SR Timber

An amazing project that features SR Timber’s stunning cedar shingles has been put forward for a prestigious roofing industry award.The owner of the Stable Complex in Hertfordshire specifically chose our western red cedar shingles as a fundamental part of the design after travelling through America and being spellbound by the natural aesthetics of shingles and how they weather over time.Cedar shingles were also specified for the project because the stables are set in a woodland area, and the architects who designed the buildings wanted to ensure that the structures blended perfectly within the natural surroundings.To us, it’s no surprise that western red cedar shingles are increasing in popularity, and here are a number of reasons why:The first is that they are truly renewable and sustainable and therefore make an ideal roofing solution for projects where environmental considerations are important (our suppliers have a policy to re-plant three trees for every one harvested within one year and to the exact species ratio of the trees that were harvested. PEFC Certified shingles are also available when full chain of custody is required). Because they have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any building product, they can also significantly contribute towards zero-carbon housing achievements.The second is that they are lightweight, are extremely durable and offer excellent natural insulation properties, with a value of K = 0.1067 W/M degrees C. That’s a very impressive figure.Thirdly, it’s all about the quality. There are a number of grades of western cedar shingle, but SR Timber exclusively favours Blue Label – the highest grade that is available, which complies with the strict standards set by the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau. Blue Label shingles originate from 100% heartwood, use 100% edge grain and are 100% clear.The final, and arguably most important, reason is the way they look and the fact that they weather so beautifully over the years and transform into a gorgeous shade of silvery grey. Given that they have a life expectancy in excess of 50 years (when treated with Tanalith ‘E’ preservative), they can be the showpiece of any building structure.Although they are still seen as something of a niche roofing product, the diversity of usage – such as the Stables Complex project – highlights why the popularity of western cedar shingles is on the increase, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this particular case study wins big at the awards.You can download our datasheet on SR Timber’s cedar shingles to see the technical details of the shingles and how-to specifications for installing them.

Over 7,000 linear metres of SR Timbers graded roofing batten was used on the Lucent project, a complex multi-material and award-winning roof located behind Piccadilly Lights in London W1. The mixed-use development near Piccadilly Circus in London's West End features one of the most complex roofs ever built in the capital. Spanning almost an entire city block, the project took over four years to complete. Fletcher Priest Architects designed the development, with Wates Group as the main contractor and E J Roberts as the specialist roofing contractor. The project involved the unification of thirteen different buildings, including several historic facades.AccuRoof, the specification arm of SIG Roofing, was tasked by Wates Group to create a complex folding roof that would fulfil the architects’ original design vision and meet the requirements of BREEAM Outstanding and the Gold WELL Building Standard. The chosen solution involved incorporating natural slate elements into the design while navigating strict environmental and fire safety regulations that prohibited the use of hot works or lead flashings.The solution, implemented by E J Roberts, a multi-disciplinary roofing contractor with over sixty years of experience, is a roof composed of three different roofing systems. Cwt-y-bugail Natural Slate covers most of the roof, elZinc Lava zinc is used for flashings, gutters, balcony edges, and cladding, and IKO Permatec Hot Melt inverted roof system is used for the flat roof areas, the 22 terraces, and behind the iconic lights.The Lucent W1 slate features a beautiful dark blue-grey Welsh Slate from the Cwt-y-bugail quarry in Ffestiniog, covering a total of 1450m2 and is designed to meet the requirements of BS 5534. The main roof areas are covered in 500x250mm slates in the heavier 7mm County grade, with a riven leading edge. This gives the roofscape a familiar, high-quality look, similar to that of historic buildings in the capital. All the slates are double nailed and hook-fixed, and bespoke snow guards eliminate any risk to pedestrians below.Some of the roof areas required a very low pitch of 15 degrees, which is outside the British Standard. AccuRoof collaborated with specialist manufacturer Permavent to integrate their Easy Slate system in these areas. The system incorporates a unique soaker between each slate, allowing natural slates to be installed at pitches as low as 12 degrees.Natural slate forms the largest part of the roof and all slate areas were specified to use fire retardant (FRT) batten to meet the project’s fire safety requirements. The original architects design intent stated the use of Aluminium Counter battens (A2 fire rated), but as this wasn’t a recommended install method by Welsh Slate, who recommended timber battens, AccuRoof were able to provide Euroclass B Fire Rated Timber Battens for the project, that the Architect approved. The substantial order was therefore awarded to SR Timber and fulfilled by SIG Roofing who supplied all the roofing materials for the project. It contained 3700 linear metres of BS 5534 graded 25mm x 50mm Fire Retardant Treated (FRT) batten and approximately a similar quantity of 50mm x 50mm counter batten specially produced and graded to BS 4978, also Fire Retardant Treated (FRT). The special order required SR Timber to supply its usual high-quality graded roofing batten, completed with an additional process. Instead of undergoing its usual water-based treatment to produce its trademarked Premium Gold batten, each piece is monitored for its moisture content and given a fire retardant treatment. The completed special order was then delivered to their customer SIG Roofing’s Kentish Town branch. The SIG Roofing branch held stock to allow easy call off from branch and it had an additional stock holding area closer to the site. All roofing materials had to be carefully craned on site, as part of a detailed logistics programme. The work was taking place in a busy area of the West End with limited access and two flagship retail stores that needed to remain open. Due to the tight schedule, all 28,000 roof slates were stored on top of the building for weeks before installation.“We were delighted to be able to supply our batten for this prestigious development. It is a testament to our reputation as a supplier of quality timber batten for the UK market. The additional FRT process is also something very few other batten suppliers now offer as it requires a graded batten that hits the correct moisture content to be even considered.” Said Shaun Revill, Trading Director at SR Timber.More details on this stunning project at https://accuroof.co.uk/article/lucent-w1-how-the-complex-roof-was-built/ Client: LandsecArchitect: Fletcher Priest ArchitectsMain Contractor: Wates GroupRoof design and supply: AccuRoof with SIGA Slate, SIG Zinc and Copper, SR Timber and SIG RoofingSpecialist Roofing Contractor: E J Roberts Roofing LtdProject Website: LucentW1