Dulux Trade paints the way for special needs school

When Birkett House School in Wigston Leicestershire, relocated its primary facilities, it required a robust interior paint scheme that could withstand the heavy traffic of a busy school. With durability leading the specification process, it was the Diamond Matt and Satin Wood ranges from Dulux Trade that were chosen by Design Consultants, Cantoo.

Birkett House School is a co-educational special needs school for 195 pupils aged 4-19. Based across four different sites within Leicestershire, the main building was relocated in 2017 and is now a state of the art, purpose built learning environment for students with profound and multiple learning needs as well as moderate disabilities.

The primary school prides itself on offering a seamless integration of learning, physio, care and medical needs, working closely with physiotherapist, occupational therapists and parents to provide a completely holistic experience. Therefore it required a range of paint solutions that could offer longevity and durability to minimise maintenance costs and disruption.

The Dulux Trade Diamond Matt range was specified for all wall areas, including the project's core colours: Forest Floor 3, Morning Jewel 3 and 4, and Wiltshire White. The tough, water based emulsion paint utilises Diamond Technology, making it 10 times tougher than Vinyl Silk and Vinyl Matt ranges. Products can help to extend maintenance for up to five years.

"Usually you would have to apply an Eggshell paint to protect the wall from stains but that kind of finish creates a lot of reflection and shows up blemishes," commented Eric Klein Velderman, Interior Designer of the project and Director of Cantoo. "The Diamond Matt range was an ideal solution - providing the contemporary matt finish we wanted, and its Stain Repellent Technology ensures that the walls can easily be wiped clean without polishing up."

The Satin Wood range in Silver Grey by Dulux Trade was used on all door applications. The solvent-based formulation requires no undercoat and has a tough, durable and dirt resistant finish, making it the ideal paint for areas where there is high traffic, by reducing the need for regular maintenance and further disruption to the school at later dates.

Jason Smith, Contracts Manager of Commercial Decorating Service, Swirlforce concluded: "This project was focused on vibrant colours and I was very impressed with the Dulux Trade products, they provided excellent pigmentation.

Due to the scale of this project, we also required a lot of paint, therefore we, along with the contractor, Willmott Dixon, ensured that used paint cans were recycled. Any additional paint has been kept in storage to be used for any maintenance work and all empty tins were also recycled by Dulux."

The Dulux Trade Can Recycling Scheme is a free nationwide recycling system for Dulux Decorator Centre account customers. Customers can either take their used cans into store or they can be picked up on site. Dulux Trade will also provide the paperwork to show that the cans have been deposited in a responsible and sustainable way, including an Annual Performance Certificate.

For further information please visit Dulux Trade Paint Expert