Stoneham Grove Care Home

Luxury residential and dementia care in Berkshire 

Scoping the scene

Barchester Healthcare set the highest of standards for each and every premises under their management. This doesn’t simply mean their staff, the food, the level of client care – it starts with design, construction, and delivery of the building itself.

Acheson Construction have been a long-term partner on the Barchester care home projects, and likewise, so have we at Door Controls Direct. Read on to discover how we specified and supplied the perfect door hardware solutions for a high-end residential care property that has it’s own distinctive brand yet had to comply with rigorous building standards, regulations, and legislation.

Care home conundrum

Our customer, the contractor, Acheson Construction, are well-known to many of our team. Based in the same town as our head office, this South West building contractor has been working with our specification and customer service teams for over 30 years. 

Acheson’s are an award-winning construction company operating in education, industrial, leisure, housing, commercial, and in this case, medical and care sectors. With Stoneham Grove Care Home, the bar had already been set very high – this being the eighth Barchester Healthcare project that we had worked on with them (the ninth has now also been delivered in Woking).

The goal with this site was to meet the client’s expectations for an exceptional end result, representative of their luxury brand, ensuring this substantial £9.5 million contract was delivered on time, on budget of course, and with fully compliant solutions throughout.

A real challenge with this type of facility is creating a homely feel while fully kitting it out with effective passive fire safety products, accessible hardware, and fire door ironmongery. The solutions shouldn’t detract from the warm, inviting space that Barchester staff try so hard to maintain on a daily basis. 

Working alongside Acheson, extoling their values of teamwork and relationship building, our specification team looked to well-established brands like GEZE, RGL, and Zoo Hardware, for suitable door hardware, meeting all of the contractor’s delivery requirements as well as the regulatory requirements. 

Let’s get into the detail.

Safe, accessible, secure

Stoneham Grove covers the three main areas of care – residential, dementia, and respite. And, being a refined, premium facility, there was such a variety of spaces that our spec team had to be mindful of during specification. Think café, multiple dining rooms, a cinema, hair salon, spa bathroom, lounges, plus the 64 bedrooms, corridors, stairwells, staff areas, and all of the usual commercial storage areas. Stoneham Grove also has a varied activity program for residents – they’re not resting on their laurels, and nor did we.

Fire safety every day

Passive fire safety is life safety. Specifying the correct CE-marked, fire tested solutions and having them installed by competent tradespeople couldn’t be more important. Add in the additional requirements of clients with specific care needs, having dementia care on site, and a variety of vulnerable people across multiple floors, effective passive fire safety had to feature very highly in our door hardware schedule.

Clear fire door signage to BS 5499 featured on every fire rated door. Over 400 units went out to this Reading site - Fire Door Keep Locked, Keep Shut, and many Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear signs. These automatic signs were installed to single and double doors that had electromagnetic door closers and electromagnetic door holders fitted.

Never overlooking the minutiae, our team made sure that all fire door hardware had the required intumescent ironmongery protection for the different fire ratings of doors on site. Over 1200 intumescent hinge pads were fitted behind the ARRONE ball bearing butt hinges, providing hidden protection in the event of a fire. Other items of morticed hardware also had the same intumescent treatment, including lockcases and flush door bolts.

Accessible for all

With premises such as these, they must work for everyone, everyday – staff, residents, visitors, maintenance contractors, and any third parties. And, as mentioned, it has to be delivered indirectly, discreetly. An institutional, harsh, commercial feel was not acceptable here.

So, how to subtly provide easy-to-use ironmongery that ticks all of the dimensional requirements of Approved Document M and BS8300-2?

Here’s how.

• DIN standard locks – these cylinder mortice lockcases have a standardised, deeper backset than many lever locks. This moves the operating furniture further from the edge of the door, providing more clearance in use. Also, with DIN standard sashlocks, escape locks, and bathroom locks, the centres are a minimum of 72mm apart. This additional space allows for easier operation of the bathroom thumbturn or cylinder barrel (key or thumbturn).

• Lift-to-lock – these specialist accessible locksets have the same backset as the DIN locks for consistency throughout the built environment but are operated with a lifting motion, not the usual rotation of a bathroom turn and release. The use of a lever handle means users can get a firm grip on the door handle or operate with a clenched fist or elbow. They’re supplied with operating signage so visitors or new residents can easily understand how to use them.

• Pull handles – a straight push/pull operation is easier for users than a twisting rotation of a lever door handle. Bolt fixing door pull handles ensure a robust fixing and require less maintenance as there are no moving parts. They’re particularly suited to high-traffic areas so we made sure corridor doors and entrance doors were kitted out with pull handles, having a minimum of 300mm centres to comply with BS8300-2 dimensional requirements. 

• 19mm diameter handles – where lever handles were specified, their return-to-door design and 19mm diameter grip comply with the applicable accessibility standards, allowing for ease of use by residents and staff alike.

• Door closer functions – a mix of swing free and hold open function electromagnetic door closers were allowed for. Our specification team turned to one of the most reputable brands in our industry – GEZE. Their TS 4000 EFS overhead closer was allowed to bedroom doors throughout the building. These CE-marked, Certifire Approved units accommodate fire doors up to 1400mm wide, and 120kg, covering fire doors up to 120-minute rated. The swing free function allows for the feel of a residential property – opening and closing a door as if no closer were fitted – but automatically closing a door when the fire alarm is triggered. Safety and functionality in one. 

Physical security systems

Considering the use of the building, accessibility and safety were primary concerns. However, with a duty of care, security couldn’t be overlooked or bypassed either. So, to secure entrances and exits, protect hazardous areas like plant rooms, and to provide privacy where required, two main areas of physical security were covered:

• Site-wide master key system

• Mechanical digital locks

Our team again looked to well-known brands for reliable security solutions – ones we know will stand the test of time, be reliable, easy to use, secure, and available within the deadlines of the project. An Access2 master key system was specified, and thorough communication with the Acheson site staff and Barchester Healthcare team had the keying requirements and key quantities quickly established, along with the specific dimensions of cylinders for each and every key-locking door.

For convenience in many areas, over thirty ARRONE AR526 digital locks were specified. The lever handle operation blended in with matching hardware on other nearby doors, with the code free passage function providing convenience for staff when in use.

Commercial norms

With the main project-specific points of focus ticked off through the scheduling process – passive fire safety, accessibility, and security – our team turned to the more standard requirements of commercial buildings. 

As with the seven previous care homes, a satin stainless steel finish was agreed for the door hardware. The facility has a vibrant, colourful, yet calming aesthetic so the hardware needed to blend in, not detract from the pops of colour delivered by soft furnishings and furniture. 

For door protection and a neat finish, bespoke size kickplates were established for the entire building. Initially, a nominal size was allowed for budgeting purposes but with continued discussions between Acheson and our specification team, the millimetre-specific sizes were agreed upon for each of the 280+ door protection plates. 

To ensure the electromagnetic hardware performed as required, our specification allowed for compatible transformer rectifier power supply units. The regulated 24V DC 2Amp TR PSUs worked in conjunction with the GEZE hold open and swing free closers, and the electromagnetic door holders that were fitted with standard ARRONE overhead door closers in some areas.

Getting it done

Approaching the specification, covering the project specifics first, then the more generic needs of a commercial facility soon after, ensured our client-centric approach didn’t leave any stone unturned but the drafting of a comprehensive door hardware schedule is far from the end of the process.

Due to the extent of the project and incremental deadlines to hit, efficiencies at every stage were a must. This is when small considerations can make a big difference when scaled up. From lockcases to hinges and flush bolts, radiused hardware was specified, saving time with preprepared doors. Matching radiused backplate operating furniture was a neat touch we were happy to specify, should anyone be looking that closely at door handles. Using DIN lockcases also saved the contractor time with door preparation as each lockcase variant has the same footprint, this allows for the same preparation to be done to each door, regardless of the lockcase function. 

Having well-established lines of communication is always of help with these large-scale projects, especially with this specification and supply process extended over three and a half years. And once the schedule was completed, more of the Acheson team came on board to discuss the specifics of getting the ironmongery to site.

How was the delivery of such a substantial project managed? A phased call off was agreed with the contractor – as easy as 1-2-3…4. Four separate zones were established, the door schedule divided into these same sections and all products were delivered to site in door numbered box sets. 

Our warehouse and support staff were on hand to pick, pack and despatch each and every doorset, all with precision and speed for each phase. And, after months of call-offs, our team provided a clean and clear handover – an O&M manual of documentation that included:

• Product certification

• Data sheets

• DOPs (Declaration of Performance)

• Maintenance information

From the source

Nick Manley, the buyer on the Stoneham Grove project, gave this wonderful testimonial:

 

“Acheson Construction have worked with Door Controls Direct for many years and we have always found the sales team to be very helpful and easy to deal with. They provide clear ironmongery schedules, offer an efficient next day delivery service, and have recently made great improvements to their website. The products supplied are also of a good quality and we rarely have any issues, but should anything arise, this too is dealt with quickly and efficiently.”

Of course, we haven’t disappeared straight after the final boxes hit the ground in Reading and the O&M was sent. As Nick from Acheson kindly acknowledged, we continue our project and customer support post-supply. Whether this is immediately prior to handover, during snagging, advice on product care and maintenance after installation, or in this case, on-going management of their master key system that had built-in room for expansion.

That’s a wrap on number eight

A large-scale project for a long-term customer, luxury care home standards outlined by the client, building regulations and legislation to comply with, and a raft of different spaces and facilities requiring a cohesive look that were accessible to all – that was Barchester care home #8. 

Stoneham Grove in Tilehurst, Reading was an exemplar of detailed planning, the thorough eyes and extensive knowledge of our specification team, an experienced contractor, and compliant door hardware solutions coming together to produce a Considerate Constructors Scheme silver award winning project.

Topping out in December 2023, opening a year later, this innovative site demonstrates the professionalism of all involved and their ability to deliver against a long list of criteria – effective fire safety measures, accessible to all, secure in use, functional, all while being unobtrusive and blending in.

The result of this collaborative approach is a stunning-looking, fully functional, safe and secure premises for staff, clients, and visitors alike. Nothing was left to chance, every detail of door design and composition, to fire evacuation routes were taken into account during the design, specification, build, and installation. And our team will be around for many years to come – for replacement products, advice, support, and master key system management.

If your project, large or small, commercial, industrial, or residential, would benefit from the Door Controls Direct approach, contact our specification team direct: [email protected] We’d love to hear from you.