Case study · Condition assessment · FRAEW · Birmingham
One hotel, two reports: the whole envelope, joined up.
McKay Turner Consulting assessed the external walls of Travelodge Birmingham Maypole, a 60-room hotel, delivering a façade condition assessment and then a PAS 9980 fire risk appraisal to give its owner one joined-up picture of the building envelope.
The building
A purpose-built hotel in south Birmingham
Built as a hotel in 2006 and refurbished around 2016, Travelodge Birmingham Maypole has 60 guest rooms over two upper floors, above ground-floor commercial units, in a single block of around 70 by 35 metres.
Its hybrid structure, a steel frame with timber-framed infill to the bedroom floors, carries three different cladding systems: facing brickwork, steel-faced composite panels and an acrylic render system, along with areas of aluminium curtain walling.
The brief
Condition and fire risk, from one consultant
Appointed through a building consultancy acting for the owner, we were first asked to assess the condition of the external wall coverings, and then to carry out a fire risk appraisal of the external walls to PAS 9980:2022.
PAS 9980 was written for blocks of flats, so applying it to a hotel needed care: we applied the methodology at the owner's request and set out clearly how it had been adapted. No drawings, fire strategy or planning records were available, so both reports had to be built on our own survey evidence.
How we did it
Survey first, then open up what matters
In March we carried out a full external condition inspection of every façade element, from brickwork, render and panels to windows, soffits and fixings, and issued a condition report with prioritised recommendations.
For the FRAEW we went further, cutting inspection openings into the composite panels at ground and roof level and into the render system, measuring each build-up and checking for manufacturers' product markings. Each wall system was scored against the PAS 9980 risk factors, and the report was independently reviewed by a fire engineer before issue in April.
Condition survey
Every façade element inspected and recorded.
Condition report
Findings and prioritised recommendations issued to the owner.
Intrusive survey
Panels and render opened up; build-ups measured and recorded.
Appraisal & review
PAS 9980 risk factors scored; reviewed by a fire engineer.
What the evidence showed
Three wall systems on a hybrid frame
Opening up confirmed how each system was built, including the extent of non-combustible mineral wool within the render system and the masonry and steel-faced elements elsewhere.
The outcome
No remediation of the external walls required.
The FRAEW concluded that no remediation of the external walls was required, with only routine management actions such as keeping the fire risk assessment up to date. Two protected staircases, simultaneous evacuation and extensive non-combustible insulation weighed positively.
Alongside the condition report, the owner now has a single, consistent picture of the hotel's envelope, covering both its maintenance needs and its fire risk, to support long-term asset management.
One consultant, one building, two questions answered.
Work with us
Need a façade picture you can plan around?
McKay Turner Consulting carries out façade condition assessments, FRAEWs, intrusive cladding investigations and building envelope consultancy for hotels, residential and commercial buildings across the UK.