Case Studies

Perth and Kinross PFI

As an established preferred supplier of air-tightness and acoustic compliance services to Laing O'Rourke (LOR), Stroma was appointed to offer an air-tightness testing and consultancy package to 8 schools in the Perth region. The requirement to achieve the demanding air-tightness target of 7.5m3/hr/m2 @ 50Pa, combined with Stroma's ability to provide informed design and construction advice, precipitated our early appointment in the programme.

It was agreed that Stroma would offer each school a four-stage approach, towards first-time compliance.First came 'design workshops', held on site with key project and sub-contractor design staff to identify over-arching air-barrier design strategy, potentially problematic areas and key details.This was followed by 'desk-top' drawing reviews to appraise the air-tightness details discussed in the workshop and offer advice on further improvements.

Next came the detailed inspections of the physical buildings at various stages of the programme. Stroma's approach is to deploy experienced air-tightness consultants to spend a day on site, starting with initial two-way briefings with the site management, before conducting a comprehensive inspection of the entire envelope, during which all observations of relevant details are noted and photographed.We then remain on site and produce an illustrated report, which is submitted electronically and explained to ensure full comprehension and agreement before we leave site.

Finally, when each building was approaching completion, air-tightness tests were carried out by Stroma. To date, 5 of the 8 schools have been tested; one of the top performers being Crieff High School. This building achieved a first time air-tightness rating of 5.31m3/hr/m2 @ 50Pa.