Thirteen new primary schools that have been built for Barnsley Metropolitan Council as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) have benefited from the high performance products and technical expertise of leading paint manufacturer Johnstone’s.
Members of Johnstone’s technical advisory team worked closely with main contractors Carillion, who in addition to the design and build of the new schools is also responsible for providing facilities management services over a 27 year concession period. The paint specification that Johnstone’s devised was required to meet a challenging brief that included the need for all materials used to be aesthetically pleasing whilst helping to significantly reduce maintenance requirements and potential disruption throughout the contract term.
Johnstone’s suggested the use of its innovative Water Based Acrylic Durable Matt emulsion, which combines excellent coverage and opacity with a special washable formula that allows walls and ceilings to be regularly cleaned between redecoration programmes. Providing an attractive matt finish, the emulsion is also resistant to both yellowing and condensation.
David Baines, Johnstone’s Technical Specification Consultant explains further; “Within a school environment, it is vital that the paintwork is able to withstand frequent cleaning in order to remove any marks or dirt and so traditionally, finishes with a higher sheen level such as Eggshell or Gloss have been used. Johnstone’s Acrylic Durable Matt is one of the few available emulsions that retains a true matt finish even when regularly scrubbed and so is ideally suited for use in such a high traffic environment as a school”.
Johnstone’s technical consultants also conducted special workshops with the facilities management team from Carillion to advise the most effective cleaning procedures and to further demonstrate the suitability and benefit of the Acrylic Durable Matt product.
The 13 schools that were built as part of the ambitious PFI project replaced one-fifth of Barnsley’s previously existing 85 primary schools, with the last project being completed in June 2007.