Lavender Fields Care Village

Installing the heating system at the new Lavender Fields Care Village, Leeds based mechanical services engineers, Sayes & Co Ltd needed a system which was fast, clean, and long lasting. Already familiar with press systems, the team turned to Viega after being impressed by both the ease of installation and the product quality.

Lavender Fields Care Village is an ongoing development which started with 24 bungalows before expanding to include the 72-bed care home. This building accommodates the main assisted living facilities as well as the village shop, bar and entertainment spaces. Each bedroom features an en-suite, with the main building housing a commercial kitchen to cater to the residents.

When first looking at the project design and build programme, Matthew Tatler, Design Manager for Sayes & Co Ltd, knew that speed would be a huge factor. “We were appointed by Firecrest Construction at an early stage of the project and were presented with a concept scheme to develop. From there, we took on design liability for the heating system which included designing and installing air source heat pumps serving cylinders and distribute heating circuits to the three wings of the building. Included in the system were underfloor heating and high-level pipework for mains to each of the rooms and facilities.”

“When we saw the project scale and timeline, we knew that press would need to be the way to go with this. Plus, no hot works were allowed on site, which further cemented the choice for press.”

The physical space available was another factor in favour of using press: “the architects wanted high ceilings, which are aesthetically more pleasing. However this meant the ceiling void would be much smaller. Given we would have up to nine pipes running across the ceilings to feed the wings, plus electrics and other facilities, choosing press would give us the flexibility and speed to effectively install in tight spaces and move around all the other trades on site.”

Switching to Viega

Sayes & Co Ltd had been using press systems for the past 10 years but were yet to use Viega. “Press isn’t new for us and recently we had been hearing more about Viega. One of the technical reps from Viega got in touch, gave us an introduction, a CPD and from there we bought into the system.”

Used throughout the system was Viega Profipress copper pipework, from 15mm up to 76mm. One of the big advantages that Profipress had on site was the flexibility the system offered in terms of connection sizes and options. “Because of those tight ceiling voids, we really had to navigate around a lot of obstructions. Screwed steel would have kept us static and caused a real struggle whereas with Profipress, we could easily move around and install in small spaces.”

The speed of installation doesn’t just come from how fast each connection can be made. Matthew explained: “The Viega press systems are quick, but one thing which really impressed us was the tooling. The pressgun jaws are really simple and fast to change resulting in an easier time installing multiple sized pipes.”

This flexibility paid dividends when it came to chasing the pipe into the various draw off points. “When we started to get into places like the commercial kitchen or en-suites, being able to easily move around, swap jaws, or use different copper connections really helped. It meant we weren’t held up much and could really keep moving to the project’s timeline.”

“It’s little things like how the pressguns flash when they’re getting near to a service. It helps you to know you’re always working with a perfectly calibrated tool. We knew the Viega system would be fast, but when you add up all the extra little efficiencies then Viega really starts to pull ahead.”

Pressing forwards.

The true testament is whether after using Viega for this project, Matthew and the team would continue to do so given their experiences with other press systems. “Absolutely we’re using it again. In fact, we’ve already started work on another project in a high school and we’re using Viega there too.”

“The feedback from the client and main contractors at this project has been great, they’re happy with the quality of the installation and our work as a whole. Viega did feed into this by minimising any issues on site so for us, it’s been a fantastic project.”