H&R Johnson tiles the tenants choice

When Shoreline Housing Partnership needed to improve tenants’ homes across North East Lincolnshire it turned to the expertise of leading UK ceramics manufacturer H&R Johnson Tiles Ltd.

The housing association’s multi-million pound investment programme will improve properties bringing them in line with the Government’s Decent Homes Standard by 2010. It also operates a policy of ‘Tenants Choice’ – a procedure that gives tenants a greater say in the running, maintenance and refurbishment of their homes.

More than 4,000 kitchens and 3,000 bathrooms will be modernised by the housing association and key to the project is the quality, cost effectiveness and continuity of supply of all materials - including the tiling for the properties. Whole-life cycle costs are important and as a result the Prismatics range from H&R Johnson was specified for the project, due to its quality and long life span.

Shoreline Partnering Manager, Sharon Brookes, said: “All the properties will have improvements which could include a modern kitchen and bathroom, full central heating, high security windows and decent roofing. Tenants were very much involved in the specification process, particularly with the ceramic tiles. Tenants chose from a variety of colours, with each option being displayed at a dedicated housing exhibition, which detailed samples and layouts of the different combinations of tiles and decoration available.

“H&R Johnson tiles met these criteria. Importantly, the specification process includes not just initial aesthetics and quality, but takes into consideration ongoing maintenance of properties so longevity of the product is very important.”

Prismatics is a range of 78 different coloured glazed wall tiles in three different finishes - gloss, satin and micro speckles. This includes 14 new satin colours recently introduced to allow designers to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in respect of surface finishes.

The Prismatics range is available in four metric modular size options with a uniform thickness of 6.5mm. The standard field tiles are complemented by an extensive range of fittings called Prismafit, which are designed to provide a complete ceramic finish. The Prismafit range of fittings includes round edge finishing tiles, coves and ceramic angle beads. The Prismatics and Prismafit range are suitable for internal walling applications combining moisture resistant, easily cleaned surfaces with high design aesthetics.

The investment programme is just one of the ways that Shoreline is improving both standards of housing but also the neighbourhoods throughout North East Lincolnshire. As well as the renovation of thousands of homes, the housing association has introduced a 365-day a year emergency home-repairs service, a dedicated anti-social behaviour team, secure front and back doors, free smoke alarms and numerous regeneration projects funded by the Shoreline Community Investment Fund.