In 2015, Midas Construction were contracted to undertake a rolling refurbishment programme on the Pydar House Offices for Cornwall Council located in the heart of Truro. A modern regeneration of the buildings tired and dated interior had been long overdue. The programme centred on vacating an isolated selection of blocks and floors at a time to ensure that vital Council operations were allowed to be maintained as the project progressed. Once clear, these areas were completely stripped of their internal linings to the ‘bare bones’ in preparation for refurbishment.
It became apparent that the passive fire protection previously installed throughout the building was outdated and inadequate by modern standards. Therefore, AF Protection were contracted to remove these existing installations, dispose of them safely and provided a suitable up-to-date solution. The application chosen was a cladding board installation used to encase all internal structural steels throughout. The work was spread over five floors and across eight adjoined office blocks in total, with multiple trades operating simultaneously in confined areas. Needless to say, that planning, co-operation and efficiency were needed on a day-to-day basis and this was successfully achieved from on-site supervision from AF Protection supervisors and management as well as positive work ethic employed by operatives on site.
As works progressed, additional passive fire protection requirements were brought to light and subsequently awarded to AF Protection to complete as a complete project package. These included horizontal cavity barriers, vertically-installed fire curtain barriers in roof voids, fire-rated access hatches, and firestopping and penetration sealing. With these additional installations required, additional labour and supervision was necessary to ensure that work was completed to the same high standard but also within the strict deadlines set for handover and progression to subsequent blocks.
We are pleased to say that all the required works have been completed to an excellent standard and to satisfaction of the client. When asked about the service provided by AF Protection, MIDAS Site Manager Gary Soar said that AF Protection “performed exceptionally well on what was at best a difficult project… their knowledge of the products and methods made any problems easy to overcome.” The project has since been fully completed and handed over to Cornwall Council to return to full occupancy and operation. When finalised, the contract values at approximately £150,000 and represents a significant project for AF Protection; it was a demonstration of nearly all the applications that we undertake, well managed and co-ordinated, all implemented successfully on a single project.
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