Re-roofing the Sports Hall and Art Rooms at Chessbrook High School

Top class facilities help produce top class results. This demanding project involved the removal of an old asbestos roof and the installation of a new robust roof to improve the safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff. The process has been transformative for the school, using VELUX Modular Skylights to create a brighter, fresher space for everyone.

With the asbestos roof located in the centre of the building, access was extremely complex. There was time pressure too, as all the work had to take place within the 6-week summer break, ensuring the school could re-open in time for the autumn term.

The first stage was the installation of a large temporary roof over the whole building to ensure the environment was watertight and safe. The asbestos was carefully removed and disposed of using the correct methods, which involved transporting the contaminants up and over external walls surrounding the asbestos roof. The whole project was completed four days early due to good management and the ease and speed of installation of the 100% pre-fabricated VELUX ridgelights.

In partnership with the school, a time-lapse video was made of the entire stripping and re-roofing process, and it was given to the school for educational purposes. View the video at mjconstructiongroup.co.uk/projects/chessbrook-school

Climate control at teachers’ fingertips

All but four of the VELUX ridgelights were specified to be venting with blinds, together with a VELUX INTEGRA® control system. This means staff can control the levels of fresh air and direct sunshine via the innovative control pad, while the rain sensoring feature means the school is never at risk of water ingress.

The natural light and openness are helpful qualities for a busy sports hall, and art rooms where solvents and paints may be used. Abundant natural daylight is widely accepted to help pupils feel alert and become more active.

Today, the physical structure of the school reflects the outstanding status awarded by Ofsted for the standard of the teaching and learning.

"As a national roofing contractor, M&J Group take the supply chain partnerships we have in place very seriously. As such, we are very selective about the products we utilise and the companies which we supply them from. During a recent re-roofing project at Chessbrook School in Hertfordshire, M&J Group had the pleasure of installing the VELUX Modular Skylights product sourced directly from VELUX.

The quality and build of the product was fantastic and we would highly recommend VELUX to our clients and industry peers.

Tim Gibbs,
Managing Director
M&J Group

Facts about the project

1 pc of ridgelight, 25° pitch, VELUX Modular Skylight

Each ridgelight:

• 29 pcs fixed modules: W = 1000mm, H = 1200mm
• 21 pcs venting modules with motor: W = 1000mm, H = 1200mm
• 46 pcs roller blinds: W = 1000mm, H = 1200mm and 4 fixed units without blinds.

VELUX Integra control system for comfort ventilation

• 2 pcs KLR 200 WW Remote control
• 4 pcs KLI 110 WW Control switch
• 1 pc KLA S105 UK01 Rain and wind sensor package
• 21 pcs KLC 400 UK Control unit
• 1 pc KLL 150 WW Extension cable for KLC 400

Work commenced in July 2015 and completed in September 2015.

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