Tickford Park Primary School, Milton Keynes
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Marley Eternit’s Thrutone fibre cement slates have been specified by Milton Keynes Council for a striking 2,000 square metre school roof replacement project in the historical town of Newport Pagnell, which also used the company’s Cedral Weatherboard to replace existing cladding.
A building survey carried out on behalf of Milton Keynes Council found that the existing slate roof on one of the town’s primary schools, Tickford Park, was deteriorating and in need of complete replacement. Following a thorough capital expenditure approval and tender programme, the council decided to use fibre cement slates as a more cost effective solution for the roof refurbishment but wanted to make sure they complemented the school and its surroundings.
The old school roof was around 40 years old and the survey found significant deterioration. Marley Eternit’s Thrutone fibre cement slates were chosen for the refurbishment project because the blue black colour closely matched the original slates on the roof and the surrounding buildings, meeting both the council’s and school’s requirements.
As part of the school refurbishment project, building contractor Neville Special Projects also replaced existing cladding with Marley Eternit’s fibre cement Cedral Weatherboard around the high level windows to improve insulation and weatherproofing. The extensive colour pallet of 22 factory applied colours (including three woodstain finishes) provided the flexibility to select a colour that would both complement the Thrutone slates and blend in with the historical surroundings.
Charlotte Hughes, product manager at Marley Eternit, comments: “Increasingly, we are finding that once a council has specified our fibre cement slates, it continues to use them on other local projects as a cost effective and sustainable alternative to natural slate, which can complement both historical surroundings and modern design. This design flexibility is one of the key drivers for the current high demand for fibre cement slates, particularly for our Thrutone product which can be used at a lower minimum pitch of just 15 degrees and is now available in six different colours and three shapes.
“We are increasingly seeing the combination of our fibre cement slates with Cedral Weatherboard for a modern aesthetic. The natural timber effect of the weatherboard complements the sleek modern lines of the fibre cement slates, offering a low cost alternative to traditional timber weatherboarding.”
As part of Marley Eternit’s fibre cement range, Thrutone slates boast superb sustainability credentials, helping to achieve environmental credits with a ‘very good’ BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing accreditation and the best environmental rating (A+) in the BRE Green Guide. Fibre cement also offers sustainability benefits throughout its whole life cycle, as it can be fully recycled at the end of its use. Waste fibre cement can be ground down and used to replace limestone and shale in clinker production, the essential ingredients for Portland cement.
