Crown Goes Back to School with Novus

Crown Paints has donated a selection of its most popular paint products to create a vibrant learning hub as part of a community make-over project organised by national contractor, Novus Property Solutions.  

The project involved refurbishing a dilapidated prefab building for Bromley Pensnett Primary School in Birmingham, to create the new Novus Learning Hub which will become a valuable resource for the wider community as well as school pupils and staff. It will be used for a range of activities including meetings with social workers and health visitors, theatre group rehearsals, community coffee mornings and a toddler playgroup.  

The project, which took 15 operatives two weeks to complete, was delivered by Novus as part of its ‘Big Five’ competition to celebrate five years since the company rebranded to Novus Property Solutions. Bromley Pensnett Primary School was selected out of all the applications in the West Midlands area, as the new Learning Hub will directly impact the whole community, not just the school itself.  

Crown Paints stepped in to help Novus complete the project with the Crown Decorating Centre in Dudley delivering the products needed; Crown Trade Acrylic Eggshell; Crown Trade Vinyl Matt; Crown Trade’s Fastflow Quick Dry Primer Undercoat and Gloss and Sadolin Superdec. The new Novus Learning Hub features a striking orange and grey interior colour scheme to reflect Novus’ distinctive branding with the paint donated all colour-matched by Crown Decorating Centre staff to the specific RAL reference codes specified.    

The walls were painted using Crown Trade Acrylic Eggshell in bright Novus orange. Formulated to provide a highly durable washable finish, it’s the perfect partner for a school setting – ensuring the Novus Learning Hub will stay bright and clean for years to come. Crown Trade Vinyl Matt, which is easy to apply and quick drying, was used in white for the ceilings for a flat non-reflective finish.  

The interior woodwork, including the skirting boards and architraves around the doors, was painted using Crown Trade’s Fastflow Quick Dry Gloss, following the application of undercoat. The Fastflow system combines the performance characteristics of an oil-based system with all the benefits of water-based technology, offering excellent flow, wet-edge retention and workability to minimise brush marks, whilst giving a high-quality, high-sheen finish that is durable. Crown Trade’s Fastflow range can be mixed to any colour and for this project the specific Novus grey RAL code was specified.  

The outside of the building also received a full make-over, transforming it from its previously neglected state after laying empty for five years. Sadolin Superdec was used on the new timber skirt around the bottom of the building as well as the railings leading up to the entrance, specified in the same Novus grey.  

In addition, during the two-week long project, the building was also fully landscaped outside, with the steps leading to both external doors rebuilt and new signage created. The Novus team installed a new roof, new PVC external cladding, new internal and external doors, a new heating system and new kitchenette area. 

Darren Bowkett, operations manager at Novus Property Solutions said: “Giving back to the communities we operate in is important to the team at Novus. We wanted to reflect this in our Big Five initiative and the Bromley Pensnett community hub renovation has helped us achieve that. 

“We’re grateful to Crown Paints for its generous donation and all of our suppliers for their help in making the community hub a building that people in the area can make the most of.”