All homes on the site are being developed by Riverside Housing Association and the University of Liverpool to showcase innovation which has the potential to reduce running costs and improve living standards for tenants.
Total Roof was selected for the scheme because it provided loft living space and complemented the timber system used for the main structure of the semi-detached homes. "The project is all about prefabricating homes in the factory, and using the site for assembly," says Stuart Gee, project manager with the University of Liverpool.
The two homes have around 75 m² of living space, approximately 30 m² of which is in the roof.
Total Roof panels can be up to 6 m long by 2.4 m wide and are supplied pre-battened and felted, fitted with rooflights, and finished internally with plywood. At Millennium Mews, 6 m panels are laid horizontally between the gable and party walls of the 155 m² roof.
"The roof spans are very large, but the depth is shallow - only about 250 mm.
In order to prefabricate that we needed to look at technology that is not normally available in the UK. Total Roof is used abroad - it is proven technology," says Gee.
The roof panels are fitted by a three-man team. Panels are secured to the timber structure with 260 mm stainless steel annular ring shank nails at 300 mm centres and topped by a ridge board. "
The timber frame for the houses was built in one day and the roof was put on the next. The trial went well," says Colin Usher, project architect with Millennium Mews' designer John McCall Architects.
The roof has a U-value of 0.22, but actual performance of the homes will be monitored by the university. Further trials of Total Roof have yet to be carried out before the system can be launched in the marketplace.
"The product is well developed and well tested," says James Prentice, product manager of Redland Roofing Systems, "but Total Roof is more than a product. It is a service - we undertake the detail design, manufacture, erection and after sales service. We are trialling the supply chain."
Gee says that Total Roof may fall short on some of Millennium Mews' more stringent environmental criteria, notably in its glue content, but adds that, "it did live up to expectations on site and it fitted our needs."
Source
Building Homes
