Yeoman Rainguard helps craft Gidea Park

Rainwater system blends into the new building's historic surroundings.

Gidea Park in Romford is famous for being an area rich with Arts and Crafts style architecture, a reputation that was achieved after it played host to the 'Hundred Best Houses' exhibition in 1911.

The exhibition saw some 96 individual architects and partnerships flood to the area with their designs, all but one of which was in the distinctive Arts and Crafts style.

This variety of building focused on hand-crafted, anti-industrial processes, which were stripped of unnecessary decoration.

The buildings in Gidea Park are a perfect example of this famous architectural style and now form part of a conservation area.

When a property in the area was demolished, the plot of land was quickly snapped up by developers.

However, the Local Authority had some clear restrictions in mind to ensure that the area's architectural interest was preserved and this included the type of rainwater system that was to be installed on the building.

Yeoman Rainguard was contacted by the developers to see if they were able to provide a cost-effective solution that would meet all the criteria.

Yeoman Rainguard visited the site and was able to offer a half round system that matched the surrounding properties in both size and profile.

The products also bolted together in a similar fashion to cast iron and where practical, the downpipes were supplied in two metre lengths in an attempt to replicate the 6ft lengths of cast iron used on neighbouring properties.

The resulting system offered a range of customised mitred stopends and offsets, which were a perfect fit with the contours of the house.

Although cast iron was the material of choice for the Local Authority, closer inspection found that the aluminium offering - which was powder coated in a black textured finish - met the strict criteria put in place for the style, size, profile and finish of the system.

As aluminium is far lighter than cast iron and pre-finished before arriving on-site, the contractor was able to fit the system in less time than would be needed with a cast iron equivalent, bringing significant cost savings to the project.

Paul Scott at Yeoman Rainguard says, "The guidelines we had to work off for this project were extremely strict and it was vital that we came up with a system that would blend into the new building's historic surroundings".

" The finish and custom-made benefits of the products meant that the current developers were able to save money by avoiding a more costly cast iron alternative".

" Plus, with little ongoing maintenance required, the system is bound to be more than just aesthetically pleasing for future buyers.".

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