Package B – Adpar Street, Torridon House, Queens Park Court

Client
Westminster City Council
Contractor
Value
£32m
Completion Date
11th March 2026

The Challenge

As part of our contract works on the Torridon House project, our scope was to strip back cladding which had partially been installed by a previous contractor and replace with a full new build up designed and installed by one of our own supply chain partners.

The scope for this element entailed stripping back to the external sheathing board. However, once we had removed the existing installation, we noticed that a lot of the sheathing board was damaged and also showing signs of water damage. Due to the damage to the board it needed to be removed and replaced. Once this had been agreed with the customer, we commenced the removal of the existing sheathing board but once we started to remove this layer, we discovered further issues.

The structural metal framing system supporting the cladding had become corroded and showed signs of rust in various places which brings into question the structural integrity of the frame work and would therefore require further investigation and discussions around a solution. Up until this point, there were no early signs that this issue may be present as there were no signs of water ingress internally indicating that it had been getting through the cladding system and causing damage/corrosion to the framework behind.

The Solution

At the time that this issue was discovered, the critical path of the programme was through the façade works. Therefore, we knew that any delay to this element would cause a direct impact on the completion date of the project pushing it back. The severity of the impact would depend on two things, firstly how quickly we could investigate and look at various solutions and secondly, the timescale relating to the chosen solution.

The additional time incurred by these works would directly impact the perimeter access scaffold being removed and subsequently being able to progress the external works including drainage which allows the building commissioning to take place to the mechanical systems. We came up with 3 solutions that would need to be discussed with the customer and the impact ranged from a 3 week delay with minimal costs, all the way up to a 13 week delay and in excess of £500k.

Our relationship with the customer has always been very good with open discussions and joint decisions being made. The customer fully understood the challenge presented and the impact it would have on the project.

The Results

The first action we undertook was to accurately survey the issue and produce a report of all the locations where the corrosion had occurred. Once this had been compiled, we contacted a couple of different engineers and suppliers to gain an assessment of the impact and potential solutions.

From these discussions we came up with three options for resolution.

The first was to leave the metal framework as it is and do nothing which would incur the minimal cost (only the delay caused by the investigation) but this held the greatest risk for the customer was not something we recommended.

The second solution was to fully remove all the metal framework across the façade which would also require a lot of internal works to be stripped out. This solution would give the customer a full warranty on the installation but at the cost of more than a 3 month delay to the project and more than £500k in costs. This option obviously had huge impacts on the project as a whole.

The third option put forward was to treat the corroded areas and introduce reinforcing brackets to add robustness and integrity the existing installation. This would incur some costs and a delay of 7-8 weeks but reduced the residual risk in the project considerably for the customer and would limit the delay to the project completion.

From first identifying the problem through investigations, finding solutions, communicating these with costs and time impacts through to agreeing a way forward, this took 2 weeks. We were able to act fast and contact the right people to minimise any delay caused through the initial findings and concentrate on the solution.

Number of apprentices

93%

Local Spend

85%

SME Engagement

9/10

Client Satisfaction

Contractor Performance | Commitments

Legacy

Homes for 65 families including 20 being for elderly or vulnerable residents of Westminster.

Aftercare

2 year period agreed

Soft landings for handover

Sustainability

100% diverted from landfill

Safe

Zero RIDDORS

Fair

All paid on time