Cembrit Contessa natural slates have ‘wrapped up’ a unique project in Devon which sees an old, unused primary school transformed into stylish new homes.
Bluecoat Villas, which is located in Torrington, a historic market town in the north of Devon, features 13 two, three and four bedroom properties. The project is the vision of Torridge District Council to convert the old Bluecoat Primary School into five new homes and build a further eight homes on the plot.
With the project located near the Devon coast, the contractor had to specify a product that can withstand the weather conditions that are common in the South West. Having worked with Cembrit roofing products in the past, and understanding the durability of natural slate, Barnstaple-based building contractors, Anderson & Evans Ltd specified Cembrit Contessa slates, and installed approximately 30,000 of the blue/black slates on the roof and on the external walls of the properties to provide a highly aesthetic appearance and a versatile design.
“Cembrit natural slates are a fantastic building product,” comments Gary Evans, Director, Anderson and Evans Ltd. “We have worked with Cembrit slates in the past, and were impressed by the material, as the slates don’t break, resulting in no wastage. This is a huge advantage for us. The textured appearance of the Contessa slates beautifully complements the external envelope of both the new and existing properties.”
Contessa, one of the UK’s leading specified Spanish slates, is produced by some of the most efficient quarries in Spain, chosen because they have a track record of supplying slates suitable for the UK climate. With its textured surface, an attractive and long lasting roof can be achieved. They are strong enough to withstand weather conditions and are unaffected by sunlight, ultraviolet light and acid rain. Contessa slates will last the lifetime of the building.
With over 80 years’ experience, Cembrit offers a wide range of fibre cement slates, corrugated sheets, and rainscreen cladding and building boards, as well as natural slates. Our factories operate Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to EN14001. Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) are available on all Cembrit manufactured ranges. Cembrit fibre cement slates are listed on the Greenbooklive.com register of environmental products. Quality levels at group factories are rigorously maintained to high standards with many products manufactured under the control of ISO 9001 and British Board of Agrément. Cembrit is owned by the Swedish-based investment company Solix Group AB.
For more information, and to download the fibre cement slate guide, visit www.cembrit.co.uk Follow us on Twitter at @CembritUK and Facebook at Cembrit UK.
