Tranquil Construction completes balcony remediation at the Crawford Building in Whitechapel, London

In recent years, remediation of combustible materials found in multi-story multi-occupancy buildings has become a pressing issue. Many of the buildings at risk are located in major cities across the UK, such as London. Non-combustible materials like aluminium are now contributing to the development of a fire-safe future, limiting the risk to thousands of lives across the UK.

A recent article on our website highlighted AliDeck’s involvement in the remediation work to be conducted at the Crawford Building in Whitechapel, London. Work has since been completed, and we are delighted to share the successful results with you here. Members of the AliDeck team recently joined Darren from Tranquil on-site to see the results first-hand.

The work was required following a fire that destroyed a 17th-floor flat and balcony, also damaging a small section of the external façade. The building owner sought an immediate solution to prevent this from happening again, with AliDeck on hand to provide the required fire-safe and futureproof materials to meet the latest compliance standards.

Tranquil Construction is an established family-run business with many years of experience across the industry, including the refurbishment of decking. Working with us for several years now, Tranquil has become familiar with our product and has been responsible for multiple successful projects in collaboration with AliDeck in that time.

Close collaboration and ease-of-installation vital to achieving project success

The building performed extremely well in terms of preventing fire spread, but further changes could be made to minimise the likelihood of a fire restarting in the future. Consequently, AliDeck was entrusted with providing Tranquil with non-combustible aluminium decking and balcony components that would enhance the safety standards of the balconies.

“With a prominent location near Aldgate East Underground Station and panoramic views of London and The Shard, the first challenge was to develop a safe, cost-effective method for completing the project. Our team worked in-house to develop and tailor a way in which the project could be delivered without being intrusive to the leaseholders.”

– Darren Runnicles, Managing Director of Tranquil Construction

Tranquil had several teams working across the project to ensure they remained well within the allotted time frame. To reveal the steel subframe, the existing timber decking was removed, and replaced with the AliDeck Junior Flat Boards that were prefabricated by AliDeck at our warehouse facility in Rochester, Kent.

A number of balconies required the use of our adjustable pedestal brackets and lite joist components in addition to our 20mm Junior Flat Board. This was in order to achieve the correct floor finish height and ensure a seamless aesthetic.

As most of the original timber deck boards were already fitted with a steel tray, the Tranquil team was able to complete the installation process quickly and smoothly by utilising AliDeck’s ease-of-installation methods, reducing the amount of time spent on site by the installation team, keeping residents and all parties involved satisfied.

Why aluminium has proven to be the most cost-effective material and the new standard across the industry

As with all our products, the deck board used is Fire Rated to A2-s1, d0 and A2fl-s1 standards, in line with current regulations, the boards will prevent fire from being able to start or spreading across balconies.

The boards were finished in our high-quality powder coat finish, in the aesthetically pleasing Grey Beige (RAL 1019) that we supply as one of our 10 standard RAL colours. Supplied in 4m & 6m lengths, Tranquil team members distributed the replacement decking boards manually via a communal staircase, a feat made possible by aluminium’s lightweight properties, which has a superior strength-to-weight ratio than its heavier counterpart, steel.

The results have proven to be terrific result for all stakeholders involved, with the leaseholders and building owner highly complementary of our products and the work by Tranquil Construction on-site. See our video below to see the project results in even more detail, with incredible views on offer across the City of London, including The Shard.

Featuring a 60-year minimum life expectancy and a 30-year manufacturer’s warranty, leaseholders can now enjoy their fire-safe outdoor living environment all year round with little-to-no maintenance required outside of regular cleaning.