Since its inception in 1981, North West Dry Lining (NWDL) has developed into an industry-leading operation, delivering exceptional services to a who’s who of main contractors on a wide range of projects across Ireland and the UK. Building Ireland headed north west to Dungiven, County Derry and sat down with Quantity Surveyor Anntoin Bradley to find out more.
Over the past 37 years – and counting – North West Dry Lining Ltd. have completed many high-profile dry lining projects throughout Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, including commercial, retail, industrial, hotel and residential mixed-use developments.
Providing a range of services including dry lining, partitions and suspended ceilings, the highest standards of workmanship are provided at all times, whilst maintaining a tight budget and adhering to the strict deadlines set by clients. NWDL take pride in engaging with clients and project architects prior to commencing onsite to develop designs which are both sustainable and cost effective.
North West Dry Lining have successfully delivered projects for some of the biggest contractors in the UK and Ireland – O’Hare & McGovern, Graham, MMM Design & Build, McLaughlin & Harvey, Forrme Construction, QMAC Construction Ltd, John Sisk & Son, Bennett, McCallion Group, Gilbert Ash, Turkington Construction, John Paul Construction, Lagan Construction, Ballymore, etc. – working on landmark sites such as North Foreshore Film Studios, Windsor Park, Queens University, Altnagelvin Hospital, Downe Hospital, The Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk, Custom House Square and Belfast International Airport to mention just a select few.
As well as delivering projects cost-effectively, efficiently and to programme, North West Dry Lining is also fully-compliant and accredited to the Health & Safety regulations governing the industry, with all personnel trained in requirements set by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
North West Dry Lining provide an economic, high performance option to meet a broad range of construction
requirements. They are ideally suited to today’s fast-track construction schedules and always ensure costs are on track whilst maintaining the highest quality standards.
Their industry-leading dry lining service is complemented by a range of other services including partitioning, suspended ceilings, fire stopping, insulation and joinery services, enabling NWDL to provide complete turnkey solutions to clients.
It would be fair to say that, having worked on so many prestigious projects, the North West Dry Lining portfolio looks extremely impressive. Commenting on the reasons behind the company’s enduring success and popularity in the contraction industry, Quantity Surveyor Anntoin Bradley notes:
“Leaving behind a good quality of work that both clients and contractors are happy with is key. Also, delivering the programme within budget and on time and having flexibility on site whilst working hand in hand with contractors.”
NWDL has become the go-to dry lining subcontractor for all the main contractors North and South of the island. “We’ve just started in Primark, Belfast with Bennett as well as the new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit at Belfast City Hospital for the GRAHAM-BAM Healthcare Partnership. At the moment, we are also on site with Sisk at Centre Parcs, Longford, we are working with John Paul Construction on Elm Park, Dublin, as well as University of Ulster’s new campus in Belfast city centre. We have undertaken a lot of residential work over the years and have just completed two separate housing developments for the Ballymore Group in Portmarnock and Terenure.”
Dry lining has become increasingly popular due to the ease of construction and flexibility offered to the architect or designer to accommodate specialist design features while integrating the practical requirements of fire and acoustic performance. NWDL’s highly trained workforce always ensure that the taping and jointing of the plasterboards produces a smooth, continuous, crack-free surface ready for final decoration. The jointing process has three application stages – bedding the tape and bulk filling the joint; secondary filling to take up shrinkage; then final finish (each is sanded down as applicable).
The advantages of this method compared to traditional plastering or skimming are: quicker application time on site; minimal drying time; no loading out and mixing of plastering materials; no subsequent drying out cracks; and a more cost-effective end product.
Partitioning represents a quick way to turn an empty shell into a functional working interior, ideal for commercial and office environments. When completed by professionals it’s fast, comparatively low cost and -combined with dry walling, suspended ceilings and good design – will last for many years.
Metal stud partitions are non-load bearing internal partitions suitable for all types of housing, commercial and retail developments. North West Dry Lining can construct these systems to any specification and can be single or doubled boarded each side with a plasterboard type to suit any individual requirement. These can be installed to suit particular arrangements and can include faceted or curved layouts. They can also be combined with a range of insulations to enhance their acoustic and thermal qualities.
These cost effective metal systems are increasingly used in conjunction with wallboards and introduce an added element of ‘factory control’ on-site, readily accommodate building services and avoid the problems sometimes associated with traditional timber studs drying out over time. In refurbishment work, metal systems provide a convenient means of creating true and flat surfaces over the most uneven of substrates.
Every company has working practices that are unique and so – using the latest technology – North West Dry Lining design bespoke layouts of office partitions.
Providing direct employment for up to 120 people at the time of writing – this figure can rise to 150 depending on the workload at any given time – North West Dry Lining currently works predominantly on the island of Ireland. “Things have really picked up again in and around Belfast and Dublin, so there’s no need to venture over to the UK mainland as much. Having said that, we’ve recently worked on Top Shop outlets in Watford and Glasgow,” Anntoin reveals.
With extensive partitioning and dry lining expertise, NWDL also naturally offer a comprehensive suspended ceilings service ideal for a variety of environments. This is a fast, efficient, clean process of suspending a metal frame at ceiling height and installing light weight ceiling tiles in a variety of designs and colours to complement any room. North West Dry Lining supply and fit suspended ceilings of various sizes, from small office areas to large industrial / shop areas, with no job considered too large or small.
Passive Fire Protection (PFP) is an integral component of the three components of structural fire protection and fire safety in a building. PFP attempts to contain fires or slow the spread, through use of fire-resistant walls, floors, and doors. PFP systems and installers must comply with the associated listing and approval use and compliance in order to provide the effectiveness expected by building standards.
North West Dry Lining are UKAS registered and compliant to install Passive Fire Protection to the highest standard, which includes blocking areas of the overall building through the use of fire resistant rated walls and floors. Organization into smaller fire compartments, consisting of one or more rooms or floors, prevents or slows the spread of fire from the room of fire origin to other building spaces, limiting building damage and providing more time to the building occupants for emergency evacuation or to reach an area of refuge.
“We started doing the fire stopping about 15 months ago and our fire protection products and systems are third-party accredited with Warrington Fire Safety. For example, we did all the fire stopping on the new Marriott City Quays Hotel, Belfast Harbour for main contractor Gilbert Ash.”
Meanwhile, North West Dry Lining can offer a range of high-quality insulation. They use premium, high-quality Kingspan insulation boards, which are expertly installed by specially trained fabricators and installers who have completed a comprehensive training program. To ensure that the client opts for the best specifications, NWDL’s experienced, helpful staff are on hand to provide expert advice and guidance.
The company has also diversified to offer bespoke door and architrave systems, installed by an exceptionally-skilled joinery team. They are in close contact with select door manufacturers and suppliers, thereby delivering the highest grade of bespoke joinery to contractors or individual properties. North West Dry Lining source only genuine high-quality doors and architrave, offering an extensive range of woods to meet every requirement or preference.
With a very healthy order book for the remainder of 2018, North West Dry Lining is in a strong position going forward. “We price our work competitively and we supervise a very high-quality finish,” Anntoin concludes. “We are getting a lot of repeat business from the same contractors and this is achievable by providing a high-quality finish and a service that they are happy with.”
North West Dry Lining Ltd.,
288 Foreglen Road,
Dungiven,
Derry,
BT47 4PJ.
Tel: +4428 71338407
Mobile: +447710623763 or +447736487712
Email. [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, July 2018, Vol 4 No 6
