Gateshead Housing refurbishes Tyne & Wear homes with brick-cladding

Gateshead Housing manages a stock of 22,500 homes, including a range of non-traditionally constructed buildings from the early 1960s. Over the years, shortcomings in their design, construction and insulation values have come to light, requiring major remedial work to bring them up to living standards that will ensure their longevity.

This tranche of 400 houses is being refurbished under a strategic partnership arrangement with Morrison Facilities Services. The work, which forms part of a wider improvement package under the Decent Homes initiative, involves stripping out glazed screens in Wimpey no-fines properties as well as front and rear walls of the NEMA and Gateshead Butterfly houses on the Beacon Lough and Harlow Green Estates respectively. It includes installing insulated timber-framed structures faced with Novabrik brick cladding and the installation of new windows.

NEMA and Gateshead Butterfly were the names given to these non-traditional, cross-wall-type house construction methods that were a feature of 1960s social housing. They comprised quickly built, structural cross-walls with mostly glazed, timber-framed front and rear elevations, which have required regular maintenance throughout their lives. Severe thermal loss and rot at the base of the timber framing means these areas now have to be replaced.

First, a new timber-frame is being installed using larger section timbers. PVC-u windows are being fitted and the areas beneath the ground-floor windows is being thermally insulated and clad in Novabrik.

Initially, the refurbishment specification had been for a brick-effect polymer render, but consultation with Ancheson & Glover and specialist subcontractor St Astier resulted in a decision to change to Novabrik, a mortarless brick cladding.

"Speed of installation in all weather conditions is important to us because the houses will remain occupied throughout the work. Novabrik gave us much better control over quality and, after stripping out and replacing the old defective timberwork and windows, we can complete the recladding of a house within one working day," says St Astier contracts director Ranson Og.

Gateshead Housing is also keen to improve the houses' overall appearance. Senior contract administrator Russell Urwin says: "We want our tenants to be pleased with the look of their homes and Novabrik looks like a traditional brick. It's also recognised as an innovative, modern method of construction. For us, it ticked all the boxes."

Novabrik is a mortarless, dry-built cladding system that comprises brick-sized interlocking tiles that lock together to form a weather-proof outer skin for timber-framed, steel-framed or concrete-panel structures. It is also suitable for use with conventional block-work walls or insulated concrete formwork systems.

The interlocking construction works as a cladding system with units overlapping to prevent water from penetrating the wall. Its main benefits are speed of installation and that no wet trades are needed, meaning that installation can continue in virtually all weather conditions.

Work began on the refurbishment project in April 2007 and will continue until mid-2008.