When a major blaze swept through the sports pavilion at Verulam School in St. Albans, only one thing was left standing in the changing rooms – the Boyco fittings. Even after the roof had fallen in and flames had gutted the single storey changing block, the Boyco benches and peg rails were still firmly in place.
The suspected arson attack at the Sandy Pit Lane site caused extensive damage and the entire pavilion needed rebuilding. As a fire fighter at the scene explained “The pavilion was made of wood and concrete with a tar and bitumen roof so it was pretty flammable”.
Rebuilding the pavilion had to begin straight away to restore full sports facilities to the school. Boyco was asked to join architects Mouchel on the team tasked with building and fitting out new changing rooms – nine years after they designed and supplied the original fittings. Boyco and Mouchel already had a proven partnership having worked together on numerous projects in the past.
The timescale was tight. The Boyco team had just a month to present full proposals and design and manufacture the fittings. The team’s made-to-measure design – a replication of the original one - incorporated benches with integral peg rails and shoe trays.
The steel fittings were coated in-house at the Boyco factory using the company’s renowned ‘Hot-dip’ nylon technique, exclusive in this sector to Boyco. The coating, derived from 100% renewable castor oil, is four times thicker than other powder coatings and gives fittings superior durability and performance. ‘Hot-dip’ coated fittings offer astonishing resistance to damage, abrasion and, as Verulam School proved, fire. The surface is also exceptionally hygienic with anti-microbial power that reduces bacteria by 99.99%. For added visual impact, ‘Hot-dip’ designs come in wide range of colours.
Timber parts of the fittings also bring together superb performance with impressive environmental credentials. Water-borne timber lacquers provide a high quality finish on our standard American White Ash which are non-toxic, anti-microbial and non-flammable. All timbers are sourced from sustainable, fully approved forests.
Boyco are clear about the environmental credentials of Boyco products. “We’ve worked hard to ensure our materials and techniques meet the exacting Breeam standards of sustainability which set best practices for sustainable design. We believe Boyco products significantly outperform comparable products and with minimum impact on the environment.” Boyco designs had already proved themselves at Verulam School so there was little doubt about which company to choose to replace the fittings after the fire. Mouchel were impressed by the company and their fast delivery.
Boyco was involved late in the project, they reacted very swiftly to produce a designed layout and then manufactured and supplied the fittings. The end result is excellent.
Mouchel