Luton and Dunstable Hospital Replaces Timber Boards With Cedral Weatherboard

Fibre cement Cedral Weatherboard is an ideal low maintenance, rot free alternative to traditional timber weatherboarding and is available in a wide range of factory applied solid colours and woodstains.

The original dark oak stained timber cladding on the Robin Pinto Unit at Luton and Dunstable Hospital had begun to deteriorate, prompting the client to initiate a complete refurbishment of the building’s exterior. Marley Eternit Cedral Weatherboard has been specified as an overclad solution on the Robin Pinto Unit.

South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, the client, was concerned that the original timber facade required a complete overhaul so soon after the last round of maintenance, which was completed in 2008.

The stain used on the boards had begun to deteriorate exposing the timber to the elements which, if left unchecked, would have led to issues with weather tightness of the facade. The timber at ground level had also begun to rot.

Faced with having to remove the surface finish from the timber cladding, a huge task in itself and then re-applying a new base coat and stain, with no guarantee that it wouldn’t have to be repeated again in a few years, the client asked the architects to look at alternative low maintenance materials.

“We knew about the low maintenance benefits of fibre cement and therefore decided to replace the timber boards with Cedral Weatherboard,” said Gawain Ferguson, partner at Huggins Bromage Ferguson LLP. “As soon as we saw Cedral Weatherboard we knew it was right for the Trust – it was indistinguishable from timber and had none of the maintenance issues.”

Cedral Weatherboard in Grey was the predominant colour specified on the Robin Pinto Unit, with Dark Grey used on two gable elevations. Matching coloured Marley Eternit aluminium trims were used around the windows to create a fully co-ordinated look.

Once the original timber boards had been removed, the Cedral Weatherboard was nailed to the existing battens in a shiplap arrangement.

Warren Sparrow from Neville Special Projects Ltd, the installers, said: “This was the first time we had used Cedral Weatherboard although our installers soon began to understand its advantages – it can be cut and drilled just like real timber and requires no further finishing on site. It looks great too, and we will be recommending Cedral Weatherboard to any clients that have issues with timber facades, cracks in cement render or spalling brickwork.”