Case Studies

Douglas Controls on guard at Dibgate

The Kent Army Cadet Force (KACF) has brand new barracks in Folkestone, recently officially opened by the Duke of Kent.

Dibgate Barracks comprises three new buildings, purpose-built within St Martin's Plain Army Camp (on Ministry to Defence land) in Folkestone, to accommodate 120 young cadets (aged 13 -18) for weekend training programmes.

The new facilities include separate buildings for male and female cadets, offices, dining and lecture rooms, changing/shower rooms.

"With up to 120 enthusiastic young cadets and frequent use of the shower facilities after rigorous training exercises, major requirements (and for all the barrack fittings) were that they had to be durable and robust. Plus, be low-maintenance and cost-efficient," says Ben Jugoo, Project Architect at Canterbury based architects Hazle McCormack Young (HMY), who managed the project for Kent ACF.

To meet these needs, and with an anticipated building life of 25 years, HMY specified Douglas Controls' Sporting Shower Panels and Tempostop basin taps for their robust, tamper-proof operation, and water and energy-efficient features.

Maintenance is also an issue due to Kent's severe hard water conditions. Neat and stylish (in chrome and brushed aluminium finishes), the Sporting Shower Panels (32 were installed in the project) combine performance and durability, achieving valuable water savings.

While the shower fittings needed to look good, importantly, they also they had to be safe, simple to install - and use.

Douglas thermostatic mixing valves - TM28 and Hydromix Combi anti scald TMVs - deliver blended water at a safe water temperatures (41oC) to the banks of showers, and prevent scalding.

Simple to install, the unit fits on a finished tile surface, with just three concealed fixings. Reducing wall sealing requirements, the Sporting Shower Panel is an ideal second-fix product.

Integral vandal-resistant head provides robust solution and top entry connections simplify installation, and reduce pipe run lengths.

Water savings of up to 60%, and associated energy savings, are achieved by the combination of time flow operation and preset 8Lpm flow rate.

Push time flow operation offers simple control to all users (including children and people with disability).

Maintenance is minimised as the Sporting Shower Panel's brushed aluminium finish offers an easy clean solution and integral nozzle jet reduces any scale build up.

The company's Tempostop basin taps were installed on all of Dibgate's wash basins to address the issue of water sustainability, save water and energy.

Designed for intensive use, the taps are endurance tested to over 500,000 cycles.

Tempostop achieves over 60% water savings with its preset flow rate of 6 Litres per minute, and automatic shut-off timing at a nominal 15 seconds. The flow rate is adjustable by the installer without removing the mechanism or isolating the water supply, ensuring further water savings.

A flow straightener ensures smooth opening, runs without splashing and is resistant to scaling.

Hydromix anti-scald TMVs have been installed to provide a safe hot water temperature to individual or banks of basin taps. Hydromix is independently tested and certified under the TMV3 scheme.

Basin taps generally in public buildings have the potential to be abused. At Dibgate, the traditional locking nut has been replaced by reinforced fixing to prevent taps being swivelled loose.

As with the Sporting Shower Panel, Tempostop serviceable timing cartridges are resistant to scaling and offer a long in-service life.

A similar specification is planned for a new Sussex ACF weekend training centre, accommodating 100 young cadets.

Architects: Hazle McCormack Young (HMY), Canterbury.

Consulting engineer: Pentangle Consulting (PCEL), Herts.

Plumbing Contractor: Brith Services, Waltham Abbey, Essex.