Social landlords in the UK manage nearly five million domestic properties, 88 per cent of which were built before 1980. While new-build homes are designed fabric-first to meet Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standards, the majority of social rented stock pre-dates many of these innovations.
As such, councils and housing associations are investing significantly to upgrade their stock and meet modern-day requirements, such as the Decent Homes Standard and future proofing – often while facing increased cuts to budgets.
Refurbishment therefore needs to make long-term financial sense, in particular by helping to reduce costly, time intensive repairs and maintenance programmes. To meet this challenge head on, Epwin Group brands, Permadoor and Tempest, have partnered as social housing specialists to offer local authorities and housing associations with the right composite door and canopy solutions for their needs.
Permadoor has 28 years’ wealth of experience as a specialist manufacturer and supplier in social housing and its Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) composite doors are the preferred choice for many landlords. By combining high performance, excellent thermal efficiency and low maintenance with traditional aesthetics, the product is ideal for a wide range of social housing applications, including fire doors.
A high resistance to denting, warping, splitting, peeling and fading delivers a 30-year lifespan. Both sides of the door have a 2.5mm GRP outer skin that requires minimal maintenance – tenants can simply wipe the door clean with a damp cloth to keep it looking new. The range has a strong through-coloured GRP facing with a composite inner frame and high insulation foam core. Available in various styles and colours, with grained finishes.
Another versatile, durable, secure, and cost-effective solution Permadoor can offer is its range of thermoplastic doors, which have a solid timber core and can be fitted with a variety of lock specifications making them suitable for all door apertures, such as utility meter cupboards or bin stores, including fire rated. All products come with a comprehensive 10-year guarantee to customers’ exact specification and are compliant with Secured By Design, Part M, FD30/30S, etc.
With a third of days in the UK being rainy on average, Tempest door canopies provide shelter to residents outside their homes, while giving added protection to properties. Developed specifically to cater for the needs of affordable housing, local authority and social housing stock, the Tempest range of door canopies are suitable for both new build and refurbishment projects.
Prefabricated for easy installation, Tempest door canopies are available in various styles, including GRP flat top, arched, apex or mono-pitched, and finishes such as a reproduction tiled effect. As part of wider refurbishment works, Tempest door canopies can transform the front elevation of a property and even the look and feel of an entire street.
For added assurance, Permadoor and Tempest offer PAS 24 and Secured by Design specification, alongside full building regulations compliance. The combined Permadoor and Tempest offering creates an all-round, virtually maintenance-free door and canopy solution, helping transform the UK’s social housing properties at low cost, for many years to come.
