Sky Scaffolding Midlands Ltd were awarded the scaffolding contract by CField Construction to provide a temporary roofing and safe access scaffold solution for their two-story rooftop extension project on the prestigious Clayton Hotel in Birmingham City Centre.
The hotel was to remain operational throughout the construction period, so to minimise the impact on guest views and natural light, Sky developed a solution using Layher Allround towers installed between the existing windows of the lower floors. The towers were tied into the existing floor slabs and were bridged at high level to provide the first working lift at existing roof level.
Scaffolding works commenced from the project start date as the Contractor was unable to install any new permanent structure through the existing roofing membranes until the scaffolding structure including temporary roof were watertight. This was therefore a major project deliverable as the risk of water ingress into the operational hotel below would be too great once the waterproofing of the existing roof was broken. With no permanent structure to tie to above the existing roofing level, the scaffold had to extend a further 8m and support a 19m clear span temporary roofing structure.
The initial design considered the use of buttresses anchored to the existing roof slab or tie beams between the two external elevation scaffolds, however this amount of scaffolding was too obstructive to the permanent works installation. SDC Scaffold Design Consultants Ltd then developed a solution to overcome this issue by bracing and anchoring each frame of the scaffold back to the existing concrete roof slab. This involved using 4x band and plate fittings and concrete anchors per frame therefore drastically reducing the amount of material needed to support the scaffold. This provided a striking view from road level as the scaffold appeared to be built 4 lifts above tie level without lateral support.
Due to the unusual shape of the roof at the interface with the existing higher-level part of the hotel, shrink wrap was selected as the most appropriate sheeting system for the majority of the temporary roof covering. A HAKITEC roof system was selected for the remaining section of the roof as the Contractor required the ability to pull sheets back and crane materials into the worksite, weather permitting!
The scaffold was completed with a full height site staircase and two large crane loading bays on the Moor Street Queensway Elevation.
JP Burke, CField Construction Contracts Manager, said: “Sky Scaffolding were appointed to execute access requirements and temporary roofing solutions for our Clayton Hotel project in Birmingham. CField decided a temporary roof was critical for the execution of the project as the existing building remained live throughout our construction period. The temporary roof, supplied and installed by Sky Scaffolding, proved a perfect solution and was an impressive structure greatly admired by all. Sky Scaffolding provided fantastic site personnel with great experience, knowledge and care. Their attention to detail was excellent throughout their element of works. Many thanks to the Sky team for contributing to the success of this complex scheme.”
The fully sheeted scaffold withstood Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis in February 2020, providing safe access for the successful completion of the project in the Summer of 2020.
Further coverage of the Clayton Hotel, Birmingham project can be found here on Scaffmag.com
