Northwood House Charitable Trust, an existing customer of Resapol, contacted our Resapol Southampton Branch back in 2019 in order to assist with applying a new outer coating for the Northwood House situated on the Isle of Wight in order to suitably protect it from the naturally salty sea air. Northwood House is a country manor house in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the current building dates back to 1799 and was built for the London businessman George Ward, remaining in his family for five generations. It is a Grade II listed building boasting a ground floor area of around 15,000 square feet and is often used for corporate events & weddings. The original material coating the house was unfortunately rapidly degrading due to the natural elements, making the new coating a top priority.
The Northwood House project initially involved the recoating of the front of the house, which is often utilised for wedding photographs, and was therefore carried out first. Following the completion of this first stage of the project the remaining work was subsequently put on hold due to COVID-19.
Our Southampton technical team was originally on hand to carry out a thorough site visit in order to determine the best product solution based on several key attributes such as availability, cost efficiency, as well as suitable product features & benefits. After suggesting several differing materials, Northwood settled on Intercrete 4891 (formerly known as Flexcrete’s Monodex Smooth).
Intercrete 4891 is a high performance water based, elastomeric, high build, decorative coating which provides protection against carbonation and water ingress, yet allows damp substrates to breathe. It is ultra-fast drying which enables two coat applications to take place on the same day and facilitates year round usage. These features made it the perfect material to utilise on the Northwood House renovation project which, due to its location, is often exposed to water and salt elements. Intercrete 4891 was also previously utilised for the re-coating of the iconic Spinnaker Tower earlier in the year and produced fantastic results, our Southampton technical team often referred to this particular project as a good point of reference, as it ultimately protected the structure from very similar weather based conditions.
Intercrete 4891 also comes in a range of attractive colours and a suitable oyster white gradient was quickly selected with Resapol Southampton able to supply the chosen materials direct to site, minimising disruptions to ensure the project suffered minimal delays. Recently, and largely due to the easing of restrictions regarding COVID-19, Northwood contacted Resapol Southampton in order to resume the project and to finish the full recoating of the house. Despite the delays Northwood House have been extremely impressed by the robustness and quality of Intercrete 4891, as well as the service and technical advice supplied by Resapol Southampton.
Tim Wander, Major Projects Manager at Northwood House had this to say on the project:
“The paint system on the rotunda has continued to look great, we conducted a recent site visit and the finish is wearing really well. The house was awarded an RIBA Certificate for Merit for conservation and heritage for the project last week – thank-you to Resapol for all of your help!”.
