Aggregate Industries brings the natural touch to Cotswold care home extension

The extension work was carried out at Hyperion House, a residential and nursing care home, managed by Diva Care. It offers nursing and dementia care, for its 57 residents.

With the demand for elderly social care at an all-time high, Diva Care, which has been providing care for the elderly since 1985, decided to extend the small care home to include 31 new bedrooms. The Principal Contractor for the works was Markey Construction based in Gloucester (part of the Markey Group), and the intricate roof design work undertaken by specialist roofing contractor, P Morse Roofing.

Prior to construction starting, local planners were keen to ensure the new development would be in keeping with Fairford’s beautiful natural surroundings as it is located in a conservation area. With natural stone presenting a costly option prone to the effects of weathering, Aggregate Industries was asked to suggest an alternative solution.

Working collaboratively with the project contractors, Aggregate Industries created a complete solution - building and submitting sample panels for both the walling and roofing elements of the build ahead of final specification.

This included the use of products specifically developed to meet the stringent demands of the conservation planning area such as 680m² Bradstone Conservation Slates, a visually authentic, long-lasting reconstituted roofing slate; 170m² Traditional Limestone Buff, developed to give the authentic appearance of squared and lightly dressed natural stone; and 1,900m² 100mm Masterdenz Blockwork, a high strength concrete block for use in internal and external walls. The roofing contractor also used Aggregate Industries’ ventilation options for a complete roofing solution.

The roofing and traditional walling products were moulded from hand-dressed natural stone using a specifically developed technique to reproduce the fine detail of the originals on the textured face. This ensured the products met the strict aesthetic requirements of the project while still adhering to the budget for the build programme.

Daniel Pugh, Specification Manager at Aggregate Industries, comments: “As the project was located in the Cotswolds, a conservation area and an area of outstanding natural beauty, it was vital to use products that reflected the locale. Natural stone is becoming very hard to source, which in turn demands a high price for what product is available. Our range of building products provided the ideal solution, offering a cost-effective and long-lasting performance combined with an attractive aesthetic.”

Mrs Natalya James, registered manager of Hyperion House, said: “Working with the main contractor on the job, Aggregate Industries was able to meet the specific requirements of the brief, supplying products that blend seamlessly with the original building work, as well as the local area. The final result is extremely pleasing and the reconstituted roofing slate, in particular, looks especially striking in situ. We’re very happy with the overall design and finish.”