IHS BRE Press

NON-TRADITIONAL HOUSESIdentifying non-traditional houses in the UK 1918–75

NON-TRADITIONAL HOUSES

NON-TRADITIONAL HOUSESThis CD ROM gives building surveyors, engineers and architects easy access to a vast reference library detailing 450 non-traditional house types classified by form of construction:• metal framed• precast concrete• in-situ concrete• timber framed.

For each house type there is an isometric drawing that provides a clear explanation of the construction detail. Extensive background information and a spreadsheet search tool are also included.

RELATED TITLES FROM IHS BRE PRESSMODERN METHODS OF HOUSE CONSTRUCTION: A SURVEYOR’S GUIDE FB 11

NON-TRADITIONAL HOUSING CDA collection of BRE publications AP 149 USING THIS CD-ROMThis CD-ROM should autorun on most PCs. If the CD-ROM does not autorun, locate the file named ‘START’ and double click to begin.

From reviews of the book when first published in 2004:

‘This magnum opus is one of the outstanding housing books published in

recent years ... a major reference...’ Housing Studies

‘... of immense value to anyone interest in clarifying the real condition of

the housing stock ... an invaluable resource.’ The Architects’ Journal

IHS BRE Press, Willoughby RoadBracknell, Berkshire RG12 8FB

www.brebookshop.comAP 294

Harry Harrison, Stephen Mullin, Barry Reeves and Alan Stevens

Harrison, Mullin, Reeves and Stevens

DIGITAL EDITION

Contents of this CD-ROMNon-traditional houses – digital edition Foreword vi The Editors xPreface xi Introduction xiii Acronyms xxvi How to use this book xxvii Designated defective houses xxx References xxxii Further reading xxxv List of house types (incorporating hyperlinks) xxxvi

PART ONE: METAL FRAMED HOUSES 1 Appendix to Part One: Metal framed houses 211

PART TWO: PRECAST CONCRETE HOUSES 219 Appendix to Part Two: Precast concrete houses 501

PART THREE: IN-SITU CONCRETE HOUSES 509 Appendix to Part Three: In-situ concrete houses 635

PART FOUR: TIMBER FRAMED HOUSES 639 Appendix to Part Four: Timber framed houses 927

ADDENDUM to the digital edition 937

APPENDICES A Systems for which information on structure is not available 947 B Systems based on small unit size loadbearing masonry 948 C Rationalised traditional houses 949

INDEX of house names and alternative names (incorporating hyperlinks) 950

The Non-Trad Spreadsheet Search Tool See last page of this booklet for instructions for running the Spreadsheet Search Tool

Key BRE and government reports (pdf files)Moir Committee Report on new methods of house construction,1920Burt Committee Reports on house construction: First Report, 1944; Second Report, 1946; Third Report, 1948The corrosion of steel in steel houses, 1951 Prefabrication: a history of its development in Great Britain,1965

Other BRE publications

3

How to use Non-traditional houses – digital edition

Systems described in the Handbook are grouped into four sections classified by form of construction: Metal Framed Houses (prefixed ‘M’ in the numbered reference to each system), Precast Concrete Houses (prefixed ‘P’), In-Situ Concrete Houses (prefixed ‘S’) and Timber Framed Houses (prefixed ‘T’). In each case, the class of construction refers to the loadbearing structure of the dwelling, which will not necessarily be of the same material(s) as the external visible cladding.

The guide overleaf explains in detail the function of the text, photograph and isometric drawing in each double page spread. Where sufficient information on a particular house type is not available to provide either a photograph or a drawing, the system is included in an Appendix at the end of the construction class section, and further prefixed ‘A’ (e.g. numbered references to the Appendix to Metal Framed Houses are prefixed ‘AM’).

Colour photographs have been taken within the last 30 years. Those in black and white are from archive material.

While in some cases it will be possible to identify a particular system through the name only, because of the multiplicity of alternative names used for many systems, or because this information is not available, in the majority of cases it will be necessary to use the Search Engine on the CD-ROM to arrive at a definitive identification. The Search Engine classifies all the systems covered by the Handbook by Construction Class, by the Local Authorities and Regions in whose area the system has been reported, by Name or Alternative Name(s), and by Identification Characteristics. Any or all of these classifications can be used in combination to narrow down the search, depending on the amount of information available.

The lists of house types by Local Authority are drawn from a number of surveys carried out since 1980 for the (then) Department of the Environment, and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Offices, supplemented by BRE’s own research and information provided by others. Although every effort has been made to ensure that this information is correct, it should not necessarily be assumed that it is fully comprehensive. Where the information received does not fully specify a named system (e.g. Unity), all possible systems are listed (e.g. Unity Type I, Unity Type II).

The CD-ROM contains copies of key reports on non-traditional housing published by BRE and its predecessors, and by central government. These are referenced in the text and listed in the References section on pages xxxii–xxxiv. Another CD-ROM (Ref: AP 149) is available from IHS BRE Press, which contains over 80 BRE reports on particular house types. Details are given on page 7 of this booklet.

4

CONSTRUCTION

Substructure: Pad foundations [1]. PC stub columnscast into foundations [2].Frame: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" PRC columns with integral beamstubs [3] and bolted steel flange connectors [4]. 7 1/2"PRC primary [5] and secondary [6] beams withconcrete cover [7].External walls: 2" PC base bonding units [8], 2" PCslabs [9], 2 1/2" lightweight PC slabs [10], timber framinglined with plasterboard [11]. Galvanised ties [12].Separating wall: PRC frame infilled with foamed slagaggregate concrete blocks.Partitions: Lightweight concrete slabs.Ground floor: Concrete.First floor: Timber boarding on timber beams [13] onPRC secondary beams.Ceilings: Plasterboard.Roof: PRC beams, timber wall plates, timber trussesand purlins and tiles.

VARIANTS

Flat roof of profiled PRC eaves units, screed and asphaltor bituminous felt.

P092Orlit Type IIManufacturer: Orlit Ltd

Designer:

Period built: 1940s–1950s

Number built: 17,000 (Types I and II)

Alternative name: Orlit

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

Bungalows and 2-storey semi-detached and terracedhouses.Medium pitch gable roof covered with tiles or flat roofcovered with asphalt or bituminous felt.External walls of PRC slabs throughout.Gable apex tile hanging.

REFERENCES

BRE Report BR 36PWBS No. 25

NOTES FOR SURVEYORS

Main PRC columns and beams have only up to 30 mmcover, carbonation depths 10–20 mm and sometimessignificant chloride content.Cracking of OPC and HAC stitches.Low quality HAC concrete in stitches.Cracking of secondary beams and carbonation depthsup to 20 mm. Significant levels of chloride in beams.Deterioration of other PRC components.

The system was also used for flats.

DESIGNATED DEFECTIVE

Each house type is identified numerically by the Reference number in thetop right hand corner. M indicates metal framed houses, P precast concretehouses, S in-situ concrete houses and T timber framed houses. Referencenumbers for houses listed in the Appendix to each part are prefixed by ‘A’.

xxixxxviii

The cutaway IsometricConstruction Drawing iskeyed by number to theConstruction notes. Theform of construction shownin the drawing and describedin the notes is that mostcommonly found. If the house type has beeninvestigated by BRE thenotes are based on the BREinvestigation. Otherwise,they are drawn fromvarious published andunpublished sources, andtheir accuracy cannot beguaranteed.

A key to the Acronyms used for componentsand materials is on page xxvi.

Construction information is presented in aconsistent format for each house type,generally moving upward from the founda tionsto the roof, and from the outside inward. Dimensions of components are shown in theorder height x width x depth.

Variations from this form of constructionknown to exist are listed in Variants.

Most of house types were designed usingImperial measurements, so most dimensionsare given in feet and inches. For the very fewsystems built to Metric measurements, Metricdimensions are used.

Each house type is listed alphabetically by Name, and numerically by the Reference in the topright hand corner. The name is that most commonly used by the manufacturer. The suffixes‘Mk’ and ‘No’ are those used by the manufacturer. The suffix ‘Type’ is used to differentiatebetween different forms of construction covered by the same manufacturer’s name.

Alternative names known tohave been used are listed.

Names of the Manufacturer(s) and Designer(s),where known, are given.

Where dates for Period built are available, these arelisted; otherwise dating is by decade (e.g. ‘1960s’).

The Photograph shows a representativeview of the house type. However, manyhouse types used a variety of claddings(see Iden ti fication Cha rac teristics andVariants). In addition the house may havebeen re-clad (see Designated defectivehouses, overleaf).

The Designated defectivestamp is explained overleaf.

If the house type has been investigated by BRENotes for Surveyors lists defects found. Suchdefects will not necessarily have been encoun -tered in every house surveyed, and they arelisted to alert surveyors to areas requiring par -ti cular examination. If the house type has notbeen investigated by BRE, this is noted, withreferences to appropriate BRE publications onsurvey and assessment.

If the system is known to have been usedfor flats, this is noted. The construction forflats may not be identical to that for houses.

References list reports and journal articles foreach house type. For details see pages xxxii–xxxiv.

Identification Characteristics lists features in standardformat to help visual identification. ‘Chalet bungalows’ refer to2-storey houses with the upper floor rooms wholly containedwithin a gabled or hipped roof pitch.

Roof pitches are: ‘STEEP’, 45° or greater; ‘MEDIUM’, between23° and 44°; or ‘SHALLOW’, less than 23°. Claddings listed arethose known to have been used in the original construction:they do not include those used in subsequent alterations.

Numbers built are drawn from various sources;although every effort has been made to verify thefigures, their accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

How to use this book How to use this bookHow to use Non-traditional houses – digital edition

5

CONSTRUCTION

Substructure: Pad foundations [1]. PC stub columnscast into foundations [2].Frame: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" PRC columns with integral beamstubs [3] and bolted steel flange connectors [4]. 7 1/2"PRC primary [5] and secondary [6] beams withconcrete cover [7].External walls: 2" PC base bonding units [8], 2" PCslabs [9], 2 1/2" lightweight PC slabs [10], timber framinglined with plasterboard [11]. Galvanised ties [12].Separating wall: PRC frame infilled with foamed slagaggregate concrete blocks.Partitions: Lightweight concrete slabs.Ground floor: Concrete.First floor: Timber boarding on timber beams [13] onPRC secondary beams.Ceilings: Plasterboard.Roof: PRC beams, timber wall plates, timber trussesand purlins and tiles.

VARIANTS

Flat roof of profiled PRC eaves units, screed and asphaltor bituminous felt.

P092Orlit Type IIManufacturer: Orlit Ltd

Designer:

Period built: 1940s–1950s

Number built: 17,000 (Types I and II)

Alternative name: Orlit

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

Bungalows and 2-storey semi-detached and terracedhouses.Medium pitch gable roof covered with tiles or flat roofcovered with asphalt or bituminous felt.External walls of PRC slabs throughout.Gable apex tile hanging.

REFERENCES

BRE Report BR 36PWBS No. 25

NOTES FOR SURVEYORS

Main PRC columns and beams have only up to 30 mmcover, carbonation depths 10–20 mm and sometimessignificant chloride content.Cracking of OPC and HAC stitches.Low quality HAC concrete in stitches.Cracking of secondary beams and carbonation depthsup to 20 mm. Significant levels of chloride in beams.Deterioration of other PRC components.

The system was also used for flats.

DESIGNATED DEFECTIVE

Each house type is identified numerically by the Reference number in thetop right hand corner. M indicates metal framed houses, P precast concretehouses, S in-situ concrete houses and T timber framed houses. Referencenumbers for houses listed in the Appendix to each part are prefixed by ‘A’.

xxixxxviii

The cutaway IsometricConstruction Drawing iskeyed by number to theConstruction notes. Theform of construction shownin the drawing and describedin the notes is that mostcommonly found. If the house type has beeninvestigated by BRE thenotes are based on the BREinvestigation. Otherwise,they are drawn fromvarious published andunpublished sources, andtheir accuracy cannot beguaranteed.

A key to the Acronyms used for componentsand materials is on page xxvi.

Construction information is presented in aconsistent format for each house type,generally moving upward from the founda tionsto the roof, and from the outside inward. Dimensions of components are shown in theorder height x width x depth.

Variations from this form of constructionknown to exist are listed in Variants.

Most of house types were designed usingImperial measurements, so most dimensionsare given in feet and inches. For the very fewsystems built to Metric measurements, Metricdimensions are used.

Each house type is listed alphabetically by Name, and numerically by the Reference in the topright hand corner. The name is that most commonly used by the manufacturer. The suffixes‘Mk’ and ‘No’ are those used by the manufacturer. The suffix ‘Type’ is used to differentiatebetween different forms of construction covered by the same manufacturer’s name.

Alternative names known tohave been used are listed.

Names of the Manufacturer(s) and Designer(s),where known, are given.

Where dates for Period built are available, these arelisted; otherwise dating is by decade (e.g. ‘1960s’).

The Photograph shows a representativeview of the house type. However, manyhouse types used a variety of claddings(see Iden ti fication Cha rac teristics andVariants). In addition the house may havebeen re-clad (see Designated defectivehouses, overleaf).

The Designated defectivestamp is explained overleaf.

If the house type has been investigated by BRENotes for Surveyors lists defects found. Suchdefects will not necessarily have been encoun -tered in every house surveyed, and they arelisted to alert surveyors to areas requiring par -ti cular examination. If the house type has notbeen investigated by BRE, this is noted, withreferences to appropriate BRE publications onsurvey and assessment.

If the system is known to have been usedfor flats, this is noted. The construction forflats may not be identical to that for houses.

References list reports and journal articles foreach house type. For details see pages xxxii–xxxiv.

Identification Characteristics lists features in standardformat to help visual identification. ‘Chalet bungalows’ refer to2-storey houses with the upper floor rooms wholly containedwithin a gabled or hipped roof pitch.

Roof pitches are: ‘STEEP’, 45° or greater; ‘MEDIUM’, between23° and 44°; or ‘SHALLOW’, less than 23°. Claddings listed arethose known to have been used in the original construction:they do not include those used in subsequent alterations.

Numbers built are drawn from various sources;although every effort has been made to verify thefigures, their accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

How to use this book How to use this bookHow to use Non-traditional houses – digital edition

6

Revisions to the digital edition, October 2012

Hyperlinks added to:Contents list (page ix) List of house types (page xxxvi – xli) Index (pages 950 – 958)

Spreadsheet Search Tool updated with amendments to the text and made compatible with Windows XP.

Minor typographical corrections made.

Page xxv. Additional text added to Note 22.

Page xxx. Photos replaced.

P075 Lilleshall. Colour photo included

P076 Livett-Cartwright. Correct photo included

T028 Colt. Colour photo included

T057 Hertfordshire County Council. Correct drawing included

AS019 RCC. Additional information included

Four housing systems added: ADM001 Span Type KADP001 OccidentADT001 Douglas SpecialADT002 Swedish Sectional Timber

7

Special offer to purchasers of Non-traditional houses – digital edition – save 50%

All the BRE Reports listed on pages xxxii and xxxiii can be found on the

Non-traditional housing CD-ROM (Ref: AP 149) available from IHS BRE Press.

A unique collection of exclusive information, in total the CD-ROM gives you 82 previously published BRE Reports – many now unavailable in printed format – covering a wide range of house types. The publications include guides to constructional details; assessments of the structural condition of existing dwellings; and guidance on surveying, maintenance, rehabilitation and repair.

The housing types covered are reinforced concrete (cast-in-situ, prefabricated reinforced concrete (PRC) and large panel systems (LPS)), steel framed and steel clad, and timber framed. The guides were prepared by BRE staff as part of an extensive programme of investigations carried out in the 1980s and 1990s. They will be of particular use by owners, financial organisations, surveyors and engineers responsible for all types of housing stock.

They are in pdf format and can be read on screen or printed. The CD-ROM is suitable for use on PCs with Windows™.

To order your copy at the special price of only £75 + VAT (normally £150*+ VAT) contact IHS BRE Press, quoting publication code AP 149, and mentioning that you are a purchaser of Non-traditional houses – digital edition.

IHS BRE Press Tel: 01344 328038, Email: brepress@ihs.com

* Price correct at time of going to print.

For further detailed information on non-traditional house types...

8

From reviews of the book

“This magnum opus is one of the outstanding housing books published in recent years. Although largely consisting of photographs and diagrams of some 450 house types it offers an extraordinary insight into the many ways in which both the public and private sectors in Britain have sought over the years to respond to chronic housing shortages. Given the current drive by government to see housing supply increased and not least through the use of innovative housing techniques this book provides a powerful antidote to those who may be tempted to let their enthusiasm run wild. This provides a detailed and scholarly technical appraisal of what can go wrong.”

Housing Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3, May 2006

“Given the recent scares, somewhat inflated, about the structural state of post-war housing in this country, this book will be of immense value to anyone interested in clarifying the real condition of the housing stock, excluding flats. With admirable restraint, the preface notes that ‘ill-considered work to such houses, without proper understanding of the principles which need to be followed, could lead to much wasted investment.’ … a work of impressive scholarship…”

The Architects’ Journal, 3 February 2005

USING THIS CD-ROM

This CD-ROM should autorun on most PCs. If the CD-ROM does not autorun, double-click on the pdf named ‘START’.

Note: If you do not have autorun enabled you will also need to enable the macros for the spreadsheet tool by following these instructions.

Click on Run Spreadsheet Search Tool button. You will be given a security warning message about launching/opening the file.

Click on Open. You will see a security warning below the toolbar which displays the message ‘Macros have been disabled’.

Click on the Options button. A window entitled ‘Security Alert - macro’ will open.

Change the options to ‘Enable this content’.

Click on OK. This opens the ‘Search Programmes’ window.

Choose one of the 4 options and click on Continue.

Non-traditional houses

Thorncliffe cast-iron houses under construction:from the manufacturer’s brochure.

Non-traditional houses Identifying non-traditional houses in the UK 1918 –75

Compiled and edited by

Harry Harrison, Stephen Mullin,

Barry Reeves and Alan Stevens

“I find it incredible that there will not be a sweeping revolution

in the methods of building during the next century. A few

energetic men might at any time set out to alter all this.”

H G Wells, Anticipations, 1902

“There has been altogether too much buncombe associated

with the factory-built home. Publishers everywhere have

accepted too freely the idea of pre-fabrication and have

given it much publicity. Students of the problem should

consider critically what has been proposed...”

John Burchard 2nd, in The Evolving House, Vol. III (A F Bemis), 1936

“Down in the jungle, living in a tent,

better than a prefab – no rent.”

Charlie Chester, Stand Easy, BBC Light Programme, 1946

The Building Research Housing Group (BRHG) – a self-help club for innovative and enterprisingsocial housing providers run by a BRE secretariat – is very aware of the great value of this bookto housing maintenance teams. In fact, BRHG owes its existence to concerns over renovationproblems with non-traditional housing (NTH) in the early 1990s, in anticipation of the ending ofthe Housing Defects Scheme of Assistance.

The Group’s inaugural conference in April 1992 began with a discussion on precast rein forcedconcrete NTH; this was followed by a day-and-a-half workshop on house rein statement, whichincluded a site visit to a BISF house under refurbishment near Swansea. This interest started awave of enquiries on NTH, which has continued to this day.

During our early years, we were aware of the large survey undertaken by BRE in the 1980s onthe condition and performance of NTH. During this period, the Group hosted presentations fromBRE experts on the development of its Government-commissioned register of upgraded NTH,which would serve both as a guide to identification and provide information on whether pastrefurbishment work had changed house type identification characteristics. Our members wereamong those local authorities and housing associations sent questionnaires to gather data ontype of system, numbers owned and changes carried out and planned.

The BRHG membership, over its 12-year partnership with BRE, has always recognised thebenefits of sharing knowledge. In a spirit of pooling expertise and resources, BRHG membershave provided access to properties for investigation by BRE researchers, for example, toReema Hollow Panel houses to measure temperature, humidity and oxygen levels before andafter over-cladding.

Consequently, in its recognition of the hard work that has gone into amassing all the detail inthis splendid book, the Group has enthusiastically sponsored its production. We know that it willhelp to answer such questions as whether the repair or improvement of a non-traditional houseof any type is possible and can be justified.

As responsible housing practitioners, the BRHG welcomes this publication and we are keen toshare these valuable technical details on housing construction, maintenance, refurbishment,renewal and repair. Our aims as a Group are to provide value-for-money through cost-effectivetechnical solutions and we are pleased to promote this book to those ends.

Phil HallmanBRE Associate and Advisor to the BRHG Secretariat

Foreword

Information on the BRHG can be obtained from its website www.brhg.org.uk, whichcontains a password-protected ‘members-only’ section, with a discussion forum forsharing day-to-day experience on housing technical and management matters.

BRE is the UK’s leading centre of expertise on the builtenvironment, construction, energy use in buildings, fire preventionand control, and risk management. BRE Global is a part of theBRE Group, a world leading research, consultancy, training,testing and certification organisation, delivering sustainability andinnovation across the built environment and beyond. The BREGroup is wholly owned by the BRE Trust, a registered charityaiming to advance knowledge, innovation and communication inall matters concerning the built environment for the benefit of all.All BRE Group profits are passed to the BRE Trust to promote itscharitable objectives.

BRE is committed to providing impartial and authoritativeinformation on all aspects of the built environment for clients,designers, contractors, engineers, manufacturers and owners.We make every effort to ensure the accuracy and quality ofinformation and guidance when it is published. However, we cantake no responsibility for the subsequent use of this information,nor for any errors or omissions it may contain.

BRE, Garston, Watford WD25 9XXTel: 01923 664000enquiries@bre.co.ukwww.bre.co.uk

BRE publications are available from:www.brebookshop.comorIHS BRE PressWilloughby RoadBracknell RG12 8FBTel: 01344 328038Fax: 01344 328005brepress@ihs.com

Published by IHS BRE Press

Requests to copy any part of this publication should be made tothe publisher:IHS BRE PressGarston, Watford WD25 9XXTel: 01923 664761brepress@ihs.com

AP 294© Copyright BRE 2004, 2012 First published 2004 as BR 469Digital edition 2012ISBN 978-1-84806-275-7

Foreword viThe Editors xPreface xi

Introduction xiii

Acronyms xxviHow to use this book xxviiDesignated defective houses xxxReferences xxxiiFurther reading xxxvList of house types xxxvi

PART ONE: METAL FRAMED HOUSES 1Appendix to Part One: Metal framed houses 211

PART TWO: PRECAST CONCRETE HOUSES 219Appendix to Part Two: Precast concrete houses 501

PART THREE: IN-SITU CONCRETE HOUSES 509Appendix to Part Three: In-situ concrete houses 635

PART FOUR: TIMBER FRAMED HOUSES 639Appendix to Part Four: Timber framed houses 927

ADDENDUM to the digital edition 937

APPENDICESA Systems for which information on structure is not available 947B Systems based on small unit size loadbearing masonry 948C Rationalised traditional houses 949

INDEX of house names and alternative names 950

CD ROMThe Non-Trad Search Engine

BRE and government reports (pdf files):Moir Committee Report on new methods of house construction,1920Burt Committee Reports on house construction: First Report, 1944;Second Report, 1946; Third Report, 1948The corrosion of steel in steel houses, 1951Prefabrication:a history of its development in Great Britain,1965

Contents

For Bucky, Cedric and Peter

ix

Preface

In the early 1980s defects in design and con -struction were discovered in a number of housetypes designed and built before 1960. Thesewere subsequently designated as in herently de -fective under the Housing Defects legis la tion.

Although these house types formed only arelatively small proportion of the entire UK non-traditional stock (some 11/2 million dwellings inall), lending institutions were con cerned thatsimilar defects might be present in other typesof construction. They recognised that their sur -veyors and valuers had little or no experienceof the inspection and assess ment of non-traditional houses; since before the advent ofthe Right to Buy virtually none of this stock hadever been in the private sector.

Accordingly, in 1986 the Department of theEnvironment commissioned a comprehen siveresearch programme from BRE, aimed at pro vi -ding owners, valuers and building pro fes sion -als with aids to identification of the main types;information on their construction; advice on theirinspection and assessment; and gui dance onbest practice in their main tenance, repair andimprovement.

Some of this information has already beenpublished, but much remained unpublished orre latively inaccessible to potential users. Thisbook seeks to remedy this and make un pub -lished information available to building pro -fessionals. It draws together all BRE’s researchand survey experience in this field and is aimednot only at the private sector, but at housingassociations and local authorities as well; sincemuch of the public sector stock which wouldtypically currently fall under review for improve -ment, because of its age, is of non-traditionalconstruction. Ill-considered work to such houses,without proper understanding of the principleswhich need to be followed, could lead to muchwasted investment.

The book does not cover flats. Although

many of the systems described here were usedfor the construction of other forms of housing,and are so noted where this is the case, theappraisal of multi-storey blocks usually calls fora different level of expertise from that com -monly possessed by building pro fessionalsinvolved in the survey of indi vi dual houses.

However, a CD-ROM con taining all 82 BREreports and leaflets on non-traditional housing ofall forms in pdf for mat, covering con struc tionaldetails, assess ments of con di tion, main te nanceand repair is avail able separately from BREBookshop (Ref. AP 149). Further infor ma tion isgiven else where in this book.

Also excluded from the scope of the bookare ‘rationalised traditional’ systems, where thepri mary structure is of loadbearing brick; or ofblock work where the size and weight of com po -nents is such as to allow for the traditional one-man lift (as opposed to precast panels requiringa two-man lift or mechanical aids). Never theless,where proprietary names are known to havebeen used for such construc tion they are listedin the Appendices to obviate futile searches. Butbe warned that manu fac turers in the 1960s and1970s often used the same name for traditionaland non-traditional systems. Check with theIndex at the back of the book and the SearchEngine on the CD ROM.

Nor are house types developed after 1975included. This is because 1974 saw majorchanges to the Building Regulations which drewon the experience of previous years, and alsobecause very few new systems were developedafter that date. Those that were have beenrelatively recent, and there has therefore beeninsufficient time to adequately assess their per -formance in use.

Help usNevertheless, the Editors are well aware thatthere may still be some house types which do

Harry Harrison is a former SuperintendingArchitect at the Building Research Establish -ment, responsible for the Construction Prac ticeDivision, including the Housing Defects Unit andthe BRE Advisory Service. He has been heavilyinvolved in assessing the performance anddurability of all kinds of non-traditional houses(and, indeed, of other building types) for over50 years, but with a special interest in metalframed systems.

Stephen Mullin is a former Principal Architectin the Department of the Environment, and itssuccessor Departments. From 1986 onwardshe was responsible for the Department’s pro -gramme of research into non-traditional dwellings,and for the technical implementation of theHousing Defects legislation. He was the DOEnominated officer for the research con tractwhich DOE placed with BRE for this book.

Barry Reeves is a Principal Engineer in theBRE Centre for Concrete Construction. He hasbeen particularly involved over the last 20 yearswith research on the performance and durabilityof in-situ and precast concrete systems ofconstruction, and currently advises owners andtheir professional advisers on the condition ofnon-traditional dwellings.

Alan Stevens is a former Senior ScientificOfficer with the Building Research Establish -ment, and has been particularly involved overthe last 25 years with research on the perfor -mance and durability of metal framed andtimber framed systems. He was the BREnominated officer responsible for the researchcontract which DOE placed with BRE for thisbook.

xi

The Editors

x

Why 1918? After all, practically every form ofconstruction used in housing has at one time orother been seen as non-traditional, from the evo -lution of the mediaeval timber frame to theintro duction of machine-made concrete andterracotta blocks and tiles. But before the 20thCentury such changes had been relatively gra -dual, allowing plenty of time for assessing theperformance in use of materials and componentsbrought together in a novel and unfamiliar way.

However, when the pace and volume of inno -va tion overtook the timescale needed for evalu - ation, then housebuilders entered unchartedterri tory. So there are good reasons for choos -ing 1918 as a starting point. But the full story,of course, begins a little while earlier.

The impact of the Industrial Revolution onstructural innovation is well documented else -where, most succinctly, perhaps, by R B White 1,and readers will no doubt be familiar with the 19thCentury use of cast iron to provide pre fabricatedbuildings, including houses, for ship ment to thecolonies. Less well known, perhaps, is the experi -mentation in concrete construction that occurredat the same time. The earliest known pair of no-fines concrete houses, on the Isle of Wight, hasbeen dated 1852; and through out the latter halfof the 19th Century and the early years of the

20th Century development continued2, so that by1918 it was possible to compile a whole book onthe various forms of concrete con structionavailable for domestic use 3.

Homes for heroesIt was an opportune moment for such a pub -lication. The Great War had just ended. House -building had virtually ceased over the pre viousfour years, and Richardson and Aldcroft 4 haveestimated that nearly 900,000 new houses wereneeded simply to make up the backlog; and overtwice that number to provide for new house holdsover the next ten years. All this, without takinginto account the need for slum clearance. YetLloyd George had promised “homes fit forheroes”. How could his new Coalition governmentmeet the challenge?

Traditional methods of construction seemedunequal to the task. There was a severe shortageof orthodox building materials, which was tocontinue for the next four years 5. Skilled labourwas at nearly half the prewar level, and unionobstruction meant that progress in training newlydemobbed soldiers was slow. But wartimegrowth in the armaments industry had produceda considerable spare production capacity, alongwith technological advances in constructionequipment which could allow the use of unskilledlabour. The government saw a com bination offinancial incentives and technical innovation as away of capitalising on these resources.

The Addison Act of 1919 introduced gen -erous subsidies for local authorities, with an addi -tional financial carrot for houses that em bodiednew forms of construction. At the same time, theMinistry of Health launched a fortnightly maga -zine 6 which dealt with all aspects of the housingdrive, from the financial framework of the newlegislation, through the model house plans andhousing layouts envisaged by the 1918 Tudor

Introductionfall within the scope of this book, and may nothave been recorded. In addition, there isscanty information on many other house types,either in technical details, or in the form of aproper photographic record. If readers haveinformation which could help us remedy theseomissions for a later edition of this book, or forsupplementary information which could be madeavailable on the Internet, such contributionsshould be sent to www.nontradhouses.org.uk.

AcknowledgementsThe generous financial support of the Officeof the Deputy Prime Minister and the BuildingResearch Housing Group is gratefully acknow -ledged.

The list of people who have contributed tothis book in one way or another is endless, butspecial mention must be made of the BRE staffwho either had direct involvement in the investi -ga tions of various house types, or made a sig -ni ficant contribution to the book:

Alan Butler, Alan Covington, Ray Cox, Marilyn Edwards, Peter Finch, Ian Freeman,Eddie Grant, Ken Harling, Ian McIntyre, Ros Redman, Cy Robinson, Jim Thomson.

Many private individuals and local auth ori -ties also generously contributed archive photo -graphs and documents, technical infor mation, andnews of previously undiscovered house types: inparticular, Michael Dyson, Ronald Green, DrRichard Moore, the late Frank Newby, Dr JohnParkin son, the late Sir Philip Powell, Martin Rogers,Mike Fisher of the Halifax Building Society, offi -cers from Birming ham, Leeds, Liverpool and Ports -mouth City Councils, and colleagues in theNorthern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Offices;without whose help this book would have beenmuch the poorer.

The photograph opposite is by Ian Smith,and those used in entries T114 and T128 areby Jon Broome and Terrapin Ltd, respectively.

A number of black and white archive photo -graphs have been reproduced from widely usedpromo tional material bearing no copyright ack -now ledgement, including the annual CIBSA direc -tories, the IBSAC magazine and National Buil dingAgency certificates. It is under stood that thesephotographs were sup plied to the original pub -lish ers by the system sponsors, nearly all ofwhom by now have been out of busi ness formany years. Every effort has been made to traceextant copyright owner ships, largely withoutsuccess, and the pub lishers will be glad to hearof any inadvertent infringement and will ack now -ledge the source.

Photographs throughout this book have beenreproduced from the files of Architectural Reviewand The Architects’ Journal, by permis sion.

Preface to the Digital EditionIn preparing the Digital Edition, the Editors havetaken the opportunity to revise and expandexisting entries and to add a number of newsystems which have come to light since theoriginal publication, These are detailed in theAddendum to the Digital Edition on page 937,after Section 4.

They have also noted the growing numberof new non-traditional housing systems whichhave emerged over the last ten years as aresult of the Government’s Modern Methods ofConstruction (MMC) initiative. While theseremain outside the scope of this book, for thereasons detailed above in the Preface,nevertheless building professionals involved ininspection and assessment will increasinglyneed to be aware of the constructional detailsof such systems, as properties return to themarket.

xiiixii

No-Fines houses at East Cowes, Isle of Wight, built byRichard Langley in 1852.

Preface

One of the local authorities which made aseries of such visits (though not, apparently, tothe Acton site) was a Sub-Committee of NorwichCity Council, who were instructed “to inspect andreport on housing systems that will employ anamount of unskilled labour, with the object oferecting quickly a larger number of houses perannum than is being erected at the present time”11.After interviewing a number of entre preneurs inLondon, with whom the Sub-Committee appearsto have been somewhat unimpressed (“The sys -tem appears to be in its experimental stage andthe Company in its infancy”) they visited Leeds,Wakefield and Glasgow, before making their finalshortlist.

They identified four house types “the buildingof which is on really commercial lines”: Duo-Slab,Underdown (P123), Winget, and Weir. The firstthree, all utilizing a mixture of precast and in-situconcrete, were, they noted, “not sys tems ofhouse building, but of wall building only”; however,they “find a large proportion of work for unskilledmen”. The Weir house, by contrast – timberframed and steel clad – “provides a very smallproportion thereof but has the virtue of extremeexpedition in erection…The whole point of LordWeir’s scheme is complete standard isa tion of ahigh class rapidly produced product…”

As one might expect from their brief, the Sub-Committee were divided on the merits of the Weirhouse, but recommended purchase of 100 eachof the other three types. Their conclusions seemnot untypical of many local authorities, and it isdifficult to disagree with the view of an Americancommentator a decade later that “most, if not all,of the alternate systems were employed by theMinistry of Health and the Local Authorities pri -marily as a club to wield over the bricklayers, who,aware of the housing shortage and the Govern -ment program, seemed from time to time to beon the point of demanding exorbitant wages” 12.

Nevertheless, by the end of the first post-wardecade, when the subsidies payable under theAddison Act and its successors were finallyphased out, some 50,000 ‘non-traditional’ houseshad been built, all but a tiny minority by localauthorities. And not all of these were low-skillsystems: steel and timber framed houses ac -coun ted for over 20% of the total. In numerical

terms White may well be correct in commentingthat “the impact on the country and the buildingindustry of all this pother was relatively slight” 13,but the wider impact on consumers, producersand building professionals should not be under -estimated.

By the 1930s, the idea of cheap, off-the-pegprefabricated timber bungalows, clad in sheetmaterials like asbestos cement, had provedwidely attractive to the general public, par -ticularly as holiday or retirement homes. Writerslike Clough Williams-Ellis might ful mi nate againsttheir effect on the countryside 14, but they diddemon strate that non-traditional con structionwas not only acceptable to con sumers, butcould offer definite advantages in terms of costand speed of erection. And, at the same time, anew gene ra tion of architects was to see factorypro duction, and, in particular, the standardi sa -tion of components, as a logical step towardsachieving the social and political goals of theModern Movement.

Introduction

Walters Report, to innovative methods of house -building.

The task of identifying and approving suchsys tems was entrusted in 1920 to Sir ErnestMoir as Chairman of the Committee for Standard -isation and New Methods of Construction. TheFirst Interim Report of the Committee in 1924 7

catalogued a bewildering array of proposals,88 in all, ranging from fully prefabricated housetypes to ingenious variations on standard con -crete block con struc tion (the latter therefore beingmostly outside the scope of this book). Some ofthe systems de scri bed would raise eyebrowstoday, yet a sur pri sing number of them, like theDuplex Sheath house (M038*) were actually built,at least in prototype form.

The systems which emerged during thisperiod fall clearly into two parts: those (utilisingsteel, timber and large component precast con -crete) which capitalised on skilled workers in fac -tory and shipyard production, like Atholl (M010),Dorlonco (M037), Telford (M093), Weir (T137),Scano (T110), Boot (P026), and Parkinson (P094);and those which employed a combination of smallscale on-site precast concrete and in-situ con crete(Duo-Slab (S022), Winget (P137), Fidler (S027)),or climbing or permanent shuttering for in-situcon crete (Boswell (S007), Dry Walls (S021),Easiform (S023, S024), Forrester-Marsh (S030),Universal (S056)) to maximise the use of un -skilled labour.

Major cities which had pioneered councilhousing before the war were among the first toadopt such systems of construction, notably Man -chester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford, Bristol,Liverpool (which also developed its own sys -tems 8), and, in particular, the London CountyCouncil 9. But other, smaller local authoritiesproved equally innovative. Acton Urban DistrictCouncil, in West London, driven by an energeticSurveyor, and pressed with a housing shortagecaused by the construction of factories nearby,erected 70 Dry Walls bungalows in an unusualand highly attractive layout.

At the same time, they compulsorily pur -chased a site in East Acton which they offered asa demonstration site for new forms of con struc -tion. The Acton site, despite the depredations ofthe double glazing salesman, and the recent lossof a poured concrete house, remains an evo -cative Garden City reminder of the Ministry’s sug -gestion that “a visit…would prove interesting andinstructive to those Councils whose schemes arebeing delayed through lack of bricklayers” 10.

xvxiv

Duo-Slab houses under construction.

Boswell houses under construction.

Introduction

The first – and last – Duplex Sheath house underconstruction.

* The numbers after the house types refer to the entriesin the main part of the book.

Dorlonco houses under construction.

Parkinson houses under construction.

References

OTHER PUBLICATIONS [in chronological order]

PDF files of publications marked CD are includedon the CD ROM in the back of this book.

Moir Report CDMinistry of Health. Particulars of systems ofhouse construction approved up to April 1920.Report of the Committee on new methods ofhouse construction. London, HMSO. 44pp.

[The only report of value that survives from the1920s. Contains drawings and photographs of 76 housing systems and 12 items of ancillary equipment approved by the Ministry.]

PWBS No. 1 CDInterdepartmental Committee on House Construction.House Construction. Ministry of Works, Post-WarBuilding Studies No. 1. London, HMSO, 1944.156pp. (Burt Committee 1st Report).

[Detailed information on 19 house types built between 1919 and 1939.]

PWBS No. 23 CDInterdepartmental Committee on House Construc tion.House Construction, Second Report. Ministry ofWorks, Post-War Building Studies No. 23. London,HMSO, 1946. 84pp. (Burt Committee 2nd Report).

[Reports on the first tranche of proposals for construction after the war, built in prototype form and assessed. Includes photographs of houses under construction.]

PWBS No. 25 CDInterdepartmental Committee on House Construction.House Construction, Third Report. Ministry of Works,Post-War Building Studies No. 25. London, HMSO,1948. (Burt Committee 3rd Report). 86pp.

[Reports on 10 house types, all approved for use by local authorities. Includes photographs of houses under construction.]

White R B, Prefabrication CDPrefabrication. A history of its development inGreat Britain. National Building Studies, SpecialReport No. 36. HMSO, London, 1965. 368pp +52pp illus.

[Valuable narrative account of the technical andpolitical development of prefabrication up to 1962. Numerous photographs and references.]

NTHScScottish Office Building Directorate. A Guide toNon-traditional and Temporary Housing in Scotland(1923-1955). Edinburgh, HMSO, 1987, reprinted2001. 260pp.

[Covers more than 90 Scottish systems built up to 1955. Company information and plans are useful for identification purposes.]

Interbuild. System Building. Published in 1963 and 1964 by Interbuild.

[Describes and illustrates 21 (1963) and 31 (1964) systems. Also covers European and non-housing applications.]

IBSACThe Industrialised Building Systems and Com po -nents Magazine. Published between 1964 and1970.

[Useful ‘snapshots’ of systems available at the time of publication.]

CIBSADeeson A F L (ed). The Comprehensive Industrial -ised Building Systems Annual. Product Journals,West Wickham. Published annually between 1965and 1970.

[Useful ‘snapshots’ of systems available at the time of publication. Many of the entries includea photograph or drawing.]

NBA and Scottish NBANational Building Agency. Certificates were issuedbetween the mid-1960s and 1972. Dates of NBAappraisal certificates are given where known. TheBRE collection of these certificates is not complete,but a full set is thought to be housed in ODPMArchives.

[Very detailed information and construction drawings of proposed systems, which may have been modified for production.]

NFBTEBritish Systems Yearbook 1977–78. NationalFederation of Building Trades Employers, London,1977. 64pp.

[Brief information and photographs of 46 housing systems.]

xxxvxxxiv

Anthony, Hugh. Houses: Permanence andPrefabrication, Pleiades Books, 1945. 64pp.

Bemis, A F. The evolving house. Vol. 3. Rationaldesign. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. and Batsford,London, 1936.

[Includes descriptions of systems designed and built in the UK in the 1920s.]

Building Research Station. Structural require -ments for houses. National Building StudiesSpecial Report No. 1. London, HMSO, 1947.

Cox, B H. Prefabricated houses. London, 1945.

Demonstration Houses, HMSO, 1944.[Detailed description of houses on the Ministryof Works demonstration site at Northolt, London,with many construction photo graphs.]

Hans van der Heijden and Barbara Klomp, TuindorpKethel Schiedam, Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2004.

[Contains a detailed account of the use of the Airey system in the Netherlands.]

Lakeman, Albert. Concrete Cottages Bungalows andGarages, Concrete Publications Ltd, 2nd edn 1924.

Madge, Charles (Ed.) Clarence Crescent, PilotPapers, Vol. I, No. 4, Pilot Press, 1946.

[Photo-journalist account of life on an estate ofSeco temporary bungalows.]

Madge, John (Ed.) Tomorrow’s Houses: newbuilding methods, structures and materials.London, Pilot Press, 1946. 336pp.

Ministry of Health. Housing, Vols I and II: July1919–June 1921.

Ministry of Works. New methods of house con -struction (1945–47). National Building StudiesSpecial Report No. 4. London, HMSO, 1947.

[Analyses labour content and costs.]

Ministry of Works. New methods of house con -struc tion, Second Report (1947–48). NationalBuilding Studies Special Report No. 10. London,HMSO, 1948.

Richardson, Harry W and Aldcroft, Derek H.Building in the British Economy between the Wars,Allen and Unwin, 1968.

Rubinstein, Antonia, Andrews, Andy and Schweitzer,Pam (Eds). Just like the Country, Age Exchange, 1991.

[Oral history of the LCC interwar cottage estates, with many archive photographs of non-traditional houses on the Becontree, Downham and Watling Estates.]

Some new methods of construction: a briefsurvey. The Structural Engineer, Vol. 03, 1925.pp174–184.

[Various types of industrialised building briefly described and illustrated.]

Saunders, C E. Some effects of prefabrication onpost war building. The Structural Engineer, Vol. 35,No. 8 August 1957. pp277–296.

Sheppard, Richard. Prefabrication in Building,Architectural Press, 1946. 148pp.

The corrosion of steel in steel houses. NationalBuilding Studies Special Report No. 16. London,HMSO, 1951. 44pp. CD

[Examines corrosion in steel clad and steel framed houses built between 1920 and 1927.]

The durability of reinforced concrete in buildings.National Building Studies Special Report No. 25.London, HMSO, 1956.

Timber Development Association. Prefabricatedtimber houses. A statement of the principles andpractice of prefabrication. London, [1944?], 26pp.

Timber Development Association. Prefabricatedtimber houses. A review of constructionalmethods, including in situ and prefabricatedconstructions. London, 1947, 39pp.

Vale, Brenda. Prefabs: a history of the UKtemporary housing programme. London, Spon,1995. 192pp.

Watson, Alexander. Demonstration Houses:Sighthill, Edinburgh (1945–65), Scottish SpecialHousing Association, Edinburgh, 1987. 92pp.

[A review of the housing stock built for experi -mental and demonstration purposes at Sighthill,Edinburgh, from 1945 to 1965, with plans andconstruction details.]

Further reading

Appendix to Part One: Metal framed housesAM001 AdamsAM002 AnchorlocAM003 Anderson Permanent HouseAM004 ArlonAM005 Bailey StrattonAM006 BoydAM007 BrabyAM008 BraddockAM009 BroadwayAM010 BrodieAM011 BuckwynAM012 CanisterAM013 ClementsAM014 CopelandAM015 CoseleyAM016 FewacAM017 FillodAM018 FincastAM019 FromsonAM020 InterconAM021 Mackay H & SonsAM022 MC2AM023 ModformAM024 OppermanAM025 ParcreteAM026 Sanders-FosterAM027 Scott & MiddletonAM028 Structural and Mechanical EngineeringAM029 Stuart Scheme IIAM030 Swiftplan Multiflex HAM031 Thermostatic Steel HouseAM032 Town & ValeAM033 TrellitAM034 TSBAM035 TubrickAM036 VeneercraftAM037 Waldic

PART TWO: PRECAST CONCRETE HOUSESP001 Adams H1P002 Adams HVA3P003 AireyP004 AlcreteP005 AMcKP006 Anglia Type AP007 ArgyllP008 ArrowP009 Atlas StoneP010 Ayrshire County CouncilP011 BalencyP012 Balfour BeattyP013 Bates 4LP014 Battery CastP015 BCCFP016 BDGP017 Beanland No 2P018 BelfryP019 BellrockP020 Bison Crosswall

P021 Bison Wall FrameP022 BlackborrowP023 BlackburnP024 Blackburn OrlitP025 Boot BeaucreteP026 Boot Pier and PanelP027 BroadmeadP028 BRS L-shaped panelsP029 Bryant Low RiseP030 Bryant Low Rise System 4P031 Building Systems LtdP032 CamusP033 CarltonP034 ChannelloP035 Cheecol KeelandP036 Concept 4P037 Concrete Houses LtdP038 Cornish Flush PanelP039 Cornish Unit Type IP040 Cornish Unit Type IIP041 Cosmos P042 Costain P043 CrosbyP044 DalcotP045 DomkonstruadoP046 DorranP047 Dyke CCCP048 East Knowle Special P049 FairweatherP050 FalconP051 Farlington SpecialP052 FramP053 Glasgow Foamed SlagP054 GLEP055 GregoryP056 Gregory IndustrialisedP057 Hamish Cross Type IP058 Hamish Cross Type IIP059 HardyP060 HDCP061 Hertsmere SpecialP062 Hexham SpecialP063 HowellsP064 HSSBP065 IndustriconP066 JanselP067 Jespersen 12MP068 KenkastP069 KettonP070 Kincorth Mk IIIP071 Kingsthorne Special P072 Lecaplan Type AP073 Lecaplan Type BP074 Lightning ConstructionP075 LilleshallP076 Livett-CartwrightP077 Loudon Mk IIP078 Mac-GirlingP079 MalthouseP080 MarleyP081 MeTraConP082 MFCP083 MinnielP084 MOD Special

List of house types

PART ONE: METAL FRAMED HOUSESM001 AGB Modular 6M002 AIROH Temporary BungalowM003 Aluminium Bungalow BL8M004 Aluminium HouseM005 ArcalM006 ArconM007 Arcon Temporary BungalowM008 ArrowheadM009 AthertonM010 Atholl 1926M011 Atholl 1945M012 Atholl 1951M013 Beanland No 1M014 Birmingham Corporation M015 Birmingham Corporation Type STM016 BISF Type AM017 BISF Type A1M018 BISF Type BM019 BISF Type CM020 B-JM021 BraithwaiteM022 British HousingM023 BuchanM024 ConatusM025 ConnellM026 CornesM027 Coventry CorporationM028 Craig AthollM029 CraneM030 CranwellM031 CrudenM032 CussinsM033 Denis Poulton M034 DennisM035 Dennis-WildM036 DiscusM037 DorloncoM038 Duplex SheathM039 Falkiner NuttallM040 FormulaM041 Gateshead CorporationM042 Gee Walker & SlaterM043 Grenfell BainesM044 GridM045 Hawthorn LeslieM046 HillconM047 Hills PresweldM048 HitchinsM049 Homeville IndustrialisedM050 Howard Type AM051 Howard Type B

M052 IBISM053 IntegerM054 KelvinM055 Keyhouse UnibuiltM056 KingstoneM057 LanglandsM058 Liverpool CorporationM059 Livett-CartwrightM060 Lowton-CubittM061 MacfarlaneM062 MarkM063 MinoxM064 MOHLG 5MM065 Mucklow PlanM066 MultispanM067 New GeorgianM068 Nissen-PetrenM069 Northern Ideal HomesteadsM070 Nuttall Building SystemM071 Nuttall Mk IIM072 Open System BuildingM073 ParagonM074 Phoenix Temporary BungalowM075 Portal Temporary BungalowM076 ProcolM077 QualityM078 ReithM079 ResiformM080 RileyM081 RoftenM082 RothschildM083 RotinoffM084 RTB Temporary BungalowM085 Rubery OwenM086 SecoM087 Shipston AluminiumM088 SpacewayM089 SteaneM090 Stewart & LloydM091 StuartM092 SymplexM093 TelfordM094 Thames M095 ThorncliffeM096 Trusteel 3MM097 Trusteel Mk IIM098 Turner & NewallM099 UnitroyM100 Universal Temporary BungalowM101 Universal Type IM102 Universal Type IIM103 WHM104 Wilson

xxxviixxxvi

Note: Some systems built with different materials have the same name. Use of the Index ofnames and alternative names at the end of the book or the Search Engine on the accom -panying CD ROM is therefore strongly recommended in searching for a particular house type.

List of house types

P085 ModusP086 MorrellP087 MytonP088 NatconP089 NCBP090 NewlandP091 Orlit Type IP092 Orlit Type IIP093 Orlit-BellrockP094 ParkinsonP095 PemcreteP096 PermabuiltP097 Perma-ErectaP098 Potters Bar SpecialP099 Reema ConcladP100 Reema ContradP101 Reema Hollow PanelP102 Russell LeightonP103 SB2P104 Simplified BrickworkP105 Siporex 6MP106 SkarneP107 SmithP108 SNWP109 SpacemakerP110 StentP111 Stewart & Partners Type IP112 Stewart & Partners Type IIP113 StonecreteP114 Stubbings IndustrialisedP115 Tarran Temporary BungalowP116 Taylor Woodrow-AnglianP117 Tee BeamP118 ThornwallP119 TokenP120 Tracoba Low RiseP121 Truscon RD 27P122 Ulster CottageP123 UnderdownP124 UnimentP125 Unit-Built P126 UnitroyP127 Unity Type IP128 Unity Type IIP129 WallerP130 WatesP131 WebbP132 WessexP133 West’s 5MP134 Whitson-FairhurstP135 Wil-MacP136 WilvanP137 WingetP138 WoolawayP139 Woolaways BungalowP140 XW

Appendix to Part Two: Precast concrete housesAP001 AddisonAP002 AllbetongAP003 AndrewsAP004 Artmet

AP005 BarvisAP006 Beale & SonAP007 Bison TrimlineAP008 Bonding Block SystemAP009 British Craft HomesAP010 CebusAP011 CemacreteAP012 Clugston CawoodAP013 CoignetAP014 Concrete Utilities AP015 DavisAP016 Dudley ColesAP017 Halls Mk IIIAP018 HardieAP019 Hayes InterlockAP020 InconAP021 KentAP022 KeylockAP023 Kingston AP024 LocarnAP025 LutonAP026 MaycreteAP027 NealeAP028 OakridgeAP029 PACAP030 PalmerAP031 PanelwallAP032 PearceAP033 PentagonAP034 Plysyl BungalowAP035 PoolmanAP036 PrefactoAP037 Rationalised HousingAP038 RB2AP039 RidgewayAP040 RossAP041 Shingleton ConslabAP042 SimmcastAP043 SpeyrocAP044 StrongmanAP045 TrentroxAP046 Unit SystemAP047 WeedonAP048 Western SystemAP049 WL RingAP050 Young RWAP051 Ytong

PART THREE: IN-SITU CONCRETE HOUSESS001 Aberdeen CorporationS002 AldertonS003 ArupS004 Banton No-FinesS005 Beco Wallform S006 Blackburn No-FinesS007 BoswellS008 Boyd Gibbons No-FinesS009 BRS Type 4S010 Brydon No-FinesS011 Cast RenderedS012 Concrete Frames

List of house types

xxxixxxxviii

List of house types

S013 ConslabS014 CookS015 CoroliteS016 CorvusS017 CraftcastS018 Dagenham SpecialS019 DiatomiteS020 DoricS021 Dry-WallsS022 Duo-SlabS023 Easiform Type IS024 Easiform Type IIS025 Edinburgh Foamed SlagS026 Farrans No-FinesS027 FidlerS028 FirmcreteS029 Foamed SlagS030 Forrester-MarshS031 GadieS032 HeraldS033 IncastS034 KirtonS035 LamellaS036 Lowestoft BoroughS037 MaximS038 Miller No-FinesS039 Miller Temporary BungalowS040 MOW Demonstration Expanded ClayS041 MOW Demonstration Foamed SlagS042 MOW Demonstration No-FinesS043 MowlemS044 O’SullivanS045 ParkwallS046 PermacreteS047 QuikformS048 RumbleS049 SchindlerS050 SolvytS051 SSHA No-FinesS052 SSHA Wartime Cellular ConcreteS053 SunskeemeS054 TenaplasS055 Unit No-FinesS056 UniversalS057 Vine & VineS058 Wakefield SpecialS059 War Office No-FinesS060 Weir No-FinesS061 WhatlingS062 Wimpey No-Fines

Appendix to Part Three: In-situ concrete housesAS001 CalwayAS002 Combined Concrete ConstructionAS003 CtesiphonAS004 DaviesAS005 Davis JAS006 F3C and F4C Concrete HousesAS007 FirthAS008 GilesAS009 Hughes

AS010 InterconAS011 IntradAS012 King & HowseAS013 Laidlow ThorntonAS014 Lo RonaAS015 MacKeownAS016 MultiliteAS017 MWMAS018 RapirectAS019 RCCAS020 Sidney StoneAS021 SSHA Commissioners ResumptionAS022 TaytonAS023 Whitcon

PART FOUR: TIMBER FRAMED HOUSEST001 Aberdeen CorporationT002 Anchor 12MT003 AndoverT004 AnvilT005 AppleyardT006 ArborT007 ArcalT008 ArrowtrimT009 BennettT010 BoroT011 Boulton & PaulT012 Bricket Wood SpecialT013 BullockT014 Bur-PalT015 Burt BoultonT016 CalderT017 CaldervaleT018 Calverley Type IT019 Calverley Type IIT020 CameronT021 Canadian Demonstration HomesT022 Canadian Timber Type IT023 CasponT024 Cedar HomesT025 Cedarworth HomesT026 Celtic HomesT027 ChallowT028 ColtT029 CowiesonT030 Czechoslovakian TimberT031 Devon LadyT032 EdgellT033 EklectronT034 ElementhusT035 ElsworthyT036 Engineered HomesT037 EurodeanT038 FactaT039 FacultyT040 Federated System 2T041 FlexiT042 FontaberryT043 Forfar BoroughT044 FrameformT045 Fredericks Cedarwood

List of house types

T046 Fredericks Frame SystemT047 G Block WatneT048 GoldcrestT049 Grenfell BainesT050 Grove HomesT051 GuildwayT052 HallT053 Hallam Mk I & Mk IIT054 Hallam Mk IIIT055 Hallam VolumetricT056 Harvey FrameT057 Hertfordshire County CouncilT058 Hultsfreds T059 HumphreysT060 JacksonT061 JanselT062 Jicwood Temporary BungalowT063 KettonT064 Kier BDCT065 Lanark County CouncilT066 Langlands BungalowT067 Langlands MansardT068 Langlands TerrazzoT069 Langlands Type N2T070 LawrenceT071 LCC MobileT072 LintonT073 Liverpool SpecialT074 LovellT075 MacraeT076 Macrae PlusT077 MactradT078 Maple LeafT079 McAlpineT080 McDonaldT081 Medway Type IT082 Medway Type IIT083 MeTraTimT084 MeyerT085 MHCT086 MillerT087 MinoxT088 Moelven BrugT089 MOHLGT090 MulticomT091 MultigridT092 Newcastle CorporationT093 NokkelhusT094 Norwegian LogT095 Peak HomesT096 PerrenT097 PrestoplanT098 Purpose Built Type IT099 Purpose Built Type IIT100 PuutaloT101 QuikbildT102 Reeves FrameT103 ResiformT104 RileyformT105 RMRT106 Rowcon Type IT107 Rowcon Type IIT108 Scano Type I

T109 Scano Type IIT110 Scano Type IIIT111 ScotlogT112 ScottwoodT113 Seco Temporary BungalowT114 SegalT115 ShepherdT116 SherwoodT117 SilksworthT118 Simms C-DAT119 Simms Sons & Cooke SWPAT120 Simms Sons & CookeT121 Solid CedarT122 SpoonerT123 Spooner Temporary BungalowT124 SSHAT125 Swedish TimberT126 SwiftT127 Swiftplan Multiflex H12T128 TerrapinT129 TRADA Type IT130 TRADA Type IIT131 TryboT132 UnicornT133 Unit System 67T134 USA Temporary BungalowT135 WatesT136 Weir PostwarT137 Weir PrewarT138 WellbuiltT139 YDGT140 Yorkshire Timber FrameT141 Young ElizabethanT142 YoungmanT143 Yuill

Appendix to Part Four: Timber framed housesAT001 Anchor 600AT002 Anchor ModularAT003 ASDAT004 AspectAT005 Austin HallAT006 AvonsideAT007 B & J AT008 BarrattAT009 Bayley BartlettAT010 Bigland & MowatAT011 BradleyAT012 BrimsAT013 Brown of WemAT014 BruceAT015 Build FormAT016 Canadian Timber Type IIAT017 ContradAT018 CosmosAT019 CuckowAT020 CuyperAT021 DaleholmeAT022 DomusAT023 ECP ModularAT024 Elliott

xlixl

List of house types

AT025 EssihusAT026 FactradAT027 FarquaharAT028 Finnish TimberAT029 FlemingAT030 FormulaAT031 ForthAT032 FramecourtAT033 Fraser & McDonaldAT034 FribohusAT035 GartAT036 Glasgow CorporationAT037 GoldenhomesAT038 GrangeAT039 GrayAT040 GrayholmeAT041 GTAT042 HeathAT043 Highland TainAT044 Howard MershamAT045 InterbildAT046 JanesAT047 KingstonAT048 Lawrence Building Co.AT049 Leyland IndustrialAT050 LissetAT051 LothianAT052 LoudenAT053 LudfordAT054 M & J AT055 Mactaggart & MickelAT056 MarleyAT057 MaximAT058 McLeanAT059 Mears CowlinAT060 MFCAT061 MitchellAT062 Module TwoAT063 ModumouldAT064 MultispanAT065 NeataAT066 New TrendAT067 NuwayAT068 Papworth Permanent BungalowAT069 PottonAT070 PrattenAT071 Pre-Cut NorwegianAT072 PyrocolAT073 RamsjoAT074 Redifice BungalowAT075 Reid

AT076 Rothwell-PerrinAT077 RTEAT078 RyedaleAT079 SalvesonAT080 ScanAT081 Scanda PlanAT082 ScandevAT083 ScandiaAT084 ScansivAT085 ScansystemAT086 ScotfastAT087 Shaddow WallAT088 SlingsbyAT089 Spacemaker BungalowAT090 SteinkjerAT091 StexAT092 SupaliteAT093 SuperhomeAT094 Surrey GroveAT095 SutherlandAT096 SwedaleAT097 SystemacAT098 TaygonAT099 Thain CapitalAT100 THUSAT101 Timber Frame (UK) LtdAT102 TimconAT103 ToogoodAT104 TrussitAT105 UnicomAT106 UnistemAT107 UnitAT108 VariformAT109 VarneyAT110 WaddingtonAT111 WalemeshAT112 WalkerAT113 WallisAT114 WaltonAT115 WellgraveAT116 WesternAT117 Whatlings RedwoodAT118 WilsonAT119 Woodclad

Addendum to the digital editionADM001 Span Type KADP001 OccidentADT001 Douglas SpecialADT002 Swedish Sectional Timber

2

AGB Modular 6Manufacturers: Modular New Homes Ltd

A.G.B. GroupDudley Coles Ltd

Designers: G R Vaughan Ellis Brian L Godfrey

Period built: 1965

Number built: 50

Alternative names: Dudley ColesModular 6Modular Housing

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

Bungalows and 2-storey terraced houses.Medium pitch gable roof covered with interlockingconcrete tiles or flat roof covered with bituminous felt.Front and rear external walls of timber frame infill panelsclad with horizontal or vertical profiled plastics-coatedsteel sheets, asbestos cement sheets, plastics boardingor tile hanging.Gable wall of horizontally profiled steel sheets orrendered to eaves level and vertically profiled steelsheets or asbestos cement sheets at apex.Terraced houses have single storey flat roof porch andstore extension at front and rear elevation.

REFERENCES

CIBSA 1970NBA Certificate

NOTES FOR SURVEYORS

Moderate corrosion of frame throughout.

The system was also used for flats.

3

M001

CONSTRUCTION

Substructure: Concrete pads below stanchions.Concrete slab thickened around perimeter [1]. DPC.Frame: 5 RS hollow box stanchions [2] (1 singlestorey), 2 RSC perimeter ties [3], 1 RSJ floor supportbeam, 2 braced RS box spandrel beams [4], 2 storeyheight braced RS hollow box spandrel beams [5], 2 RSJperimeter beams [6], see frame layout [A].Protective coating: Zinc paint.External walls: Storey height timber frame infill panelsclad with profiled plastics-coated steel sheets overbuilding paper [7] and asbestos cement sheets andplastics boarding. Lined with laminated plasterboard.Gable apex clad with vertically profiled plastics-coatedsteel sheets. Steel cover strips at corners and atseparating wall.Separating wall: Timber frame panel cavity wall linedwith laminated plasterboard. Mineral wool insulation quiltin cavity.Partitions: Timber stud lined with plasterboard.Ground floor: Concrete.First floor: Timber joists and chipboard.

Ceilings: Plasterboard.Roof: Timber trusses, bituminous felt and interlockingconcrete tiles. Mineral wool insulation quilt at ceilinglevel.

VARIANTS

Concrete strip footings along gable wall.External walls clad with tile hanging or plastic boarding.Gable wall of rendered block to eaves level and asbestoscement sheets above.Separating wall in roof space lined with asbestos cementsheets.Flat roof of timber joists, chipboard and bituminous felt.