BISF house

The BISF house is a type of steel-framed prefabricated house that was built in large numbers in England, Scotland and Wales from 1946. It was designed and produced by the British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF), and was one of many types of prefabs in the United Kingdom used in national strategies to deal with the housing shortage after the end of World War II.

Original (right) and externally cladded (left) BISF type houses at Moss Road and Bardrainney Avenue, Port Glasgow

Role of the British Iron and Steel Federation

Main article: British Iron and Steel Federation

BISF was an association of steel producers formed in 1934 and was responsible for the national planning of steel production during the war. It later became key in the Emergency Factory Made post-war housing programme by the Ministry of Works.

BISF sponsored a solution for a permanent steel framed housing to a MoW conforming design. The BISF house was designed by architect Sir Frederick Gibberd, who also designed the Howard house.

Produced by the British Steel Homes company, the BISF was a successful design in numerical terms, thanks to the backing of its trade sponsors, who could ensure a supply of steel. The BISF also benefited from a guaranteed order of 30,000 units given directly by the Government in 1941.

Design

Aesthetically, the BISF house is of a conventional design, with simple architectural devices of projecting window surrounds encasing and differing cladding to the upper and lower stories deal with the junction between components in an understated fashion. Traditional materials could be incorporated or simulated, for example a brick cladding to the lower storey, or steel sheet profiled to match timber weatherboarding to the upper. The houses used Crittall Hope windows.

The main structure is of steel columns spaced to take standard metal windows between them. The central spine of the building which supports the first floor beams is carried on tubular steel columns. The framework is clad on the lower storey with rendering on metal lath. The outer cladding of the upper floor is of steel trussed sheeting fixed by angles to the steel columns. The inner cladding and the partitions are constructed of timber framing faced with plasterboard or hardboard. The upper floors are of tongue & grooved timber and the ceilings are finished with plasterboard or fibreboard. The outer walls and ceilings are insulated with glass quilting.

BISF Houses were built as permanent homes with a similar expected lifespan to that of a traditional brick built house.

Confusion with temporary house types

BISF houses are often confused with other prefabricated houses built in the same post-war era. They are often wrongly referred to as temporary dwellings and incorrectly classified as such due to their visual similarity to the aluminium BL8 and Arcon temporary bungalows which did have an expected lifespan of just 10 years. This can cause problems because many of the other types of prefabricated housing are listed as Defective Housing and potential buyers can not obtain mortgages. BISF houses however have never been listed as defective and continue to be mortgageable.

Areas with BISF houses

BISF houses on Ashcroft Road Tin Town, Luton

Areas which have notable concentrations of BISF houses include:

• Bardrainney, a neighbourhood of Port Glasgow, Scotland
• Bellsmyre, a housing estate in Dumbarton, Scotland
• New Lodge, a housing estate in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Overslade, a neighbourhood of Rugby, Warwickshire
• Tin Town, a suburb of Luton
• Harrow Weald and Hatch End, Harrow, London
• South Oxhey, Watford
• Crowmoor Estate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
• Stormount Drive, Hayes, Hillingdon, London
• Paulsgrove, a housing estate in Portsmouth, Hampshire
• Craighall Quadrant, a small housing estate in Neilston, East Renfrewshire

External links

• Non-standard house construction - A brief history of the BISF house