projects > liquid applied > Old Lincoln Library

The Old Lincoln Library, Braysford Wharf, Lincoln started life in 1959 as a car showroom, after which it went on to be used as a library. It is now being developed as a themed bar, called The Glass Mill, to serve the ever growing student population in Lincoln.

The roof is unusual in shape, being a hyperbolic parabolic roof, a mixture of cones and curves. It was the advent of 20th century building materials that allowed such a design to be a practical possibility for roofs.

The roof was designed by local architect Sam Scorer who designed the former library building. Scorer, who died in 2003 aged 80, was an innovator in roofing structures, famous for his design of hyperbolic parabolic roof structures, including the well known Little Chef restaurant on the A1 at Markham Moor.

It was therefore important that the waterproofing of the roof was delivered in a way that was sensitive to the historical and aesthetic relevance of the building.

Marley Waterproofing were called in to provide design recommendations for the Waterproofing of the roof. The brief was to create a warm roof build up that could be installed using cold applied techniques.

Universal Roofing was assigned the roofing contract for the Old Lincoln Library project by Lindum Group Limited, who was both the developer and main contractor of the site.
Many installers are embracing the potential of today's cold bonding technologies. Marley Waterproofing has responded to the increase in demand for high quality alternatives to hot works and delivered its liquid applied system (Polimar), as well as a 3 in 1 single ply product (Apply³). Although not used in this project Marley Waterproofing also offer a self adhesive system (Supastik).
The hyperbolic parabolic roof of the Old Lincoln Library proved a challenging design which included insulation as part of the roofing works. Marley Waterproofing specified a unique insulation board that could follow the profile of the roof and be used in conjunction with the Polimar Liquid Applied Roofing System. Utilising proven, leading edge liquid polymer technology evolved over 25 years, the Polimar range has been developed to provide both long term and short term solutions for refurbishment and new build work.

The flat roof area was designed using a tapered insulation scheme with Apply³, a revolutionary new single ply roofing system which is exclusively supplied by Marley Waterproofing. The Apply³ roofing membrane is a specially designed FPO (flexible polyolefin) sheet which allows use in all single ply application: full adhered, mechanically fastened and ballasted situations.

These two innovative products by Marley Waterproofing provided a long term waterproofing solution to this unusually designed building and were installed by Universal Roofing.

Universal Roofing Managing Director, Mike Morris, took on the Contracts Manager responsibility for the initial part of the project and is therefore well qualified to comment on some of the challenges the unusual parabolic roof design posed for the roofing contractor.

"The one off nature of the curves required that Universal Roofing worked in close partnership with Marley Waterproofing. The insulation board had to be scored off site before delivery to meet the exact specifications of the parabolic. The steep angle of the curves was also a challenge for the roofers who needed to ensure they anchored themselves securely."

Universal Roofing found that the flexibility of Marley Waterproofing's materials was essential to achieve the unusual shapes required by the project. The materials were also economic, a feature that has lead to Universal Roofing using them on some open specification projects with other contractors.

The highest health and safety standards are maintained by Universal Roofing. An experienced directly employed team, all of whom benefit from a rolling training programme covering the latest roofing developments as well as updates on safety procedures, worked with Foreman Eddie Cole on the Old Lincoln Library contract. The safety culture at Universal is also reinforced by unannounced site safety audits undertaken every month by external consultants.

Established in 1987 Universal Roofing is part of the nationally recognised Letchworth Roofing Group. Universal specialise in sheeting, cladding, felting and single ply making them well suited for projects such as the Old Lincoln Library in which work across the roofing disciplines is required.

Universal Roofing are part of the Marley Waterproofing Approved Contractors scheme, approved to install Marley Waterproofing's High Performance Roofing Membranes.