Mellis school for Seamans Building

The ElecoFrame® System from Eleco Timber Frame, part of Eleco plc, has helped main contractor Seamans Building reduce its build time by three weeks in the design and build of a new pre-school building for Mellis School in Suffolk. ElecoFrame was selected for its speed of installation and the inherent sustainability embodied in a timber system.

The ElecoFrame system was installed in just four days, a job that had been allocated three weeks. As a result Seamans Building was able to pull back its build programme, previously delayed due to bad weather, by three weeks.

Constructed on an area of waterlogged land adjacent to the school playground, the new pre-school building is built over 10m piles. Because of this Seamans Building required the lightweight benefit of a timber frame system.

The ElecoFrame system differs from other timber frame systems, making it ideal for projects where speed of construction is a key factor in the specification process.

Neil Last, Seamans Building’s Site Manager for the Mellis School project, explains: “The build programme was delayed by some four weeks because of bad weather conditions but the speed with which the ElecoFrame system was installed has pulled this back, saving us three weeks in the programme. This is good for the build programme because following trades can get onsite much sooner than anticipated, while the nature of the system means that the requirement for wet trades is significantly reduced.”

The panels are transported to site as open frames. David White, Technical Manager of Eleco Timber Frame describes how the system differs from standard timber frames: “Diagonal bracing and engineered nail plates remove the need for external sheathing board, meaning that the overall ElecoFrame structure is more rigid than conventional timber frame systems, with none of the problematic twisting that can be encountered on site with such systems; this removes complications during later construction stages and makes the panels safer to handle during the erection process,” he said. 

The long-term sustainability of the resulting school building was also a key criterion for the planning process. The energy efficiency of the ElecoFrame system makes this ideal for projects where energy performance is a consideration. This is particularly relevant for school buildings where BREEAM ratings are achieved on the u-values, airtightness and resulting running costs of the building.

“We needed the u-values to be as low as possible,” said Neil, “This is important for the heating and energy efficiency of the school building. The ElecoFrame system has made this possible.”

Combined with the lightweight aspects of a timber frame, the inherent environmental credentials of timber as a building material were also recognised as a key benefit: “Sustainable procurement is always an important consideration so the ElecoFrame system that is manufactured using certified, chain of custody timber is a real underpinning benefit for this project,” finished Neil.