When building for airtightness is an education: Tyvek at the John Taylor Free School

The John Taylor free high school in Burton-on-Trent is a complete new-build development on a greenfield site, featuring the use of a range of DuPont Tyvek products throughout.

Commissioned to meet the growing needs of the Staffordshire education system, the £25m PPP funded complex by Glancy Nicholls Architects includes a state-of-the-art sports hall and caters for 1,400 secondary and sixth form pupils.

When Perkins Plasterers were contracted by Seddon Construction Ltd to ensure the integrity of the building envelope, with particular regard to airtightness, it soon became apparent a cheap or inferior solution would not be sufficient for either the project, nor the reputation of a group of proud professionals.

Gareth Jones, of Perkins Plasterers, commented: “The original material that had been considered presented a high risk of failure in our view, and we were not convinced it would perform as needed, particularly for the scale and complexity of this project.

“So, in consultation with Seddon we decided to upgrade the specification. It soon became clear that we had made the right decision in choosing the Tyvek® and AirGuard® products.

“Being a school building it needed to function for the long term in a way that would keep costs down so there was no point in cutting corners in the short term.

“And in fact ‘corners’ were one of the key places where this material came into its own, as together with its special tapes and sealants, it has a flexibility that works brilliantly with windows and doors, or wherever there are cuts or penetrations that need to be completely sealed.”

Gareth continued by expressing his gratitude to the DuPont team: “The customer support from start to finish was second to none.

“We had a full day’s training, plus further site visits, and very clear guidelines which helped us understand how easy the system was to work with. It was obvious even during the build that everything was performing as it should because it helped to keep out some awful weather conditions.

“Once fully installed and tested it gave us excellent results. The school is now open and the airtightness of the envelope is performing very well. We would definitely work with these products for similar projects in the future.”

The products Gareth is referring to are Tyvek® Housewrap breather membrane, which was applied to the sports hall, and Tyvek® AirGuard® Control, used on the main school building as a vapour control layer.

These function as part of a holistic system, together with specially created accessories Tyvek® FlexWrap EZ concertina-style tape and Tyvek® Double-Sided Tape, thus guaranteeing the integrity of the airtight seal, even around awkward corners, servicing ducts and structural penetrations.

Tyvek® breather membranes are unique due to their high-quality single layer construction and are naturally vapour open while also being dependably – and lastingly – water-tight, shown by comprehensive field tests.

Tyvek® AirGuard® Control is a light-weight, easy to install AVCL, which offers superior mechanical strength and is designed to reduce uncontrolled air leakage and minimise convective heat loss in roofs, walls and floors.

DuPont™ Tyvek® and DuPont™ AirGuard® products can comprise a vital part of the solution to such avoidable costs, a wise investment in quality, expertise and reliable service.

Building for education presents both challenges and opportunities in today’s public sector construction; while budgets must be carefully controlled, it is also crucial to achieve the highest specifications in order to guarantee a lasting and cost-effective investment.

The best in modern building technology is key to delivering a project that performs as designed and meets all key criteria, particularly in terms of sustainability and reduced maintenance.

DuPont Protection Solutions
BBSP1
Bristol & Bath Science Park
Dirac Crescent
Emersons Green
Bristol
BS16 7FR

Phone: 08444 068 722

Technical enquiries: [email protected]

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