Published: 8th June 2015
Swish Building Products has been named roofline and rainwater supplier for a rolling refurbishment programme by ALMO, Your Homes Newcastle (YHN). Supplied and installed by Swish Approved Installer JDP Contracting Services, the Swish roofline and rainwater systems will be installed on around 500 homes per year.
YHN demanded an ‘equal or approved’ product in response to its performance specification. The contractor selected the products which best fitted the criteria. “We are very happy with the Swish products and have recently started using the Sustainable Rainwater range which contains a high percentage of recycled content,” commented Tom Jarman, environmental sustainability coordinator, property services for YHN. “In using this particular range of products we are able to fulfil our environmental commitments. Also we are now starting to replace older PVC-U products so in buying rainwater goods with recycled content we are helping to ‘close the loop’ when the waste items are taken away.”
Swish’s Sustainable Rainwater products contain up to 84% recycled content, a combination of old windows and guttering systems. This can save up to 70% in CO2 output during the production process when compared to 100% virgin material. The products are two-tone; the recycled material is grey and is co-extruded with an outer skin of virgin material, avoiding the unnecessary use of additional colouring agents. Co-extrusion improves the aesthetics of the product and allows installers to achieve a colour match.
The use of the Gateshead-based collection depot meant that the product choice also supported local employment, an important factor in meeting the ALMO’s social responsibilities. YHN reached Decent Homes Standard in 2012 so now all its work is lifecycle replacement. The roofline and rainwater products are being installed in conjunction with its rolling re-roofing programme, replacing timber and asbestos cement products.
“The reason behind the replacement was maintenance,” continues Tom. “We wanted to cut right back on the level of painting required; in doing so we would not only withdraw the cost from the maintenance programme but also reduce the overheads associated with it, scaffolding for example. Swish’s PVC-U products have allowed us to achieve this.” Swish roofline and rainwater products have been fitted on 300 YHN homes with a further 230 currently underway. The refurbishment of 300 more homes is planned for the remainder of 2015 as part of an ongoing schedule of works.
YHN manages council houses on behalf of Newcastle City Council. Established in 2004 with the specific target of meeting Decent Homes Standard, the ALMO now manages around 30,000 properties. One of its main objectives is to ‘make the money deliver’, the use of low maintenance products like those available from Swish Building Products go some way in helping to achieve this.
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