Southcoast Building Company Ltd were contracted to carry out the complete retrofit works to 200 properties. Our client on this project had already engaged with a company to complete the Retrofit Assessments and Retrofit Coordination’s to the properties, this information was then issued via their bespoke portal. Our team carried out resident liaison and booked in Pre-Installation Building Inspections for the loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and Solar Photovoltaic measures.
Measures installed
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Loft insulation (strip and relay) including loft vents and boarding where required
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Cavity Wall extraction, clear and brushes where needed
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Cavity Wall Insulation – Thermabead
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Minor Solid Wall measures
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Ventilation design and subsequent identified measures including mechanical ventilation, door undercuts and trickle ventilation
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Solar Photovoltaic panels including access scaffolding
Due to the limited amount of measures for each property, our programme was to carry out all measures to the property at once, this method provided the least amount of disruption and upheaval to the residents and the property.
Resident Liaison and Project Delivery
Our dedicated project management team worked with the client to liaise with the residents to advise of the works that were intended for their properties. This was communicated via letter drop, followed by an email and telephone call, if no contact was made, we completed door knocking to ensure all residents were communicated with and any concerns were dealt with. Once the surveys were completed, we provided residents with a works plan and description of the measures planned for their property, this included a design for Solar PV. We also advised of disruption to expect and what we require from the residents, they were given contact details so that they could advise us if they required any specific assistance, especially for those who were vulnerable or elderly.
The specialist install teams were provided with a weekly work programme and daily ‘set to work’ meetings were held. This allowed us to manage resident issues and any non attendance to ensure we maximised delivery whilst being conscious of the changing requirements of residents. We found that once we started work in one street, we were being contacted by other residents asking when they were going to get their measures installed.
Installation and Quality Assurance
During the installation, our project managers carried out daily site inspections to ensure measures were being installed correctly and in accordance with the retrofit coordinators schedule. They would also complete a measure check to confirm the quantum of works completed on each property.
Pre-installation, during installation and post installation photos were collated on site and issued to our operations administration team. This team compiled the data in the format the retrofit coordinator required alongside the Insurance Backed Guarantees (IBG’s), Electrical Minor works certificates, MCS Certificate and technical data including workmanship warranty, Solar Handover Certificate, etc.
Due to our approach of completing all measures in a property at once, we are able to complete the majority of properties within 1 day. The exception to this being if cavity extraction is required, the property is completed within 2 days.
Project Results
From the 147 properties that are completed, we have installed 1018 solar panels, contributing 360,232kWh/Annum of solar generated electricity to the grid, not only alleviating fuel poverty but moving the country towards the Net Zero 2050 target.