South West

Completing BBC building project

BBC studio Bristol

The Bristol studios where popular TV shows Casualty and Deal or No Deal are filmed are being kept dry thanks to a specialist firm’s revolutionary roofing product.

Worcestershire-based specialist Rubbeco Ltd has completed a £335,000 project at the city’s new BBC studios and post-production building using its Rubbeco Seamless Rubber Membrane system.

The three-month project, which was carried out by Rubbeco’s team of specialists, was to modernise and waterproof an asbestos cement roof spanning 10,500 square metres (112,980 square feet) on Bottle Yard Studios.

The Bristol City Council-owned building, the largest TV production facility in the South West, was formerly a production plant for Harvey’s Bristol Cream. Now it is home to Casualty, Noel Edmonds’ hit game show Deal or No Deal, BBC drama Frankie and Sky 1’s comedy series Trollied.

“For us to be involved in such a high profile project on such an iconic building was fantastic. We are delighted because we’ve not only had the opportunity to showcase what we think is one of the industry’s leading waterproofing techniques, but also helped towards the renaissance of a real landmark,” said, Paul Stanway, Managing Director of Rubbeco Ltd.

BBC studio Bristol

“The studio’s owners wanted a fast, cost-effective and sustainable solution. They were instantly sold on Rubbeco as it’s extremely flexible, spray-applied and will bond to any building material. This was one of our larger projects to date so we hope it will play a role in taking the business to another level in 2014, allowing us to expand and offer more jobs.

“We had to meet a strict timescale so we did not disrupt the day to day work that is already going on making shows like Deal or No Deal. Sadly though, we can’t shed any light on the identity of The Banker.”

Fiona Francombe, Client Liaison and Site Agent for Bristol City Council, added: “Rubbeco Ltd has done a superb job at Bottle Yard Studios. Their advice, experience and knowledge was first-class throughout the project. They kept to an extremely tight timescale due to the ongoing filming and production work. We could not have asked for more.”

BBC studio Bristol

Rubbeco Ltd was launched in 2009 by Paul Stanway and Stuart Andrews, who had both previously worked in the construction industry. The company employs both full-time staff and sub-contractors at their head office on Vale Business Park, Evesham, and is continuing to create extra employment opportunities on a national basis.

Their Rubbeco product is environmentally friendly and spray applied, meaning it can be used on irregular shapes. It also has other unique properties and has up to 1100 per cent elasticity.

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