click images to see a slideshow

For the extension to their existing store at Maidenhead in Berkshire, Waitrose understandably wanted to keep their store open and minimise the disruption to customers, without compromising their construction costs and programme. Construction partner Wates Retail recognised that storage of materials and transporting them around site would reduce the car parking and expose shoppers to risk when moving materials by fork-lift and working from scaffold. In addition to the general noise and dirt from a typical building site they concluded that a prefabricated brick system would be the solution to their problems.

Samples of suitable finishes were submitted and Gebrik was chosen by Waitrose and Wates to be applied to a 150mm thick light-gauge steel frame substructure. 15mm cement particle board was fixed at 600mm centres to the steel frame studwork and a breather membrane was applied before Gebrik was screwed to the board with approved system fixings. The total wall thickness was 240mm including 15mm fire resistant board internally, providing a U value of 0.22W/m²K.

Approx 500m² of Gebrik was supplied and the cladding package was completed by LSC, one of the UK's leading specialist cladding contractors. The building achieved an extremely low U-value of 0.22W/m²K.

Upon completion, Martin Hitchcock, Manager of Building Standards and Innovation at Waitrose said "We have used brick walling systems before and are delighted with the final appearance of Gebrik on our store at Maidenhead. We are very excited about this product and we will certainly consider it for use on future schemes"

Please click on any of the images on the right to view a slideshow showing application and the results of Gebrik used at the Waitrose Extension development.

• Client: John Lewis Partnership (Waitrose)
• Architect: Bamber & Reddan Architects
• Main Contractor: Wates Retail
• Cladding Contractor: LSC Ltd