Increasingly, when we’re asked to install air source heat pumps or chillers on the roof of a high-rise office or hotel, the roof itself turns out to be the problem. Years of exposure leave many older roofs unable to take the additional weight of new plant, or unable to carry that load safely for the full lifespan the equipment is specified for. It often isn’t picked up until survey stage, by which point it can hold up an EPC-driven project that was supposed to be straightforward.
Kimpton folds roofing remedial work into the same construction service as the plant installation itself, in the same way we do with glazing, rather than leaving a client to find and coordinate a separate roofing contractor. That means one team assessing whether the existing structure can take the load, one team specifying and carrying out any reinforcement or covering upgrade required, and one programme that sequences the roofing work ahead of the mechanical installation rather than running the two as separate projects with their own timescales.
On high-rise and live buildings, that work has to happen without disrupting the people below or compromising the building’s safety systems. Fire protection integrity across roof penetrations, cable and pipe routes, and compartment lines has to be maintained throughout, and we plan access, loading and sequencing around a building that stays occupied and operational the entire time. It’s the same principle we apply to plant rooms and mechanical installations generally: get the structure right first, so the system installed on top of it performs for its full design life rather than needing remedial work again in a few years.
If a rooftop ASHP or chiller installation is on the cards and you’re not sure the roof underneath it is up to the job, we’d like to talk about it before it becomes a problem on site. Call the Kimpton team on 0151 343 1963 or email website@kimpton.co.uk.
Client: Read Construction Customer: Abbey School, Chester Service: HVAC Mechanical Services Project value: £400k Project completion: August 2021 Abbey School,
Client: Countess of Chester NHS Hospital Project Value: £275k Overview The Kimpton team recently completed a project at the Countess of Chester Hospital to remove
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