Filon was called upon to provide a refurbishment solution for the Grade 2 listed London Gliding Club Building in Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, at the foot of the Dunstable Downs

The Club is one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the UK, having been in existence since 1930. In 1935 the original wooden hangars at the site were replaced on the present building designed by the renowned architect and club member Kit Nicholson.

In recent years, the building had deteriorated and the decision was taken to carry out refurbishment to the roofing and cladding.

This presented an unusual challenge. The local planning department insisted on replacement using a profile to match the existing asbestos cement cladding, to comply with the requirements of the building’s listing. However, during a previous refurbishment the cladding had been replaced incorrectly, with the same profile used for walls and roofing.

After being approached by the client’s architect, the Technical Department at Filon responded by modifying an existing GRP roofing profile to provide a practical solution which performed the dual roles of wall and roof sheeting, whilst conforming to the aesthetic requirements of the planners.

Filon’s triple reinforced GRP sheeting, Supasafe was used on the roof and was complemented by matching translucent rooflight sheets. For the walls, Filon’s double reinforced DR-30 was used. These two outstandingly strong yet still relatively thin and lightweight products were chosen to provide a very strong and durable roof to provide long term non-fragility and enable the roof and walls to cope with the possible high wind loads on the exposed site.

Filon DR and Supasafe roof sheets and rooflights are are available in three fire resistant grades to meet current Building Regulations for Fire Safety and as well as natural translucent, they can also be produced in almost any colour and to match most current and obsolete roofing and cladding profiles.

Press release and images supplied by Filon