Office space transformed

A combination of Rehau Total70 casement and tilt-and-turn windows has been used to successfully convert a former office building into 78 luxury apartments.

Norwich House, located in Camberley town centre, Surrey, now features 420 Total70 windows and a number of tilt-and-turn solutions, all of which are finished in matching Anthracite grey foil.

A key challenge for the developer, Shaviram Group, was to complete the conversion without altering the building’s commercial facade.

For this reason, contractor, DRG Solutions and fabricator/installer, Keepout Windows, were tasked to provide and install high-quality window systems from Rehau that would maintain the building’s original look.

David Hoffman, sales director at Keepout, commented: “We’ve been working with DRG for about six years, and are now its main supplier and installer for windows. The reason for this is because the company trusts us to provide high-performing solutions that deliver optimal performance.”

The fabricator and installer has been supplying Rehau solutions for four years ago, citing their overall quality and leading levels of customer service the company provides.

David explained: “Rehau has consistently been a great help due to its continued technical support and on-site visits to Norwich House, and to other ventures as well. Its expertise in specifying appropriate solutions to suit differing requirements is a major part of the process for conversion projects of this kind.

“When it comes to converting commercial properties, Total70 is often our preferred choice due to its versatility and quality.”

Work on the development began in February 2020, and the frames were installed during a complex part of DRG’s conversion and construction process. Specifically, internal stud walls needed to be raised within the larger former office space to delineate the different apartments.

This, in turn, could have impacted the windows surrounding these walls and conflicted with planning conditions.

David explained: “Keeping structured openings consistent is a complication we often encounter in conversion work.

“For this project, vinyl panels were used to in-fill where they needed to build an internal wall. This panelling helped us to maintain previous frame parameters and generally eased the installation process, but window solutions were also required alongside the panels to help make this work.

“Consequently, it was important that the windows supplied were not just of high performance – they also needed to be adaptable so they could be installed around the internal structural changes that were made during this build.”

Challenges around window maintenance presented further obstacles for Keepout.

“Some elevations were inaccessible from a maintenance point-of-view,” said David. “Because of this, certain windows we had previously specified had to be changed to tilt-and-turn windows.”

Due to Norwich House’s busy town centre location, acoustic ventilation was also a major factor to take into account to ensure future residents would be comfortable.

Nigel Ibbotson, contracts manager at DRG, said. “Things like this can sometimes be missed on certain builds, but I find that if you pay that extra attention-to-detail, solutions and innovations can be found that enhance the building’s quality.

“This proved to be the case on this project, where the installation of trickle vents meant we could improve quality-of-life for the future apartments’ occupants.”

Another concern arose regarding the fact the building faced out onto a main road. However, as the Total70 range included window profiles with 70mm depth and triple glazing capability, efficient sound suppression was provided and DRG was confident that the project would meet council standards without the costly requirement of upgrading in the future.

The project was finished on time with a certificate of completion received in October 2020.