Home James For Yeoman Rainguard

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Oct 13, 2004

Yeoman Rainguard was appointed to supply a rainwater system that would fit in with buildings in Covent Garden.

Covent Garden is renowned across the world for its bohemian scene, cultural atmosphere and architectural elegance.

Playing host to the Royal Opera House, an array of theatres and the famous market building, Covent Garden was the first square ever to be built in the country and is rich with both historical and modern architectural designs.

A number of organisations are charged with the preservation of Covent Garden and all work hard to prevent any developments and building works from spoiling the traditional charm of the area.

When number 11 James Street was undergoing complete external refurbishment, it was no exception.

Strict guidelines were imposed to maintain these efforts and ensure that the work complemented the surrounding aesthetics of the area.

A key part of the restoration at number 11 James Street lay with its guttering systems and Yeoman Rainguard was appointed to supply a rainwater system that would fit in with the building and the buildings adjacent to it.

The existing system, likely to have been built decades ago, featured downpipes constructed from cast iron, with offsets and hoppers made by hand on site in lead.

It was up to Yeoman Rainguard to find a solution that would match the surrounding system, be quick to fit and have the bespoke capacity to complement the existing offset design.

Yeoman Rainguard worked to please the authorities involved and came up with a system manufactured from its long-established GRP (Glass Reinforced Polyester) range.

A technical representative from the company visited the site to take the exact dimensions of the lead offsets and, once working drawings were prepared, two offsets were manufactured in GRP to exactly reproduce the originals.

All the GRP pipes, offsets and hoppers tastefully replicated the original system and were ready and waiting on site when the contractors were ready to fit them.

The bespoke solution offered by Yeoman Rainguard meant that there was no difference in appearance from the cast iron pipe work that featured on the adjoining building.

The building fa?ade was effectively refreshed using a modern solution, without compromising on traditional quality.

The design and manufacture of the GRP products means that the new rainwater system on James Street requires no ongoing maintenance.

This, coupled with the fact that it will retain its original appearance for many years to come, made for an extremely cost-effective and convenient solution allowing for minimum disruption in this busy part of London.

"There are extremely tight regulations applying to Covent Garden and it was vital for us to provide a rainwater solution that was not only cost-effective, but that could also offer the bespoke solution needed to manufacture the traditional system that was to be replaced," says Paul Scott from Yeoman Rainguard.

"Our hugely successful GRP range provided the perfect fit for the project's brief.

We were able to specifically tailor our products to meet with the restrictions and budget that were in place, whilst maintaining the character of the original system with exact replicas of the traditional hoppers, pipes and offsets.".