen due to their attractive appearance and long-lasting benefits. Barnstaple-based Roofing Contractor, DJT Roofing, specified and installed approximately 35,000 Grey/Green Cembrit Alpina natural slates on the multi-pitched roof. The company used the hook fixing method to secure the slates and lock them together tightly to achieve a neat finish.

“Being close to the coastline, resistance to wind lift was a major performance criterion for this substantial project,” comments Darren Todd, Owner, DJT Roofing. “Cembrit Alpina natural slates can withstand the most severe weather conditions and are unaffected by sunlight making them the perfect product for this type of coastal development. The design was also complicated and the Alpina slates were a joy to install, despite the challenges posed by the many pitches of the roof. The finished roof is also attractive and blends into the surroundings perfectly.”

Alpina is a Brazilian natural slate, selected from the finest deposits and produced at some of the best facilities in Papagaios, Brazil. It is available in two colours, graphite and grey green and in a variety of sizes. With its flat surface and pleasing shade variations, Alpina slate can be relied upon to create an attractive, high-performance roof.
Alpina slate is a tough natural material which has been tested to ensure it meets the current national standard, BS EN 12326-1:2004. Alpina slate has virtually no unstable minerals such as pyrites, graphite, carbon and un-oxidised irons and will withstand the most severe weather conditions: they are unaffected by sunlight, ultraviolet light and even acid rain. Laid correctly Alpina slate will last the lifetime of a building and are ideal for use on any type of project.

For further information on Cembrit, visit: www.cembrit.co.uk, email: sales@cembrit.co.uk or call +44 (0)20 8301 8900.
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Welsh Slate is trusted to help deliver a medieval facelift

Roofing, walling and flooring from Welsh Slate feature on the redeveloped cardigan castle.

A three-pronged helping hand from Welsh Slate has contributed towards giving a medieval castle a new lease of life.

The manufacturer’s roof slates, walling and floor tiles feature on multiple aspects of the £12.5 million redevelopment of Cardigan Castle which had been in danger of being lost to the nation forever.

Penrhyn Heather Blue slates from Welsh Slate’s quarry at Bethesda have been used to re-roof Castle Green House, Ty Castell and The Stables while 200m2 of dark blue grey cleaved walling from the company’s Cwt-y-Bugail quarry clads the interior and exterior walls of “1176” – a new 70-cover contemporary restaurant which cantilevers over the castle walls.

Here the coursed walling is complemented by Welsh Slate’s Cwt-y-Bugail Dark Blue Grey floor tiles which are echoed in a total of nine new bathrooms in the East Wing guest accommodation and Green Street Cottages visitor centre. The new Welsh Slate flooring was laid by main contractor Andrew Scott of Port Talbot.

The Welsh Slate materials were specified by Purcell architects who worked for 10 years to repair and regenerate the 13th Century site, albeit with a few modern money-making twists.
Project architect Izaak Hudson said: “Cardigan Castle is one of the most significant historic building projects recently completed in Wales and all of the project team were very keen to be able to use local materials where we could.

“We specified Welsh Slate to match the existing slate on site, with WEFO*1 funding targeted at Welsh materials and contractors, but also because it was historically appropriate and good quality.”

“Castle Green House, the main dwelling within the castle walls, has a large-format, wet-laid diminishing course roof. This was expertly re-laid by skilled roofers from Tree and Sons of Milford Haven. The wet laying took some time as due to the weight of the huge Penrhyn slates we had to wait for the lime mortar of lower courses to carbonate before laying more, but it was a key existing feature and Cadw were very keen to reinstate it.”

Home to the first recorded Eisteddfod in 1176 (hence the restaurant’s name), the castle was partly dismantled by Cromwell’s forces after the Civil War, then enjoyed a brief renaissance in the early 19th Century as a Romantic site for a new mansion.

By the end of the 20th Century the site was derelict and ruinous, its buildings collapsing and roofs open to the weather. Most noticeably, the castle curtain walls were propped up with great raking shores to prevent their collapse onto the town’s main road.

This was despite the castle’s designation as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the six buildings within its walls being listed Grade II or Grade II*. So under public pressure, Ceredigion County Council acquired the site from the elderly owner while a group of local people set up the Cadwgan Trust to help.

Purcell architects were commissioned in 2005 to carry out an options appraisal to identify future potential uses which were agreed as heritage interpretation, a restaurant, holiday accommodation, restored gardens and space for open air events.

Phase I of its redevelopment was the £1 million repair of the castle’s curtain walls; Phase II was the conservation and upgrading of the six buildings within the castle walls and restoration of the Regency gardens.

The conservation works covered all aspects of traditional building skills, ranging from structural carpentry repairs, to slate roofing, leadwork, masonry repairs, external joinery repairs and lime rendering.

Purcell carried out careful research, along with trials and testing of materials and finishes, to inform its conservation decisions and ensure the building would be an exemplar for innovative conservation practice.

The project brief required new accommodation to house the restaurant and catering facilities and the decision was taken to locate the new building above a section of the castle walls which had collapsed in the 1970s.

The position provides views across the Teifi quayside and the river below and inwards across the castle Regency gardens. Purcell’s design cantilevers out above the castle walls, its strong visual presence indicating to visitors there is something special inside.

The new restaurant is uncompromisingly contemporary with large glazed elevations taking advantage of the views and giving it a transparency which helps minimise its impact on the site. Where solid, the external and internal walls were constructed of coursed Welsh Slate laid by Coe Stone of Carmarthen, specialist stonemasons concentrating on the conservation and repair of historic buildings and monuments, echoing the Cilgerran slate garden walls that form the backdrop to the site.

“It was a very challenging and interesting project and we learned a lot about slate,” said Izaak.

*1The Welsh Government organisation distributing funds from the European Union for economic and social development.

For more information please visit www.welshslate.com.
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Cembrit Hits the Heights with its FC Ridges

Stocking and fitting the correct ridges for fibre cement roofs is simple with Cembrit’s comprehensive range. Available immediately, the ridges are lighter in weight and easy to cut and fix, qualities which make them superior to the commonly used mortar bedded, concrete or clay alternatives. An additional benefit for stockists is the lower weight per linear metre ratio, equaling smaller footprint, which makes Cembrit ridges easier to store and a more cost effective stock item then substitute products.

Cembrit fibre cement ridges are lighter in weight, do not require electric power for cutting and dust suppression and are easy to install. Being dry fixed with easily available “sela” type screws, installation is not dependent on getting the correct mortar mix, nor having to wait for dry weather. This means the roof will comply with the latest editions BS 5534, BS 8000-6 and chapter 7.2 of the NHBC recommendations.

Ged Ferris, Marketing Manager at Cembrit explains: “Accessories should not be an after-thought, they are an integral component of the roof, contributing to its functionality Increasing demands for energy efficiency, through improved levels of insulation, means ventilation at roof level becomes more crucial. Particularly with tight fitting roof coverings like fibre cement slates, it is necessary to remove moisture carrying warm air from voids in the roof space. The most efficient solution will incorporate inlets at the eaves with outlets along the length of the apex.”

Cembrit has developed a continuously ventilated ridge, to cope with typical roof pitches as well as helping the roof design comply with the latest version of BS 5250. For tricky ventilation problems, where there is no clear airpath from eaves to ridge, Cembrit has developed low-profile vents for use on the roof slope. These are unobtrusive and can also be used as terminals.

Cembrit’s emphasis on customer service extends to rapid availability. Accessories, together with slates are available at five locations around the UK. Customers can get advice on the design, installation and fixing of the fibre cement range either on the telephone from one of the depots, or in print from Cembrit’s recently launched 80 page Guide to Double Lap Slating with Fibre Cement Slates.

Manufactured from the same raw materials and pigments as their fibre cement slates, Cembrit ridges are the perfect complement to a Cembrit fibre cement roof. The products match the slate colour, with no unsightly protrusions or changes of angle, contributing to the sleek effect that can be achieved with Cembrit fibre cement slate roofs. Cembrit can also provide a range of unobtrusive In-line slate vents and slate and ridge fixings specifically designed to meet the most demanding aesthetic requirements.

For more information, and to download the fibre cement slate guide, visit www.cembrit.co.uk

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Cembrit to invest in natural slate

Cembrit is pleased to announce the creation of a dedicated natural slates division to offer the UK’s specifiers and slaters greater choice of top end material for prestigious roofing contracts. The philosophy will be to enhance the existing range with additional high quality slates. The new brands will offer reliable, long term availability. This will be supported by dedicated personnel and focused marketing. As a start of the investment and long term commitment to Natural Slate, the group has decided to dedicate a specific person to this product group, Sales Director, Rob Wallace.

Cembrit’s ancestry in the UK begins with Alan Blunn Ltd, one of the UK’s original natural slate agents, set up in 1924, offering customer service and technical expertise to all involved in pitched roofing. Acquired by Cembrit in 2000, the reputation and sales of the combined company has continued to grow, to the extent that Cembrit’s natural slates activities became an attractive proposition for others seeking to enhance their position in the UK market.

Encouraged by this, Cembrit has realized that there is a responsibility as well as huge potential to provide durable, verifiable, high quality natural slates to the British market. The new division will be headed by Rob Wallace, who has 18 years of experience in growing Cembrit’s business from its Welsh depot in Llandow. Cembrit’s growth has been achieved through unbeatable customer service.

“We have seen continued growth in the demand for natural slate, particularly with proven origin and consistent supply,” comments Rob Wallace, Sales Director, Cembrit. “Our stance will be one of honesty and transparency as this is important to clients but not always available in our complex market”.

Marketing Manager Ged Ferris adds “This marks the beginning of a new phase in Cembrit’s commitment to natural slate. Cembrit will be making substantial investments in this environmentally attractive material. Look out for more news as the division takes shape”.

For more information, and to download the fibre cement slate guide, visit www.cembrit.co.uk

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