Selectaglaze detail the glazing installation at St Michael’s church in London, which is now benefiting with noise reduction and insulation
St. Michael’s is a celebrated Cherubim and Seraphim Church located in Plumstead, London. The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim is a Nigerian church denomination that was founded by Moses Orimolade Tunolase in 1925. The brick church was originally built in 1906 according to the Diocesan guide from the same year as a Church of England mission church of St Alban. No record has been uncovered of when the mission church shut, but it was declared redundant by the Diocese of Southwark and sold in 1965 to British Road Services to be used as a warehouse. In 1980 it was sold to the Cherubin and Seraphim church and has been used as a place of worship ever since.
Situated on a quiet residential road, a solution was required for noise insulation. The church got in touch with Selectaglaze, the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of secondary glazing systems, to resolve the issue of noise egress via the arched windows.
The primary windows are double glazed PVCu units, but couldn’t not effectively reduce noise egress and thermally insulate both floors of the church. Secondary glazing offers a fully independent unit decoupled from the primary window providing a much better barrier to noise than sealed units. The greater the cavity between the two panes, the better the dampening effect. Well-sealed secondary glazed window with a cavity of at least 100mm can provide noise reduction in excess of 45dB. Combined with double glazed windows, up to 56dB is achievable.
Selectaglaze treated 28 arch headed windows utilising their Series 20 vertical sliding units and Series 46 fixed light system. The series 46 fixed light lends itself well to shaping and curving, so these in part fashioned the top portion of the windows and then transom coupled to the Series 20, which created access to the primary window for ventilation and maintenance. All units were produced with 6.8mm acoustic laminated glass and were finished in a wood-grain colour to match the primary windows.
The community is thrilled with the acoustic improvements. Originally the church manager, Remi Adegbola was unsure on the wood-grain finish, but having seen the finished job she is extremely happy with the aesthetic and unobtrusive look of the secondary glazing as well as the acoustic and thermal properties of the windows.
Selectaglaze has worked on a number of projects involving church refurbishment or change of use, including the Grade II Listed, St George’s Church in Tufnell Park which required acoustic insulation for noise containment.
Selectaglaze, founded in 1966 and granted a Royal Warrant in 2004, has a wealth of experience designing, manufacturing and installing discreet secondary glazing treatments for all ages and styles of buildings – making them warmer, quieter and safer environments. An extensive range of literature and guidance notes is available together with a free technical advisory service.
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