February 2005


The potential market for over-roof conversions in providing low cost housing for vital service workers has been highlighted by a Birmingham project in which the Ashjack system from Ash & Lacy has been employed.

The government’s ongoing plans to increase the housing stock, particularly in terms of affordable social housing, is well documented.  This provides a means to help ensure that the infrastructure of the UK’s cities is maintained through housing which is affordable to key public sector employees including the police, fire fighters, teachers and nurses.

The project in Albion Square in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter saw the Focus Housing Association develop 63 dwellings in a series of 4 and 5 storey flats to a design by Concept Development Solutions, specialist developers of social housing projects.

Planning permission for ‘Sapphire Heights’ stipulated a very low pitch for the roof which historically presents problems in terms of weatherproofing.  The Ashjack system was introduced in the late 1980’s to overcome this - an over roof conversion system which is conventionally used in refurbishment projects to convert failed flat roofs to pitched ones.  However, in this new-build development, it also provided the ideal solution, offering a lightweight alternative to timber trusses or heavy hot rolled sections through a modified propped rafter system fixed to parapet load bearing dividing walls to create a 2 degree low-pitched framework.  It also met the request from Focus Housing Association for a 25 year guarantee on the roof and the desire from Concept to develop a partnering agreement with a reputable roofing manufacturer with their own design facilities and the capability to supply a package which included guttering, flashings and brickwork copings.

This framework was overclad with some 250 square metres of Ash & Lacy’s Ashzip standing seam roofing system to provide an aesthetic finish to the roof in plain mill stucco aluminium, with a thermal performance of 0.25W/m²K achieved through a 205mm thickness of insulation.  The roof insulation being included as part of the decking system was another stipulation of the brief.

The roofing contract was undertaken by Four Seasons Roofing and also featured fixings from the Ashfix range, along with powder coated aluminium capping feature flashings extending from the roof to the top of the parapets, and insulated gutters from the Ashfab range of architectural fabrications.

The £5million development was marketed by the Focus Homes Options Agency on a 50:50 buy:let option to ensure that key workers on salary scales from £21,000 - £26,000 were able to buy on a shared ownership basis.  The success of the scheme was demonstrated by the fact that all of the flats were sold within four days, with a waiting list of over 200 people should any properties come back onto the market.

Keith Merrick, a Director with Concept Development Solutions, comments – “The Ashjack system was quick, simple and easy – an absolute dream.  The lightweight spaceframe allowed us to achieve exactly what we wanted.”

Sapphire Heights has become something of a showcase for social housing with visits from the Urban Design Team of Birmingham City Council and representatives from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.  

The scheme has now been entered by Birmingham City Council into the 2005 Built–in Quality Awards which celebrate quality work in the construction and demolition industry within the Birmingham area.