Roofshield recognised for Royal protection

The prestigious world-renowned Royal College of Music in London has been given an extra layer of protection in the form of Roofshield, which has long been recognised as one of the highest performing roofing membrane solutions, providing a pitched roof underlay, which is both air and vapour permeable.

Since opening its doors in 1883, the college has witnessed the development
of some of the world’s most talented musicians. The original Victorian building,
designed by Arthur Blomfield has continued to serve the changing needs of
students, and now as part of the More Music Campaign: Reimagining the Royal
College of Music building development, the campus is being transformed to enable
it to continue to provide outstanding music education and facilities for musicians of
the future.

Designed by architect John Simpson, the reimagined RCM will boast an impressive
selection of new buildings with the award-winning UK construction contractor
Gilbert-Ash managing the development. Specialist roofing contractor D. Harkin &
Co. Roofing was appointed to carry out roofing works to the extension as well as
a partial re-slating of the existing building.

As part of the roofing specification, D. Harkin chose Roofshield air permeable
roofing membrane from the A. Proctor Group. The product’s exceptional
performance has been demonstrated in the toughest locations around the world.
Its characteristics allow even very complex pitched roofs to breathe, without the
need for air gaps or secondary venting.

Danny Harkin Managing Director of D. Harkin & Co explains. “A key factor in this
prestigious project was to resolve the ventilation requirements for the roofing
extension. We chose Roofshield because of its superior air permeability, which
removes the need for any additional mechanical ventilation and assures the highest
form of protection for the new buildings. We have used Roofshield successfully on
many of our projects and believe its performance to be second to none.”

The incorporation of Roofshield into a project can lead to savings in both labour
and material costs, due to no VCL being required. The high-performance air
permeability of Roofshield means that the roof space will have similar air changes
to that of a roof using traditional eaves/ridge ventilation.

Many vapour and air permeable underlays use an airtight VP film layer to
achieve their performance. The patented SMS (Spunbond Meltblown Spunbond)
structure of Roofshield allows high levels of airflow, in addition to the transport of
moisture vapour, making the formation of condensation in the roof space virtually
impossible. The extremely high degree of vapour permeability and air permeability
of Roofshield means that it is able to perform in conditions in which air tight
alternatives will not.