Commercial insider by Granada Secondary Glazing

Commercial

turn key service

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE Bringing peace & quiet to famous old libraries KEEPING UP WITH THE JONSES The Granada family thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sleeping soundly ACOUSTIC SET

Mike Talk’s

Meet the team

Meet The Team

“

Here at Granada, we take pride in offering a full turnkey service for our clients.

”

Mike Latham - Commercial Sales Director

Being the UK’s number one manufacturer of bespoke secondary glazing and with local partners covering the whole of the country, Granada Secondary Glazing has plenty of news to share. To keep things simple, the latest news, features and announcements are collected together to create a onestop-shop for our current and recent successes. This time, the newsletter has a focus on the commercial aspect of our business, and how our products have a wealth of benefits to any building. As the company grows, the Insider newsletter will bring you up to date with new members of the team, new services and sneak previews into some of our recent projects. In this issue, we will introduce you to the commercial team, explain the details of our brand new turnkey service, show you our recent work in an Oxford library and share how we have expanded our Continued Professional Development programme.

From the very beginning, we have been firmly focussed on being a trusted advisor as well as the very best manufacturer in our industry. With an aim of providing the very best product, no other manufacturer has the wealth of talent, products, experience and support to deliver a better secondary glazing solution to your premises. Some of the key advantages of installing secondary glazing are: • • •

• Here at Granada, we take pride in offering a full turnkey service for our clients, and our 20 years of experience in secondary glazing has provided us with the knowledge to deliver a high quality, complete service on time and on budget.

• •

It’s a low cost way to reduce your carbon footprint The operating costs are lower due to reduced heat loss by up to 65% Working environments become more comfortable, meaning happier employees Acoustic performance is drastically improved Eliminates draughts The installation is quick, clean and non-disruptive

Robert Walton - Business Development Manager (South) With over 10 years’ experience as a Specification Sales Manager Rob understands the needs of the Specifier and Architect Rob began working within the construction sector at the age of 21. Working closely with Specifiers and Architects he ensures the perfect glazing solution is provided. Frequently presenting CPD’s and aiding Architects is Rob’s passion. A recent project Scriptor Court – London needed to ensure a clear visual clarity whilst reducing the overall U-Value. Rob suggested the use of a low iron e glass which would maintain the visual clarity of the glazing project. The final U-Value result exceeded client expectations at 1.868 W/m2k. Rob mentions “The initial specification is vital to any project. Often the Architect is required to work within tight regulations, this is why understanding the specification is key as it allows me to offer a bespoke glazing package suitable for purpose.”

Along with everyone at Granada, the commercial team is devoted to designing, manufacturing and installing our products to the correct specification as well as exceeding expectations with our outstanding quality, value and service. 24 years’ experience within the aluminium window systems industry, Mike Latham manages large projects across the UK.

Rebecca Tyson - Commercial Sales

The Last 15 years developing new business opportunities for our secondary glazing product range via architects specifiers and main contractors.

Rebecca is the first point of contact for all commercial enquiries, she is very skilled in assessing client requirements and provides advice and guidance on the full range of secondary glazing specification topics from Thermal, through Acoustic, to Enhanced security.

Working closely with Granada’s Partners; BAM Construction, Morgan Sindall, ISG and Kier Construction Mike has managed projects including Bush House London, Great Northern Hotel Kings Cross, and Parkinson Building Leeds.

On a daily basis Rebecca controls the flow and recording of all live project information and is the link between the client and the field sales team in terms of organising site visits and meetings.

Rebecca has been at Granada for over 4 years, supporting our commercial sales team and contracts management.

Meet the team Lauren Jordan - Commercial Estimator Lauren has worked at Granada for over 4 years, supporting our commercial team as a estimator and order processor. Lauren notes “Every project we take on is extremely different; some more complex than others but all equally interesting and fulfilling, I take great pride in the fact that we complete projects to a high standard and within budget.” Lauren often speaks directly with clients providing them with technical information and offering support and advice where required.

Mike Latham, Commercial Director at Granada mentions “The visual styling of secondary glazing has changed greatly over the last decade. We can design and manufacture slimline units that are unobtrusive and blend in to any environment. The key to any project like this, is to fully understand the specification. Once this is achieved we can design a product that is durable and fit for purpose. The main challenge was to develop a bespoke opening system, our in-house product technicians, designed a system which works incredibly well and offers ease of use.”

Granada worked in partnership with Sewell contractors and Fuse Architects. As a result of product quality, product functionality and Granada’s project management we are pleased to announce that our Heritage Hinged Unit with, bespoke gearing system has been specified again by Fuse for the University of Hull.

Leeds Fine Art Building

Our expansion plans increase manufaturing floor space to over 40,000 sq feet. The School of Fine Art – Leeds, have invested £7.6M, relocating to a refurbished building, based on University Road. The development was to give students an inspirational learning environment. The outside of the building showcases large windows which permits a vast amount of natural light aiding the student’s creative passion. Secondary glazing was specified to reduce the carbon footprint of the building and blend in seamlessly with the surrounding environment. An important feature of the glazing package, was to develop a mechanism

that opened both primary and secondary units simultaneously. To maintain total functionality of the primary glazing Granada advised the installation of heritage hinged units which can be easily opened for cleaning and maintenance. The original windows opened from the top, making it difficult for students and lecturers to open the windows for ventilation and cooling the room. Granada developed a bespoke gearing solution which allows the primary and secondary glazing to be opened simultaneously. A handle placed next to the window allows for easy opening and closing. Please view our short video case study above.

For security reasons a common request is to have actuator handle installed on the main units. A actuator handle is a removable handle that is installed to prevent unautohrised access/opening of glazed units. These handles were installed on the bottom units to prevent students from opening. Sewell (contractors for the project) noted “We have all enjoyed working on this project and looking at the finished article is something we are all incredibly proud of and thankful that we have been part of the journey in the next chapter of this building.”

allows us to create bespoke arches tailored to many property types including Ecclesiastical, Hotels, Listed and Conservation.

can design, manufacture and install secondary glazing. Alongside this we can refurbish existing timber and metal windows.

Our new manufacturing facility will house new machinery including; automated CNC machinery, aluminium bending machine and a state of the art powder coating paint line.

The powder cating paint line ensures we can finish each and every frame to a high standard and manage quality control from the first cut we make to the aluminum profile down to the last screw we fix to the unit.

Where the primary windows can be replaced we offer primary aluminum units which are specifically designed to increase security and retain heat.

As we are dedicated to manufacturing high quality aluminium secondary glazing we needed to bring all fabrication and manufacturing in house. The addition of the new machinery

Our commercial team are dedicated to offer not just the highest quality glazed units but also a service that no one can match. Our turnkey service now means you can work with one company which

As part of our expansion plans we are pleased to announce we are working on our new manufacturing faculty which will increase our manufacturing floor space to over 40,000 sq feet.

We are delighted to offer a full turnkey service as this now means we can offer a full glazing package ensuring you only need to talk to one project manager saving you time and money.

Turn key service

Why Granada?

After becoming the UK’s number one manufacturer of bespoke secondary windows, the team has now sought out a new challenge – a full turnkey service to meet the growing needs of architects, commercial clients and trade customers. As well as manufacturing brand new secondary glazed windows, the Granada team now has the strength and capabilities to refurbish existing primary windows, both metal and timber. Mike Latham, commercial director at Granada believes everyone should have the opportunity to live in a warmer, quieter world – even people living or working in listed buildings. “The windows of Grade II listed buildings usually cannot be changed, meaning they can be prone to cold winters, noise pollution and security risks,” he says. “However, the introduction of a refurbishment service at Granada means existing primary windows can be updated for a reduction in noise as well as thermal and security benefits.” Granada Secondary Glazing will now offer a refurbishment service, where primary windows aren’t able to be replaced. This usually occurs in historic buildings where the original architecture needs to be protected for future generations.

Mike adds: “The single glazed windows that commonly feature in listed buildings are poor thermal insulators and readily conduct heat. With our refurbishment solution, we have the ability to retain the aesthetics of listed buildings while ensuring they benefit from the added security, noise reduction and energy efficiency that more modern buildings have.” Although this service is intended mainly for listed buildings, any primary window with the need of an update without replacing the whole window can benefit from this new service. The whole process under one roof The latest expansion at Granada’s manufacturing facility in Dinnington has doubled the floor space to 40,000 sq feet allowing more space for our secondary glazing products to continue to be manufactured to the highest standard.

With this expansion comes brand new equipment to assist us in the delivery of the best possible product: Bending machine The first new addition to the facility is a bending machine, purchased to give the Granada team the ability to arch aluminium frames. The machine will assist Granada in delivering arched and angled aluminium frames for secondary glazed windows at a faster rate, meaning customers requesting bespoke secondary glazing will have their new windows fitted even quicker than before. Powder Coating Paint Line Seeing an increase in the demand for painted windows, Granada has also had a powder coating paint line installed. The new powder coating machine will allow customers to specify the finish to their windows in over 200 RAL colours, and will mean Granada will have the ability to fulfil these requests in-house. “Purchasing more equipment allows for more work to be completed under one roof,” says Mike Latham. “We will see a reduction in the need to outsource certain customer requirements with the addition of the bending machine and powder coating paint line. “With the whole manufacturing process brought in-house, lead times are reduced and quality assurance is improved, providing an even sleeker service to our customers.” The full glazing package Supported by the new machinery and extra space at the manufacturing facility, Granada now also offers a fully

managed process, providing full glazing packages for every eventuality. Mike adds: “We pride ourselves in offering our services to a wide range of customers and clients. Everyone has the right to live in a warmer, quieter, safer world and Granada secondary glazed windows have clear benefits to thermal and acoustic performance.” As well as this, there is now the option to support aluminium primary glazing with secondary glazing to reduce noise levels. As always, Granada secondary glazed windows are an excellent solution to noise disturbance from nearby busy roads, aircrafts and trains, providing a 70-80% reduction in noise. Design, manufacture and install Commercial director Mike Latham believes that at the heart of the business is a passion to design, manufacture and install secondary glazing together with providing excellent service. He says: “We are no longer just a manufacturer of secondary glazed windows. We now have the ability to provide a full service in the design, manufacturing and installation of secondary glazing for our customers. Mike concludes: “The introduction of our turnkey service, together with the expansion of our manufacturing facility, will enable us to provide an even better secondary glazing solution. The new machinery will mean requests for bespoke windows will be turned around much more quickly and our levels of quality control will be increased, keeping customers happier.”

noise pollution

Shhh! Quiet please! Our products can be found in some esteemed places, but few equal the prestige and status of those in the city of dreaming spires.

rom future Kings and High Court judges, to documentary makers, Chancellors to PLC chairmen, many of the nation’s most preeminent figures have graced the corridors of Magdelen College, Oxford. Yet, despite its prestige, the central location and age of the building, a converted Victorian schoolhouse, raises a number of challenges, particularly in the world famous library. Problems including outdated plumbing and electrics, poor lighting and acoustics and erratic heating, has led to a major renovation project, with a target fund of £7.5m. Dr Paul Beckwith, who read for a DPhil (Oxford’s term for PhD) in chemistry at Magdalen and worked in financial services in New York and Hong Kong, is closely associated with the college and has become a major donor. “Between the severe lack of space, traffic noise and woeful heating in the o l d library, we were letting our students down,” says Dr Beckwith. “I was delighted to be the first to

give financial support to this inspired project. The new library will be a terrific addition to the College.” The library building, described by many as one of the great libraries of the world, is actually a converted 300 year old church, with 6.5m high windows and ornate, if irregular arches. With traffic noise increasing and the required acoustic performance higher than a typical building, the Granada team spent considerable time demonstrating the potential benefits of secondary glazing to an initially sceptical conservation officer. “We knew it would be a challenge, but finding the right solution was certainly within reach,” says commercial sales director, Mike Latham. “You can imagine that any solution for windows so high would raise concerns regarding the fixtures required to take the considerable weight. There were concerns, but the contractors, Stepnell, had faith in our ability to fulfill the brief. It’s fair to say that the conservation officer is now a big fan!”

Now the home of the Oxford Martin School, the building is constructed of Milton stone “in the style of the English Renaissance, with some Oriental details” to the designs of Basil Champneys.

“We knew it would be a challenge, but finding the

Champneys also designed the Rhodes Building, constructed in 1911. Today a Grade II* building, it fills the whole stretch of the High Street between Magpie Lane and Oriel Street, and required seven houses to be demolished to make room for it.

The Rhodes Building has recently attracted international attention following a student campaign to remove from its front a statue to the controversial figure, Cecil Rhodes, after which it is named.

right solution was certainly within reach.” Key to winning over the conservation office was the development of an analoc bronze finish look. The finish was developed especially for the project, with samples and improvements discussed and developed along the way.

also supplemented by excellent energy conservation.

Modern fittings with an antique look helps the new glazing blend into its historic surroundings and the benefits of low traffic noise is

The Indian Institute in central Oxford was originally founded to provide training for candidates for the Indian Civil Service exam, said at the time to be the most difficult exam in the world.

“Noise is the key issue,” adds Mike. “It’s been a similar story in other college projects we’ve been involved in, such as the Old Indian Institute and the Rhodes Building at Oriel College.”

Being so close to the High Street meant excellent acoustic properties were required, whilst the inner facing windows were fitted with thermal glass, providing a more even and manageable temperature profile for the law students within. Custom hinged units were produced due to the constraints of the original window design, exceeding the expectations of Marcus Beale Architects.

Airport Expansion It’s estimated that 780,000 people live

Granada is offering fitters, designers, specifiers and

under Heathrow’s flight path. Can they

architects the opportunity to find out more and improve

really prevent the expansion of the

their skills with a new extended CPD Programme.

UK’s busiest port and gateway to 84 countries?

Ready For Take Off?

t would be reasonable to assume that any operation serving 70 million customers each year; bringing in billions for the exchequer; employing over 76,000 people, and regularly lauded as one of the world’s best, to have the full support of the government for future growth. But when that operation is Heathrow Airport, it’s not quite as straightforward... Noise pollution is regularly cited as a major factor for those wanting its expansion not to go ahead, and in July 2015 this became a key aspect of the Davies Commission report, looking at future expansion. The decision to recommend the go-ahead for a new third runway, was given on the proviso that a legally binding ‘noise envelope’ is put in place, with firm limits on the level of noise created by the airport. At the moment, about 650 planes take off each day along one of the “Noise Preferential Routes” - 1.9 mile-wide (3km) corridors set by the Department for Transport (DfT) in the 1960s to minimise noise disturbance to the airport’s neighbours. The huge expansion in housing around the Greater London area since then means there are many

more people living along those routes, but technology has also moved on, and the noise people feel in their homes can be greatly reduced through modern fenestration techniques. Secondary glazing leads the way, thanks to its unique soundproofing and draught prevention capabilities. Whilst the high-frequency noise of aircraft taking off is greatly reduced by secondary glazing, where it really comes into its own is in blocking out low frequency sounds, in particular, road noise. Aircraft noise, as measured in EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise in Decibels), has dropped thanks to aircraft design improvements, but the annoyance people experience is less easy to quantify and can be exacerbated by the frequency and variety of different noises heard. In fact, it may not be up in the air at all that residents should look. As far as Heathrow’s extension is concerned, the real villain of the piece is

likely to be traffic. Busier airports bring more cars, buses, taxis and lorries and as well as aircraft. Inevitably, it also brings road works - six billion pounds worth of additional work is planned for the M25 alone. Reducing external noise is not one of the primary drivers of innovation in the automobile industry. We, of course, would advocate improved acoustic soundproofing via secondary glazing, but the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea has found its own way of tackling at least part of the problem. Complaints about the noise from million pound supercars revving their engines around Harrods have led the council to introduce new anti-social behaviour laws. Banning Middle-Eastern princes from racing their Lamborghinis or performing stunts in their gold Ferraris will alleviate the nuisance for some, but for those living in perhaps more modest parts of town, it’s comforting to know there’s a simpler alternative to keeping the outside world at bay.

What is CPD? The CPD process helps you manage your own development on an ongoing basis. Our programme is set up to provide you with all the information required to include secondary glazing in the design of your scheme.

Promoting Best Practice

e are pleased to announce the expansion of our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminar programme this year, this is to reflect the latest developments in the secondary glazing market. As members of the RIBA CPD Providers Network, we regularly run CPD seminars to provide specifiers with a better understanding of the benefits of secondary glazing. Our seminars provide up to date information but also help showcase some of the great work going on within the business.

CPD seminars are a crucial part of our offering and help show the full depth of what we have to offer those who work with us. We have further strengthened that offer with the recent appointment of business development manager, Robert Walton.

Robert, who has over 20 years’ construction experience, will be working closely with architects and specifiers, and delivering our CPD presentations. Speaking about the programme, Robert said, “The people we work with are naturally aware that CPD not only reinforces professionalism and competence, but offers unique benefits to help fast track careers and grow business. Our aim is to demonstrate the fantastic opportunities that secondary glazing offers, whilst highlighting the importance of early stage design.”

“This saves specifiers time and ensures they don’t have to substitute our secondary glazing with an inferior product. The reassurance of an NBS specification further emphasises the quality of our product.”

Another initiative recently taken with RIBA is the addition of key product specifications to NBS Plus, providing specifiers with instant access to technical product information. “We wanted to make our product information instantly accessible to clients,” concludes Robert.

case study

Premier

Grade II-listed building, the Art Deco store features huge windows which helped to set the flagship store apart, as well as making it the ideal venue for cabaret nights, ballroom dancing, Christmas parties and corporate functions until the late 1990s. Despite the prime location the building has largely stood empty for almost a decade. All that has changed since construction group, Interserve, set to work on the Gallowgate project and began to bring the building back to life. One of the most significant new occupiers is Premier Inn, who will now operate a 184-bed hotel in an ideal citycentre location. Premier Inn, one of the most prolific hotel builders in the UK, has extremely strong corporate values and places the promise of a good night’s sleep at the heart of its offering. There are many facilities, furnishings and services a hotel can provide to its guests, to help meet a promise; the comfort of a Hypnos bed perhaps or

It has taken around 12 months and a £30m investment to turn a former Co-Operative department store in Newcastle City Centre into luxurious retail, leisure and hotel facilities. The iconic store extends to nearly 170,000ft2 and has been a feature of the North East city skyline since it opened back in the 1930’s...

Scriptor Court London

criptor Court situated on Farringdon Road, London is a conservation controlled building. As a desirable office space Scriptor Court was in need of an updated glazing solution where the principle issue was to combat heat loss and maintain the clarity of the existing primary glazing.

a choice of firm or soft pillow. Guests undoubtedly want the right location but they also want to enjoy peace and quiet; quite the task when the hotel is based no more than 150 yards from St James’ Park, home to over 52,000 passionate Geordies, creating sound levels that roar throughout the city. The nightlife in Newcastle is also very lively, with pubs and clubs open into the early hours. During the construction of the hotel, Granada were appointed to provide secondary glazing that would be discreet, aesthetically pleasing and provide the noise reduction that would help keep the guests of the Premier Inn satisfied. Granada installed one of its own ‘Premier’ products, by fitting secondary glazing with outstanding acoustic properties. Not only does the secondary glazing reduce noise by a substantial level, complementing existing primary window but adding a void to stop sound travelling inwards, it also increases the warmth and security of the room. Well fitted secondary glazing offers

the most effective noise insulation and outperforms doubling glazing significantly. To put this into values and figures, the U-Value has gone from 5.5 to 0.7; the lower the value, the better the material is as a heat insulator. The hinged units installed by Granada are the most discreet, made to measure for a perfect fit. The extra security also gives extra peace of mind to both the hotel and its guests. Rebecca Tyson of Granada said: “We were dealing with quite an old building and the windows in the previous condition wouldn’t have been able to provide the noise protection or warmth that would have been satisfactory standard for a hotel.”

As large glazed areas were leaking heat and with a targeted U-Value below 2 W/m2k Granada advised that 6mm toughened low iron eglass would ensure the best solution. The low iron content of theglass boasts superior visual clarity and a reduced green tint inherentwith other glass. Paul Leddra the project manager for the fit out was delighted with the outcome, he mentions “The U-Value attained was 1.868 W/m2k which was substantially below the target.

Granada provided asolution which reduced the U-Value whilst maintaining the visual clarity”. Mike Latham, Granada’s Commercial Director stated “Granada’s full managed process from design, manufacture and installation is a seamless process. The solutions we manufacture and install are geared to rectify principle issues, in this case we provided a glazing package which decreased the buildings carbon footprint whilst maintaining visual clarity when looking through the glass”.

Whether it is keeping quality high and costs low, or ensuring a smooth installation process against tight deadlines, Granada offers the very best in commercially-focused glazing.

“We’ve worked with the external old steel Crittal windows to provide a solution that drastically improves acoustic performance, eliminate draughts and reduce heat loss by up to 65%. We are delighted that Granada can play a part in ensuring they can keep their promises even in the most difficult locations.”

Glazing is our passion. As one of the UK’s leading proponents of architectural fenestration, we have glasswork in our blood. With over 15 years’ experience in the industry, we have worked on a host of major projects with architects, contractors, project managers, developers and cladding consultants across the UK. The assignments we help to deliver are synonymous with quality and efficiency – both in terms of cost and time management. Our ethos is simple – to mean what we say and to be the best in what we do: source, supply and install quality glazing products.

W: www.granadaglazing.com E: commercial@granadaglazing.com T: 0845 900 3899