Client: Peel Ports
Installation contractor: Lester Fabrications & Cladding
Building Systems UK products: Trisobuild® R32 profile for the roof cladding and Trisobuild® C32 profile for the wall cladding manufactured from Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® in Goosewing Grey and Merlin Grey.
Year: 2010

Originally constructed in 1960 and built to deal with timber, this facility gradually developed as a grain trading centre as well as providing berthing facilities for passenger ships on North American routes.

Situated near the mouth of the celebrated and evocative River Mersey in Liverpool’s historic Huskisson Dock, this quarter of a mile long facility had fallen into disrepair, having been continually expanded Huskisson Dock underwent extensive rebuilding following World War II when it was largely destroyed in an inferno caused by explosives igniting onboard the SS Malakand.

The building owners, Peel Ports, decided to give the run down building a new lease of life with a complete refurbishment programme of the external building envelope.

The challenge

Located in such an exposed, marine location meant that any refurbishment programme needed to capable of providing a durable, cladding system that would be hard-wearing and able to protect the building from the elements for future years.

The solution

Refurbishment specialists Lester Fabrications & Cladding were appointed to carry out the work, and by utilising 24,000m² of our Trisobuild R32 and C32 cladding profiles, manufactured in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel, the building was fully restored and transformed both in terms of appearance and weather protection.

Steve Lester commented: “One of the main concerns in planning the project was to ensure that the external envelope was clad in a material that would be able to provide an effective long-term solution in a very exposed location and aggressive marine environment. We therefore recommended roof and wall cladding profiles by Building Systems UK (A Tata Steel Enterprise), in Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®.”

Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel combines outstanding performance with unrivalled reliability and impressive sustainability credentials. Backed by a 30 year coastal Confidex® Guarantee it was the ideal cladding solution for this refurbishment project and was durable and robust enough to cope with the harsh environment of the building’s location which is subject to high exposed winds and surrounded by salt water.

The existing roof and wall cladding was removed to make way for the new building envelope which was installed onto the existing purlins and structure which had been cleaned and prepared to accommodate the new roof and wall panels. New rooflights were incorporated to provide improved internal daylight levels. The refurbishment of this once derelict building has greatly helped transform this space into a vibrant Liverpool Port Business.