VENTROLLA In The FRAME: Issue 06 Autumn/Winter 2009

01 December 2009

Issue 06: Autumn/Winter 09
• Case Studies: Focus on Ventrolla South Yorkshire
• Conservation Areas At Risk
• Article 4 Directions
• Window Renovation vs. Replacement
• Ventrolla: RIBA NBS Plus
• Making An Entrance: Doors

WELCOME to In The Frame

Welcome to our Autumn/Winter issue of In The Frame, the newsletter from Ventrolla, the UK’s leading traditional timber sash and casement window renovation specialist.

In this issue you’ll find news of what’s been happening within the Ventrolla network, with particular focus on the high profile projects our South Yorkshire office have been working on recently.

We also discuss the recent “Conservation Areas At Risk” campaign carried out by English Heritage, Article 4 Directions for conservation areas throughout the UK, how we install our Perimeter Sealing System into timber doors and our RIBA NBS Plus specification.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of In The Frame, and we welcome any feedback you may have.

David Greaves,
Managing Director, Ventrolla

“Conservation Areas at Risk” say English Heritage

On Tuesday 23 June, English Heritage revealed the results of the first ever national survey of conservation areas.

England has 9,300 conservation areas, places designated by local councils to protect their special character and appearance, but the latest edition of English Heritage’s annual Heritage at Risk register, reveals that one in seven is at risk of neglect, decay or damaging change and many more give cause for concern.

The results show the top threats to be plastic windows and doors (83% of conservation areas affected) and poorly maintained roads and pavements (60%). Other culprits included the loss of front garden walls, fences and hedges (43%) and unsightly satellite dishes (38%).

These results were collated by analysing the responses that Local Authorities gave to a questionnaire, and the results show that all problems fall into two main areas: what owners do to their properties and what councils do or fail to do to the streets, pavements, parks and public spaces.

Using this information, English Heritage is now asking for a three step process to be adopted, asking councils to make more use of Article 4 Directions (See overleaf), to take better care of the public areas and asking local people to get involved.

There are also financial gains to taking care of your conservation area. An English Heritage poll of Estate Agents reveals that 82% think original features add value to a property and 75% think being in a well-kept conservation area enhances house prices.

In their review English Heritage also awarded Local Authorities that have done the most to improve their conservation areas. The national award went to Stockton, North East and eight regional awards included South Derbyshire, Richmondshire and Southampton.

Stylish Square Attracting the Crowds

Ventrolla South Yorkshire has helped put the finishing touches to a major leisure development in Sheffield city centre.

Built around a number of Grade II listed renovated school buildings dating back to 1870, Leopold Square is a collection of top quality bars and restaurants and also has its own four star boutique hotel.

Its sophisticated design, complete with a contemporary water feature and solid bronze benches, takes its inspiration from the bustling squares of Barcelona and many of the restaurants offer an al fresco dining experience.

For Ventrolla, the challenge at Leopold Square was to renovate 120 wooden sash and casement windows and ensure an authentic but also stylish finish.

The South Yorkshire team started by repairing damaged woodwork and replacing the original glazing bars and then installed the Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS) into each of the windows to improve their performance.

Ventrolla’s unique Sash Removal System was fitted to allow for quick and easy future maintenance and the job was finished by adding solid brass catches, sash lifts and security stops.

Richard Earnshaw, Managing Director of Ventrolla South Yorkshire, said: “Leopold Square is a prestigious development which is fast becoming a hub of leisure activity in Sheffield city centre.

The properties around the square are more than 100 years old and the windows were starting to show definite signs of age.  A complete upgrade was needed to keep them in line with the look and feel of the overall scheme.”

Leopold Square is a short walk from Fargate, Sheffield’s popular shopping area with an emphasis on fashion, and Orchard Square Shopping Centre.  It can be reached by car, bus, rail and Supertram.  The Leopold Hotel has 92 bedrooms, many of which have retained original features from the old school.

Article 4 Directions

English Heritage have highlighted the need to care more for our built environment, in particular conservation areas, in their recent “Conservation Areas At Risk Campaign”, by asking Local Authorities to adopt Article 4 Directions, as only 13% of conservation areas currently have one.

Article 4 Directions are issued by the council in circumstances where specific control over development is required, primarily where the character of an area of acknowledged importance would be threatened. They are therefore more commonly applied to conservation areas.

You may normally carry out certain minor works without the need for a planning application to the Local Authority. These are called permitted development, and the rights relating to them are defined in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. Under Article 4 of the Order, a Local Authority may make directions to remove such rights if it feels that such development would be harmful to the character of an area. Where an Article 4 Direction is in force, you must get planning permission to undertake the works that it covers.

Planning consent had always been needed for any work in conservation areas involving “demolition”. Demolition had been interpreted nationally as including minor works such as removing traditional windows and replacing them with uPVC. Local Authorities were therefore able to use this need for consent to prevent such harmful development in conservation areas.

Since 1995 there have been three types of direction:
o Directions under article 4(2) affecting conservation areas.
o Directions under article 4(1)affecting only listed buildings; and
o Directions under article 4(1) affecting other land.

The Article Four has historically been a rarely used instrument which was not particularly effective, and was difficult to apply as it always required approval of the Secretary of State. The 1995 Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order made significant improvements to the process, and since that time the use of Article 4 Directions has increased, with English Heritage now appealing for all local authorities to introduce them.

Ventrolla - A Class Act

Cold draughts and noisy rattles are unwelcome additions to any classroom and Sheffield High School is no exception.

Its owners, the Girls’ Day School Trust, called in Ventrolla South Yorkshire to address problems with 120 sash windows, which were individually refurbished over a five month period.

Stephen Greenhalgh, building surveyor for the Trust, said: “We have worked with Ventrolla before and continue to be impressed by the quality of service they offer.
Due to the high volume of windows being addressed at Sheffield High School we asked the team to phase their workload so it wouldn’t cause disruption to classes.  In the end most was completed during the half term holidays.”

The first stage of the project was to repair any damaged woodwork on the sashes. Where the damage was too extensive, Ventrolla replaced the sashes, matching the originals as closely as possible.

The next stage was to install Ventrolla’s Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS) in the gap surrounding the window sashes, which improves performance and eliminates draughts and rattles.

Sheffield High School first opened its doors in 1878 with 39 pupils enrolled.  The school then relocated in 1887 to purpose built premises at Rutland Park, where it still stands today.

The Girls’ Day School Trust runs 29 schools throughout England and Wales and with an annual turnover of around £130 million, is the largest group of independent schools in the UK.

Since completing the work at Sheffield, Ventrolla has been invited to deliver a similar project for Central Newcastle High School.

Environmental Benefits: Window Renovation vs. Replacement

The argument for renovation over replacement has never been more relevant given current climate change issues and the need for renovation projects to produce low carbon emissions.

Window renovation, which retains much of the existing material, has clear environmental benefits over manufacturing replacement windows. However, many people fail to consider the whole picture and the wider implications with uPVC replacement windows, such as energy consumption.

By renovating windows, our system effectively recycles materials at source, which minimises waste. This is an important environmental benefit when compared to U-PVC, where:

• 82% of U-PVC goes to landfill
• 43% of U-PVC is made up of non-renewable resources
• 15% of U-PVC is incinerated
• Only 3% of U-PVC is recycled
• uPVC has a 100 year payback period

In contrast, the environmental benefits of renovating your wooden sash windows are:

• Only 1/40th of the energy of replacement is used
• Material sent to landfill is reduced
• Use of finite resources is minimised
• Invested energy or carbon store is retained

Cathedral Windows Restored to Former Glory

The diocese of Hallam turned to experts from Ventrolla South Yorkshire to help restore a number of windows at its cathedral house in the city.

The company was asked to overhaul 60 sash windows at the premises, which are part of the Cathedral Church of St Marie and provide residential and office space to the current Dean, Father Christopher Posluszny.

Ventrolla was recommended by the cathedral’s Property Manager, who had been told by the city council’s Conservation Officer that the damaged windows had to be restored rather than replaced.

Problems were made worse when the team discovered years of painting had actually sealed many of the windows shut. 

Nevertheless, after a month of hard work Ventrolla was able to restore the sashes and interior window furniture to their former glory.

Marie O’Hara, Administrator at St Marie’s, said: “Initially we wanted to replace the windows, but after speaking to the council we were informed they would have to be restored since the building was Grade II listed and located in a conservation area.

One of the key features in the cathedral house is a stunning bay window which is home to an original stained glass arrangement.

We are incredibly pleased with the quick and effective service Ventrolla provided, especially when dealing with this delicate specification.”

Construction of St Marie’s was completed in 1850 with the cathedral house opening in 1902, although St Marie’s didn’t receive formal cathedral status until 1980 when the new diocese of Hallam was created.

Ventrolla: RIBA NBS Plus

Replacing windows when working on a project can result in unnecessary complications, higher costs to the client, loss of the building’s character and a negative impact on the environment. There may also be planning regulations to comply with when dealing with historic and listed buildings, and those within conservation areas.

Ventrolla’s two part timber window renovation and performance upgrade service ensures the integrity of the window is retained whilst improving its energy efficiency by installing their unique Perimeter Sealing System.

As you are aware, specifying is an essential part of the design process, and therefore using RIBA NBS Plus ensures you get accurate and up to date information direct from the supplier to use in your specification.

NBS Plus is a library of building product manufacturer details linked to clause guidance in the NBS specification products.
RIBA NBS State that “A badly written specification can cause major problems for every member of the project team, and can cost the client a great deal of money. A well written specification can enhance project delivery and save money.”
Ventrolla’s timber window renovation specification can be found on the RIBA NBS Plus System in the wood window section 31.4, or downloaded from www.ventrolla.co.uk/commercial/

Approved by RIBA and worth double points, Ventrolla also runs two CPDs, each outlining the benefits of window renovation over replacement and the green issues relating to window renovation vs. replacement.

Making An Entrance

Whilst the Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS) was originally designed for sliding sash windows, it is also effective in timber doors.

Doors in period properties can be ill-fitting due to building movement over the years and therefore can also be draughty, unless they have a high grade sealing system installed. In addition, external timber doors, such as french doors, can cause the same problems with draughts and rattles as you get with period timber windows.

As with our window renovation process, Ventrolla’s two part service in relation to doors begins with the treatment and renovation of the original timber. The second part is draught proofing using the unique Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS). Using the same materials we use on sliding sash windows ensures the same high results.

Our preferred method is to install our Perimeter Sealing System around the door itself to avoid altering either the appearance or aesthetics of the door. Alternatively, it can be fitted within door blades secured to the frame. The choice will depend upon the type of the door and customer’s requirements.

In our standard installation, the pile carrier is routed into the timber giving a permanent fixing point and making the system an integral part of the door. The appropriate size weatherfin pile weather-stripping is then selected to suit the gap and inserted into the pile carrier.

The seal conforms to BS 7386: 1997, being manufactured from a multifilament polypropylene yarn that is silicon treated to be water repellent and UV stabilised. This means that it will retain its integrity and benefits throughout its life.
Whether your projects have timber doors, sash or casement windows, Ventrolla’s system can reduce the energy loss whilst retaining the building’s character.

For more information and to find your nearest office, call FREEPHONE 0800 0277 454.

To download this newsletter in PDF format, Click Here.

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