Member Article

Great community engagement is key to a successful contract

Business is looking upwards for socially aware building and roofing specialist, Hodgson Sayers, following a project to replace and restore roofing on 14 properties in Thornaby, Teesside.

For the community focussed company, the opportunity to liaise closely with residents provided the perfect way to demonstrate its people engagement skills.

In partnership with Tristar Homes, which is part of the Thirteen Group, the company was awarded the contract of converting two streets consisting of flat roof buildings with internal drainage, into insulated pitched roof bungalows with new fascias, soffits, external drainage and associated brickworks to gables.

The project also achieved national acclaim at the Intelligent Membrane Association (IMA) Awards in May, run in association with Icopal specialists in building protection, where Hodgson Sayers Contracts Manager, Dean Goyns, came runner-up in the category of Decra Lightweight Roofing for his work on the Thornaby project.

John Sayers, Managing Director at Hodgson Sayers, said: “As landlords to the properties, Tristar Homes wanted to enhance the lives of the residents by investing in a new roofing infrastructure across the 14 properties in Grenville and Manning Way, Thornaby.

“Tristar Homes identified the existing flat felt roof had come to the end of its life and brought in our team to remove the Stramit board and install a Wayrock board which we felted, making it water tight allowing the timber trusses to keep the properties dry.

“The existing infrastructure was very compacted and collected water, making it hard to insulate the properties. A new pitched roof in a light weight Decra covering was installed, which is a strong durable metal covering. The properties will also be a lot warmer as the lofts are all fully insulated.

“Throughout the project we worked closely with Tristar Homes and its community liaison officer to ensure minimum disruption for the residents. We got to know them very well and kept them informed as to what was happening throughout the various stages so the work met their needs.

“Social responsibility is at the heart of our business, so to be able to work on a project where we could visibly see real added value to the lives of the residents was a pleasure.”

Nik Turner, Head of Investment for Thirteen, the parent company of Tristar Homes, said: “Due to ongoing issues with the roofs to these properties, we identified that a more radical approach to repair and maintenance was required. Not only were we repeatedly repairing these roofs but we were also concerned about how the cold had affected tenants over the winter months. In replacing the flat roofs with light-weight pitched roofs, we succeeded in addressing the maintenance issues and water ingress but more importantly improved the insulation to the loft areas resulting in warmer homes, thus helping to alleviate fuel poverty.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hodgson Sayers .