The Lawtech Group has completed a comprehensive programme of refurbishment works on the Cedars Estate in Lambeth, making improvements to 370 maisonettes to reduce energy bills and create more comfortable homes for hundreds of residents.
The improvement works on the Cedars Estate forms part of the five year £490m Lambeth Housing Standard (LHS) programme which aims to deliver energy bill savings, increased thermal comfort and sound resistance, reduced heat loss and condensation, and refreshed building facades. Appointed as principal contractor with full design responsibility, Lawtech’s Scope of Works comprised 28,000m2 of rockwool ‘REDArt’ External Wall Insulation (EWI) to 370 maisonettes and 156 replacement boilers.
The works were carried out with minimal disruption to 61 interconnected 3 and 4-storey blocks of maisonettes at Victoria Rise and Cedars Road, and one low-rise block of 16 units at Lyncott Crescent, working for tenants and leaseholders.
David Smith, business development manager at Lawtech Group, commented: “The client Lambeth Living were looking to substantially alleviate fuel poverty for its residents through energy efficient improvement works. Early engagement and collaboration between Lawtech, the client and tenants ensured the right retrofit was carried out and helped the smooth running of the project from start to finish.”
As the client Lambeth Living had previously engaged another contractor to install glazing and roofing at the estate, their programme of works overlapped with Lawtech so it was beneficial to both parties if resources were shared, particularly with respect to satisfying the 11 month funding deadline.
At peak stages of the programme, Lawtech had more than 100 EWI installation operatives on site daily which put pressure on the welfare facilities. The site management team staggered operatives’ break times to ensure they had regular access to rest areas and washing facilities. They also recruited a Forklift Driver and a Storeman locally for the duration of the contract to supervise Lawtech’s delivery and stock control activities at the compound.
Replacement boilers were installed by Lawtech’s specialist sub-
contractor. Having observed that the glazing/roofing contractor’s 
Resident Liaison team had not fully engaged with tenants/residents over access and Section 20 issues, the Lawtech senior project manager visited all leaseholder properties personally to advise them of their options in relation to gas boilers. In the cases of sub-lets, Lawtech contacted the Landlords in order to obtain their direct instructions.
Gas safety awareness training was delivered on site and a Permit to Work system controlled all gas-related activities. Lawtech retained a Gas Safe engineer on site to oversee all flue extensions.
