Portsmouth Grammar School Changing Room Refurbishment - Case Study

School Changing Room Refurbishment

School changing room refurbishment, like most work for schools, often occurs during the holidays. As such school holiday periods are particularly busy in the washroom refurbishment industry.

This summer was no different, and Commercial Washrooms partnered with Lan Services to complete a record number of washroom refurbishment projects.

One such project for Portsmouth Grammar School was a full changing room refurbishment. The changing rooms included toilet facilities and a commercial shower area. Included in the scope of works for the school changing room refurbishment project were facilities for staff, students, and disabled users.

Toilet Cubicles, Shower Cubicles, Vanity Units, and Ducts Sets

All of the rooms refurbished were wet areas, so all panelled fixtures were specified in solid grade laminate material. This not only included the toilet and shower cubicles but the vanity units and duct sets too. Solid grade laminate is completely impervious to water ingress and so is ideal for wet areas. Particularly changing rooms with showers and high humidity.

However aside from glass, solid grade laminate is also the most expensive of all cubicle materials. To reduce the overall cost the IPS duct sets within the toilet cubicles were specified as half height. This had the added benefit of not blocking the windows within the toilet area. So natural light was maximised.

Fixtures and fittings on the shower cubicles and toilet cubicles are all manufactured from stainless steel. This too like solid grade laminate is the best choice for wet and humid areas. It has better corrosion resistance than aluminium. And crucially for a school changing room refurbishment offers more resistance to heavy and frequent use.

Washroom Wall Cladding

The walls throughout, including disabled, staff, and student changing rooms were clad with Altro Whiterock. Previously, the existing walls were a simple whitewashed uneven block work surface, making them difficult to clean and a breeding ground for germs.

The hygienic PVCu wall cladding system Whiterock was installed to make cleaning and maintenance much easier. The smooth easy to clean cladding surfaces will also improve hygiene and ensure that the changing rooms and washrooms look less industrial and cold.

Washroom Flooring

Polysafe standard vinyl flooring was installed throughout all the changing and washroom areas. However within the shower area, where flooring is more likely to be wet a non-slip Polysafe hydro vinyl floor was laid.

The standard vinyl flooring will provide a hard-wearing easy to clean floor surface, which will predominantly be walked upon by people wearing outside shoes. Whereas the non-slip Polysafe hydro vinyl flooring provides exceptional grip for wet floors walked upon by bare feet.

Washroom Ceiling

One of the first tasks of the project was to install a new hard plasterboard ceiling throughout. Set 500mm below the previous ceiling level this gave room for recessed LED lighting. Creating a modern energy-saving lighting solution. LED lights use much less energy than traditional bulbs or strip lighting and last much longer before requiring replacement. With the addition of PIR sensor control and timers, the changing rooms are very energy efficient.

The previous air extraction system was proving to be insufficient. So a new extraction system was also installed in the new ceiling void. With fresh air intake and exhaust fed by centrifugal fans. So fresh air is drawn from the outside and the stale air is blown outside.

The air intakes were located over toilets so as to prevent a cold draft in the showers. The airflow created will combat the growth of mould and prevent odours.

Additional School Changing Room Fixtures

Non-concussive taps were used with the basins so as to keep costs down and yet provide a water-saving solution. Preventing taps from accidentally or intentionally being left on. Ideal for use in public and unsupervised washrooms.

The urinals are also controlled by a sensor flush system, which will ensure when the venue is empty and unused they do not needlessly flush, wasting water.

Changing Room Refurbishment

School changing room refurbishments are often budget led due to constraints on the school finances. In these cases having the specialist knowledge of a company such as Commercial Washrooms can enable the refurbishment works to be the best possible solution at the best possible value.

Cost savings were made to suit the school's budget and allow funds to be spent on more pressing and quality features. For example, the existing changing room lockers, benches, and clothes hooks were reused. They were relatively new and replacement would have been an unnecessary additional cost.

Installing the non-concussive taps and sensor flush urinals whilst not the least expensive option will more than pay for themselves over the life of the washroom in water savings. Similarly, the LED sensor-controlled lighting will also return a measurable cost saving.

Other items such as stainless steel hardware and the solid grade laminate material for the toilet and shower cubicles are the best choices to create a long-lasting and hard-wearing washroom or changing room. Especially one that may often be used by students unsupervised.