Products from Kingspan Insulation’s Kooltherm and Therma ranges have helped to transform a derelict water tower in North Yorkshire into a striking family home, as featured on Channel 4‘s Restoration Man.
Built in the late 1930s, Pannal Water Tower provided clean water to the nearby village of Kirkby Overblow for three decades before being abandoned when the Harrogate water board extended its supply. Despite having stood as an empty shell for over 50 years, Carol and Majid Nadry were inspired by the tower’s industrial charm and stunning natural location, and bought it at auction with the ambition to turn it into a home for themselves and their youngest daughter.
However, as with any conversion of an industrial building into a domestic dwelling, there were some inherent design issues that needed to be considered. Whilst ceiling height wasn’t an issue in the 46 ft tower, the narrowness of its footprint meant that the width of the walls needed to be kept to a minimum in order to maximise the liveable space. This led to the specification of Kingspan Kooltherm K12 Framing Board.
Homeowner and project manager, Carol Nadry explains: “We were concerned that when we came to insulate the tower, we would lose valuable space from the rooms we had created within the structure. The Kingspan Kooltherm range was a lot thinner than other types of insulation, but still offered a high level of thermal performance which would allow us to meet the building regulation requirements.”
Timber studwork was installed on the inner face of the brick external walls. 50 mm thick Kingspan Kooltherm K12 Framing Board was then installed between the battens. The insulation boards offered a lightweight solution which could easily be cut to size.
The Nadrys also constructed a low-level extension for the tower to provide additional living space. To insulate thecavity walled construction of the extension they installed 50 mm Kingspan Kooltherm K8 Cavity Board.
Both products offer premium levels of thermal performance with thermal conductivities as low as 0.020 W/m.K. The boards have been assigned the highest possible 2008 Green Guide Summary Rating of A+ by the BRE and manufactured under a management system certified to ISO 14001: 2004
Additionally, to avoid the need for wall mounted radiators within the main water tower, underfloor heating was installed on every floor of the building. To help retain the heat in the floor space above, Kingspan Thermafloor TF70 floor insulation was installed beneath theheating pipes on every floor.
The Kingspan Kooltherm products’ ability to deliver outstanding thermal performance from minimal insulation thicknesses has helped the Nadrys to create a home that is not only sensitive to the building’s industrial past, but that functions as a cosy yet spacious family home.
