Cheap cladding option that saved just £6,250
MILLIONAIRE builders saved a meagre £6,250 by fitting flammable cladding to Grenfell Tower instead of fireproof panels.
A whistleblower said fire-safe panels were initially chosen – but contractors then opted for a cheaper version.
In works to make Grenfell more attractive to well-heeled neighbours in Kensington, the cladding was wrapped around the tower – with lethal results. The high-rise went up like a match as the panels’ plastic core burned ferociously.
A Daily Mail investigation has established that in the early stages of the refurbishment, a non-plastic type of panel named Proteus was proposed. But in the end, cheaper plastic ones named Reynobond PE were used.
Documents show Proteus panels, sold by KME Architectural Solutions, were initially specified for the Grenfell project by architects Studio E. Proteus panels are made with a non-flammable metallic honeycomb core.
Matthew Irving, former marketing director at KME, said he was approached in September 2013 by the architects, and Proteus was chosen as the main contender.
‘We were specified on the job, we were named by the architects, because they approved our product, but then we were taken off the job and never heard back,’ he said.
‘The problem is, metal cladding is between 10 and 20 per cent more expensive than plastic cladding. Metal cladding is a much more superior product. It is used on the London Underground, it is properly tested for its fire-resistant properties. Plastic is highly flam- mable – it’s not rocket science. You put something on a building that’s plastic, it will burn if set alight.’
Mr Irving’s company lost out to a rival firm, Omnis Exteriors, for the contract to supply the panels.
Omnis director John Cowley confirmed his business had been asked to supply Reynobond PE cladding – £2 cheaper per square metre than Reynobond FR, which stands for ‘fire-resistant’. Tender documents show the Grenfell project needed panels to cover 3,125 square metres – which at £2 less per panel meant builders saved just £6,250 by choosing the cheaper Reynobond type.
Mr Irving’s metallic ones would have cost even more than Reynobond FR.
Harley Facades Ltd, was commissioned by Rydon, the construction firm overseeing the project, to supply and fit the panels, which it got from Omnis.
Neither Harley – paid £2.6million for its part in the £ 8.7million project – nor Rydon answered detailed questions from the Mail yesterday, and it is unclear who benefited from the £6,250 saving.
Mr Irving, who has 25 years’ experience in the cladding and building industry, likened plastic cladding to the thatched roofs that spread the Great Fire of London in 1666.
He said: ‘I’ve been warning about this for years and years. People have told me I was scaremongering, but I knew something like this would happen eventually.
‘It feels like we have gone back centuries. After the Great Fire of London, we stopped making buildings out of wood and thatch. But for years now, firms have got away with putting this flammable plastic cladding on to buildings.
‘It’s got to change. There are hundreds of millions of square metres of this stuff being used. It is a worldwide scandal. There is no way this is not known by people in the industry. They know these products are flammable and they hide behind certain standards and test results which are clearly not worth the paper they are written on.’
Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, the Grenfell landlord, was responsible for choosing the building firms to do the work with public cash.
Last night Inside Housing magazine unearthed documents from 2010 showing KCTMO chose a firm to carry out fire risk assessments on the basis it charged a ‘competitive’ fee and ‘was willing to challenge the fire brigade’ if safety demands were ‘excessive’.
A Rydon spokesman said all inquiries regarding the cladding should be directed to Harley Facades. Both Rydon and Harley said the work ‘met all required building regulations’ and was signed off by the council’s building control. Studio E did not respond to requests for comment.