ROOFSPACE SOLUTIONS DELIVER AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN COLLABORATION WITH FLAGSHIP HOMES

Roofspace Solutions has provided their off-site manufactured i-House solution to Flagship Homes’ new development in Great Ellingham, Norfolk.

The 60-home development will consist of 30 affordable rent homes, to help people secure stable accommodation, and 30 shared ownership homes, which allows prospective buyers to take their first steps up the property ladder. These homes will be built by Lovell Partnerships, who Roofspace Solutions have previously worked with.

As part of the new development, Roofspace Solutions were selected to provide the i-House full housing shell to all 60 plots, alongside Posi-Joist floor cassettes and roof trusses from their sister company Pasquill.

The development features one, two and three bedroom homes, and consists of a mix of 51 detached and semi-detached houses and nine bungalows.

Building from the ground up

i-House is a housing solution, which provides a full, watertight shell ready to receive roof coverings in just five days. Working with H+H, who provide the Celcon Vertical Wall panels which form the walls of the i-House, build time can be reduced by transporting the panels to site ready-made and craning them into place.

H+H Vertical Wall Panels are lightweight, durable and airtight, while offering exceptional thermal and sound insulation.

i-House consists of inner leaves of external cavity walls, separating walls, floors, lintels, cavity closures and insulation, making it the perfect solution for housebuilders and developers who are looking to deliver new homes quickly and in volume.

Amending to the client’s needs

As each site and client have different requirements, the i-House system is often adapted to ensure that the customer is receiving a high-quality i-House, which conforms to the most recent standards.

At Crown View, underfloor heating was installed in some of the plots, and due to on-site sequencing reasons, this was completed prior to the installation of i-House. This meant the way the props were fixed, which are used to hold the H+H Celcon Vertical Wall Panels in place until the whole structure is built, had to be changed. Usually, the props would be fixed into the ground, but with the underfloor heating pipes already installed within the screed, there was a risk of the fixings used to hold the props in place puncturing the pipework.

New requirements state that all developments should be designed to accommodate for disabled people who may move into one of the plots in the future. Using design software MiTek Pamir, the Roofspace Solutions design team were able to calculate hoist loads, which are in place to ensure any future tenant or homeowner can fit transfer hoists should they require them to move around.

The bottom chord of the roof structure was strengthened using a thicker timber member to ensure it can accommodate the additional weight of a fixed hoist. Extra timbers also needed to be specified within the floor joists to give extra support to the water tanks that are being installed.

Working together to feel the off-site benefits

By selecting i-House, homes can be delivered quickly, safely and in volume, thanks to the off-site manufacturing process involved. On-site, the safety of the workers is increased due to the reduced need to work at height using cranes, with each i-House panel carefully craned into place by a fully qualified operator.

The amount of waste produced on-site is much lower compared to using traditional methods of construction and once the i-House installation is completed, follow on trades can come in and complete their work while taking advantage of the time savings generated by using i-House.

Crown View is due to complete in spring next year.

Testimonials

Oleg Barsoukov, Senior Delivery Project Manager from Flagship, said: “Solving the housing crisis is at the centre of what we do, and having high-quality homes built that much more quickly thanks to i-House means we can address that need. The quality and speed of Roofspace Solutions’ work has been an instrumental part of bringing Crown View to life and we can’t wait to see this community grow and develop.

We’ve really seen the benefits of the off-site construction, and it’s fantastic knowing that the homes are future-proofed and constructed with sustainability in mind. Crown View is a great development and we couldn’t be happier with how it’s come together.”

Trevor Haystead, Regional Operations Director from Lovell Homes, said: “We have worked with Roofspace Solutions team on multiple projects now, and have always been impressed by the quality of their product, and the speed in which they are able to deliver it.

The Flagship Homes development in Great Ellingham will offer 60 affordable rent and shared ownership homes, and it was important to Lovell to ensure that every one of these new homes were delivered to a high quality and standard. Roofspace Solutions’ i-House was a natural fit for the development, and is allowing us to build these much needed homes in less time through the use of Modern Methods of Construction.

We’re very pleased with the progress we are making at Crown View in Great Ellingham and we’re very much looking forward to seeing the finished development in full.”

For more information, please read the case study on the Roofspace Solutions website.