Conservation Projects (Old Swan Yard)

The Old Swan Yard is part of a conservation area in Sutton, surrounded by outlying timber clad buildings. When Sutton Housing Partnership needed to renovate these dwellings, they decided that they did not want to use plastic, which these days is no longer accepted in conservation or heritage work, so we supplied alternative products to suit their needs, in this case Marley fibre cement cladding and cast aluminium rainwater goods.

These can be used to replace materials such as old cast iron or wood. All the products that used to be made in cast iron are now made in polyester powder coated cast aluminium, which looks exactly like the real thing but satisfies conservation issues.

Fibre cement can be manufactured to look exactly like timber and also has the advantage of being zero fire rated and rot and termite proof. It is particulary advantageous for both urban ie.city centre and coastal usage. Because marine grade aluminium or stainless steel fixings are alongside this product, it is more weatherproof and low maintenance. It also does not shatter or smash like plastic products.

This is a versatile weatherboard that can be attached vertically, horizontally or diagonally to the exterior facade of a building. It is lightweight and therefore needs less supporting framework than other materials.

This cladding looks and feels like wood and yet can weather the toughest conditions.

Here at Swan Yard, we first stripped the asbestos off, disposed of the hazardous waste, and then totally re-clad the surfaces in fibre cement weather boarding.

This has resulted in a very attractive finish and has given the buildings a new lease of life, whilst satisfying all the conservation issues for the client. Even though these buildings are fairly modern, they have been renovated using low maintenance, yet traditional looking products.