Bauder Team Refurbish Emmaus Dover’s Roof

CRASH Patron Bauder, approved contractor G Baker Roofing and rooflight specialist Xtralite teamed up to help Emmaus Dover with the refurbishment of their roof.

Emmaus Dover is a self-supporting homelessness charity that offers meaningful work and support for all ‘Companions’, as the former homeless people are known. Companions are able to stay as long as they wish at the facility but in return are asked to work in the community in a range of roles according to their skills, ability and interests.

The need

On the clifftop overlooking the harbour of Dover, the charity comprises of several buildings set on a large Scheduled Monument site. This may sound idyllic, however taking on a site of historical significance that is exposed to the elements comes with many expensive challenges. In the last 12 years there have been no new developments on the site and maintenance has generally followed a reactive approach due to limited finances.

As a result, Emmaus Dover Trustees approached CRASH, the construction industry’s charity, for urgent help to develop the site including refurbishing the main roof area, which had exceeded its serviceable life and been experiencing water ingress.

The solution

After an initial visit to the project with fellow CRASH patrons, Bauder undertook a comprehensive roof survey and discovered amongst other issues that because of the nature of restrictions on a Scheduled Monument, Emmaus have not been able to install many energy saving features such as double glazing, resulting in them having large heating and energy bills.

Bauder idenitified what work would need to be done to preserve the building. Consequently, it was proposed that approved contractor G Baker Roofing would not only replace 300m2 of the failing existing waterproofing with Bauder’s high quality, long lasting bituminous system Bauderflex but would also improve the thermal performance of the building with Bauder’s 120mm PIR FA-TE insulation. 11 state-of-the-art Xtralite rooflights were also installed to effectively provide daylight and ventilation to the interior.

How patrons helped

In order to make this renovation project possible CRASH awarded a grant of £30,000 to help restore the building’s structure, while Bauder, G Baker Roofing and Xtralite provided expert technical advice and all roofing materials free of charge.