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Building with West Fraser on Mudeford redevelopment

Popular with sailors and surfers, Mudeford lies on a spit of land between Christchurch Harbour and the open sea, where residential properties rival Sandbanks in nearby Poole in terms of luxury and prestige. One of West Fraser’s customers, in a redevelopment project, is employing the company’s high performance panel products where a building is being transformed into a three-storey, five-bedroom dwelling with a rooftop sun deck.

The team carrying out the work for a private owner includes Steve Mayes who has gained a lot of experience of the West Fraser product range working for local developers, Glass Harbour Group and Ashhaus Construction: building bespoke, high specification homes.  As Steve explained: “On a lot of our projects, the architect’s drawings will specify the use of a certain thickness of chipboard or another panel product, but we tend to buy West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero for its quality and reliability.   The property I’m working on at the moment in Mudeford dates from the 1960s and is undergoing a full renovation as well as additions, so that it will have five bedrooms all en-suite, including the master which measures ten metres by seven.  There are some new blockwork walls as well as a couple which are retained, while we are building studwork partitions on the upper floors.  The roof, however, is far from conventional with two gables separated by a seven metre long ‘table-top,’ which has great sea views and is going to have a hot tub.  This is being built off cranked steels infilled with 7 x 3 timbers and 7 x 2 rafters carrying a plywood deck.  This is covered by a vapour barrier and 150mm of rigid foam insulation and then 18mm SterlingOSB Zero, which will be waterproofed with an Alwitra flexible single ply membrane.  Considering the poor weather we’ve had this year; progress has been good and we are on course to complete in early 2025.  Indoors, meanwhile, we are installing CaberDek across timber joists on the first and second floor with noggins fitted where any stud partitions are to be built.  We also routinely make use of CaberFix glue as well as 50mm ring shank nails to make sure there are no squeaks; the adhesive is applied to the tongue and groove joints as well.  We particularly like the ruggedness of the West Fraser boards which means you don’t get any damage to the edges when you are pulling them up over the scaffolding, like you do with some makes, slowing things up.  And once you get the first row fixed down, the consistent size avoids the misalignment that creeps in with other decking, which can take a lot of work to correct.”

 

All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in mills that have obtained the coveted environmental ISO 14001 accreditation.  Responsibly sourced, the panels are FSC certified (C012533) and created from locally grown timber, cutting embodied carbon from transportation.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WEST FRASER WEBSITE

or call 01786 812 921 for further information

 

 

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SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus selected for cathedral contract

A Suffolk-based scaffolding and flat roofing specialist has chosen SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus from West Fraser for the hoardings around repair works at the St Edmundsbury Cathedral site in Bury St Edmunds.

 

Pro-Flat Specialist Services serves clients across much of East Anglia in the domestic, commercial and specialised historic buildings sectors. In this instance, English Heritage contacted the team when stone masons were required to carry out repairs to the centuries-old limestone walls.  Given the highly visible location where worshippers and the wider public pass in large numbers, the cathedral authorities wanted the scaffolding and the work itself to be smartly screened off.

Pro-Flat contacted Falcon Timber in High Wycombe, its regular supplier of board materials, to discover that the merchant had West Fraser’s new SterlingOSB Zero Primed Plus product available, which is fully prepared to avoid the need for painting on site.  A full pack of 50 boards was delivered to the site, for Pro-Flat’s experienced operatives to proceed with screw-fixing them to a supporting framework of timbers, braced off the scaffold.

The Director in charge of the work for Pro-Flat Specialist Services commented:

“As well as installing three-layer felt and hot bonded roofing systems, a lot of our work is focused on historic buildings across Suffolk, North Essex, South Norfolk and East Cambridgeshire, where there are many ecclesiastical and other properties in the care of English Heritage.  When we were asked to erect a hoarding around the works at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, we spoke to one of Falcon Timber’s advisers who recommended the new SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus which definitely saved us time as it is easy to work with and was delivered to us pre-primed and therefore cut down labour on site.”

As a sturdy board which is ideal for the construction of screening and walkways, either for privacy or to fulfil health & safety requirements, SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus is well able to withstand the inclement British weather too.

As with all West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero products, no extra formaldehyde is used during the manufacturing process, so it is safe to specify in hospitals, schools and other public realms.  Furthermore, its ultra-smooth surface means the boards can be adorned with graphics so can be used to offer directional information as well as branding, promotional material and artwork.

Primed in the factory, in either a neutral white or grey paint, the edges of the OSB3 boards are treated with a sealant on all edges to protect against water ingress while the UV-resistant putty layer applied offers even further weather protection as well as enhancing the ultra-smooth finish.  Being knot and void free due to the rigorous manufacturing process means they will cut cleanly while being easy to fix and durable.

The boards are supplied in packs of 50 to cover a total area of approximately 150 m2, with each measuring 1220 mm wide by 2440mm long and at 18mm thickness.  SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus is CE-marked and complies with the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC® (C012533)) and BBA Agreement requirements while being manufactured in the UK enhances security of supply and sustainability.

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

 

Or call 01786 812 921

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Understanding SterlingOSB Zero

All West Fraser’s Oriented Strand Board (OSB) products are manufactured using selected fibres of timber that are laid in cross directional layers and mechanically pressed to form a structurally-engineered panel, designed for construction and other industrial applications. OSB is viewed by many as the natural successor to plywood because it is more eco-friendly, is home produced and far more affordable, while it contains none of the voids or knots which have historically weakened plywood.

 

As the boards are essentially formed from individual strands of softwood, some may question their strength and durability, especially if exposed to inclement weather, but this is a misunderstanding of OSB’s characteristics.

 

West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero OSB3, for example, is BBA-certified, as well as approved for load bearing in humid conditions – being manufactured to EN300 and EN 13986.  However, if being used outdoors for extended periods, it can be painted or varnished, plus it can also be treated to protect against fungal and insect attack.

 

Technological advances mean there is no need to sand OSB boards anymore, as West Fraser is now able to produce them to industry leading tolerances.  The latest boards offer an exceptionally smooth surface, making it an ideal substrate which is easy to work with.

 

If a floating floor is specified, the installer should ensure that battens for the substructure are appropriately spaced at 400mm centres beneath 15mm boards and up to 600mm for the 18mm version.  SterlingOSB Zero boards come in both square edged and tongue and groove (T&G) format, which can be used for roofing and timber frame construction, as well as flooring – making the whole SterlingOSB Zero range infinitely flexible in use.

 

 

CLICK HERE

 

to check out the West Fraser housebuilders’

 

page for useful downloads and product information

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE

 

 

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