Ash & Lacy roof to feature in new self-build reality TV show


An Ashzip standing seam roofing system from Ash & Lacy is to receive national television coverage following its selection in a new self-build reality TV show. The new programme ‘HouseRace', being produced by Carlton TV, recognises the dramatic increase in the popularity of the self-build housing concept and challenges two families to build a pre-fabricated house, from design to dinner party, in only a week.

The build will be filmed from the last week in April through to the first week in May as a public event staged in Birmingham's St Martin's Square, at the heart of the city's new Bull Ring redevelopment. Both houses will be based on a timber-frame concept from Benfield ATT, suppliers of the design services and the two timber house kits: one a Shaker style barn and the other a Green Heart sustainable design.

Speed of construction and quality of finish are two of the prime considerations for the architects employed to assist the families. For architect Graham Freknall, responsible for the shaker style house, this led him to Ash & Lacy, the West Midlands based specialists in standing seam roofing systems. Graham comments – “One of my concerns was that the shaker inspired design might appear too ‘boxy'. As an impervious sheet-based system, Ashzip creates a warm roof construction which spans between the purlins, enabling us to make efficient use of the roofspace.”

Also central to the Freknall design is the capacity to build on to the existing house, almost a ‘clip-on' approach which allows easy extension of a starter home. The Ashzip standing seam roof is ideal for such a philosophy, enabling the house to grow as the family grows.

The choice of Ashzip also provided the quality assurance of a factory finished roof, manufactured off-site, and met the brief to use modern and innovative materials. As an aluminium roof system, Ashzip is recyclable and therefore meets the ever increasing demands for the construction industry to adopt sustainable materials. The weathered zinc finish of the Ashzip roof also fulfils the aesthetics of the traditional, distinctive appearance of zinc, a popular finish in both commercial and domestic construction projects.

Bryan Carey, Managing Director of Ash & Lacy comments – “Our roof systems are widely recognised in the commercial roof sector but with the dramatic growth in recent years of the self-build homes market, we have seen a corresponding growth in interest here. For many self-builders, the prime appeal of the self-build route is to create something a little different from the norm and employing an aluminium, standing seam roof can make a dramatic statement.”

Given the total build time of only a week, the team installing the Ashzip roof will only have half a day but are confident having conducted a trial run at Benfield ATT's premises in Newport.The programmes will be transmitted in the summer, with seven half hour programmes shown by Carlton TV in the Midlands and ten shown on the satellite channel Discovery Home & Leisure.

The two competing families, who only have DIY skills, will each receive help from a Project Manager and a team of young people from a construction college, with the winning family receiving £30,000 towards their own self-build project. For the judges it will not simply be a case of deciding which house is the most finished. Additional criteria will include how well it was built, the level of involvement of the family in the construction, team motivation and marking down for any ‘corner cutting'.