Platform 101, Exeter

The development comprises of 101 properties, from four bedroom town houses to one and two bedroom apartments. 70% of the properties were available for private ownership, with the remaining two bedroom apartments managed by Sarsen Housing Association as affordable housing, something desperately needed in the area.

As the development is in the heart of the city, it was necessary for the construction to be put up as quickly as possible, with minimal disruption to the surrounding area. This need for speed and simplicity of installation went as far as the products that were specified. For their heating system Wimpey specified Polypipe Overlay™ floor heating, which is both simple to install, and reliable and easy to control for the end user. The plumbing contractor, B.J. Barkwell of Okehampton, was delighted with how easy the system was to install. Overlay™ is a revolutionary floor heating system that can be laid directly over the existing floor surface, meaning it can be installed once the main building work is completed. The system is quick to install and the panels can be simply cut to size, and, once laid, the flexible polybutylene pipe can be walked into the preformed grooves.

Within the Platform 101 development Overlay™ was laid in every room, using a total of 35,000 metres of polybutylene pipe across an area of 5,000m2. Polypipe Underfloor Heating can then be used with any floor covering, as long as it is well insulated. On this site all the rooms were carpeted, except for the kitchen, where vinyl was felt to be more practical. Overlay™ can be easily connected to standard central heating boilers and either used throughout the entire property, as in Exeter, or in individual rooms. Our range of innovative products allows floor heating to be installed with minimal disruption to existing heating and electrical supplies. Installing floor heating provided the buyers at Platform 101 with a range of interior design options, without the need to take the positioning of radiators into account. It is more economical to run than radiator based systems, as they demand a low temperature rise output from the boiler to achieve the same levels of heat.