Mr and Mrs Cresswell in front
of their warmer home
EcoRock Trial - Going Green at The Green
In 2008 Hillserve was approached by Plus Dane Housing Group to help them improve the insulation of their tin-prefab houses at The Green, Chadwick Road Middlewhich. The row of tin pre-fab bungalows were constructed in the early 1950s as part of the Temporary Housing Programme. At a time when traditional building materials were scarce, the tin houses were made from timber frames and metal sheeting. Each was delivered to site as a kit so that they could be “started in the morning and finished by tea time”. Despite their construction from make-do materials, they were built so well that many remain today and are still occupied by their original residents. However, due to the shortages of the ‘50s, the Chadwick Road bungalows were built without any sort of insulation and are difficult, and expensive, to keep warm.
Hillserve realised that something was needed that could both improve the faded exterior looks of the steel clad bungalows, and keep the heat inside them. Hillserve found the perfect solution, a new product called EcoRock that can reduce thermal conductance by over 80%.
Manufactured by Rockwool, EcoRock is a compressed natural fibre that is fixed to the exterior of a building and faced with a quartz render in a choice of colours. As a recognised installer of External Wall Insulation, approved by British Gas and Rockwool, Hillserve were ideally qualified to undertake the refurbishment project.
After determining the thickness of EcoRock required to bring the bungalows up to modern thermal standards, the Hillserve surveyor handed over to the Hillserve installation team. Rigid EcoRock slabs were first fixed to the original external walls, then a hardwearing and colourfast render was applied to create a luxurious, weather proof, heat retaining and cosy home for the elderly residents.
The renovation of the first trial bungalow was so successful that The Plus Dane Housing Trust asked Hillserve to install EcoRock on the remaining 20 properties on Chadwick Road in time for this winter.