October 2006 

Ward Insulated Panels has supplied over 7,000m² of roof and wall panels on the new £2m Hillsborough College in Sheffield.

The building is designed to provide flexible space that can easily be adapted to the Hillsborough College’s future demands/needs and the development includes a large sports hall complex, 14 art & design studios, 12 specialist ICT workshops, seven laboratories and a nursery.

Ward supplied 4,500m² of their new Topdek single-ply roofing system and 2,000m² of secret fix wall panel for the project. Ward Topdek is a factory pre-engineered composite roof panel that facilitates faster onsite assembly. It comprises a proven high performance single-ply PVC outer membrane integrally bonded to a Firesafe rigid PIR insulation core, approved to LPBC standards, plus a steel trapezoidal profile inner deck for structural strength.

As an all-in-one single ply roofing solution, Topdek replaces the multi-stage process of laying steel decking, vapour control layer, insulation and outer membrane with one simple installation which compared to traditional built up roofing systems, is proving to be up to 50% faster to install. A new self-coring screw – unique to Topdek – speeds up the installation process even further. Conventional fixing required a core of insulation to be removed, a self-tapping screw to be fixed then the core replaced prior to the welding of the side-lap. Now, in one simple operation, the self-coring screw replaces all of these three steps.

Dan Humphreys, of Jefferson Sheard Architects, commented: "The College is delighted with the finished building which was completed on time and within budget. Ward Insulated Panels was specified for their products' time saving and economic advantages and no doubt contributed to the overall success of this project."

The roofing and cladding contractor was Barry Collen Ltd of Scunthorpe.