In July 2021, we carried out refurbishment works to upgrade the toilet and staff facilities at Castell Nedd Primary School. The original layout had separate male and female toilets with cloak storage on either side of a lobby.

Our tasks were:

Upon award, we visited the site and came to the conclusion that the original design would not work, due to space restrictions and spec requirements. We worked closely with the client and end users to achieve the best possible result, We concluded that the best solution is to bring down the wall between original male toilers and cloakroom and design a unisex bathroom with 5 standard cubicles and one Accessible cubicle, complying building regulation requirements.

The contract period was challenging, with only six weeks to re-design the original plan, including M&E re-spec. We also coordinated works of each subcontractor carefully, to minimise the numbers of operatives on site at one time, in line with COVID19 regulations. We overcame multiple challenges and changes by collaborating closely with client and keeping them informed, to achieve the best finish whilst also being cost effective. One crucial challenge we overcame in M&E design. The existing services surrounding the school hadn’t been inspected prior to tender stage, and we had to re-route soil waste from the toilets and renew existing soil stack outside, which also connected to other parts in the school that we were not working on.

To deliver this project within the short timescale, our project team, operatives and subcontractors worked during weekends and outside normal hours, hading over a defect-free product, within time and budget.