With a few good weeks of weather under our belt work has come on leaps and bounds.
In spite of the horrendous weather of late and the last unfortunate report in which we shared about the collapsed ceiling, things are picking up again and slating has now begun on the Chancel and Kemy’s Aisle roofs. Aaron and his team are doing a beautiful job, considering the roof structure is a bit all over the place they are using their expert skills to keep the tiling nice a straight. It’s certainly going to be a far cry from the asbestos cement tiles that were once on this area of roof.
In addition to this, the majority of the timber repairs required due to the unexpected discovery of deathwatch beetle have now also been completed. The firings and new penny gap boarding on top of the north aisle and lady’s vestry substructure (to increase the pitch for good water run off) have been installed and felted which, although its still has a tarp to give extra protection, means that the north aisle is relatively watertight. This also means that the scaffolding on the inside of the church can be removed which is good news for the congregation! It will however uncover the hole caused by last months ceiling collapse.
In other areas, the stone masons have started repairs to copings and are waiting for extra scaffolding to be installed so that they can carry out the majority of their repairs to the pinnacles and crenellations.
The main contractor has reported some delays to the contact due to the weather and will be making an time extension claim which means we need to find even more money from somewhere. We have made an application the the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (GHCT) for some grant funding to help cover the extra costs that have come up throughout the course of the project. They meet in December so we will hopefully have news by Christmas.
This update comes sooner than normal with some frustration and set back. Over the course of the project so far we have been very fortunate with the weather however, things recently have taken a turn for the worse.
When planning the project the ideal situation would have been to have a temporary roof over the whole church which would completely prevent water ingress during the works however, at a cost of around £70,000 this just was not feasible and would have meant the project would have not got off the ground. The project team highlighted water ingress as quite a high risk to the project and as part of reducing that risk asked the contractor to complete a method statement outlining the process they would use to limit this risk.
None the less, even though these precautions were taken, water is quite hard to tame and water ingress in the recent storms has led to a large part of the north aisle ceiling to collapse in the north aisle. Apart from the ceiling itself, no major damage was caused as the plaster was caught by the crash deck erected to keep contractors working on the new timber repairs from falling through the roof.
As things currently stand we have no funding available to repair this after the scaffolding has come down. Unless we are able to divert/find funds we may have a whole in the ceiling for a little while.
Otherwise, progress on the roof is continuing as weather permits. More updates to follow.
This post has two clear halves, nicely depicted by the cover photo.
The stainless steel covering over the south aisle is almost finished. All that remains is the joining detail between the old lead (covering the nave barrel) and the up-stand of the new stainless steel, and the installation of the all important mushroom vents which will help to keep the wood-boring insects at bay. The terne-coated stainless steel has quite a sheen to it; however, this will dull down somewhat over the coming months and years. The use of batten rolls was favoured in this situation to create the join between each bay of stainless steel. This is partly to do with matching the look of the nave, but more importantly, it creates a robust and strong join which will not be damaged by people walking on the roof to clear the gutters and hoppers in the future. If you know our churchyard, you will know that clearing leaves in the autumn is a huge task!
In comparison, the north aisle is still stripped back to the bare bones. Carpentry work over Kemy’s Aisle has now been completed and the carpenters have turned their attention to the biggest hurdle of the project so far. Following the discovery that large amounts of the roofing timbers and wall plates over the north aisle had been eaten by death-watch beetle, a survey was carried out to draw up a schedule of repairs. The carpenters now have the monumental task of replacing large sections of the wall plates and a significant amount of roof bearers as well.
A scaffold has been erected on the inside of the church for two reasons: it will jack the ceiling up and support it whilst the wall plate is removed and a new one installed; and it will act as a crash deck to ensure that if any workers fall through through the ceiling they don’t fall to the ground. Ensuring the health and safety of all those who work on site has been paramount throughout the project.
Rain has halted work a fair amount in the last few weeks with the various storms we have had over the course of September. The forecast is looking good for the next couple of weeks which will hopefully give us a chance to get the north aisle watertight once and for all!
In the last week, the new stainless steel covering for the south aisle has started to be installed. Stainless steel is the perfect choice in this situation. It’s out of sight, highly durable with a long lifespan and is very difficult to cut, making it hard to steal unlike lead.
As discussed in previous posts, we have had a big problem with death-watch beetle. This could partly be put down to the lack of ventilation in the roof voids, so in order to aid ventilation in the future, mushroom vents will be installed at regular intervals across the new stainless steel. That should help keep the critters at bay!
Timber repairs and carpentry have continued over the chancel and Kemy’s Aisle. Now the scaffolding has been erected on the inside of the building to support the ceiling and it’s substructure, work will soon commence on the vital timber repairs to the beetle eaten roof structure over the north aisle.
Although the discovery of the beetle has caused some significant delays to the project, there is good progress being made. This progress has started to be hindered by the rain of late which has been causing some significant leaks where the roofs are only protected by tarpaulin. Consideration had been given to the use of a temporary roof; however, coming in at around £70,000, it would have blown the budget somewhat. Let’s hope for a warm and dry autumn!
The south aisle is taking shape now. As the pitch on the flat sections of roofs is only about 1.5 degrees new firing strips and boarding is being laid to increase the pitch to around 4 degrees. This meets current building regs and will help with run off which helps to keep the roof and gutters clear of dirt.
Timber repairs in other areas have begun now however there is a short wait for the supply of seasoned oak which will be used to repair and replace the rotten/eaten wall plates on the north side of the nave and aisle.
With all the hot Weather we have been having the wasps are having a field day and have decided to set up camp in one of the vents to the nave barrel roof. A1 Beekeepers to the rescue to save us from any unpleasant stings.
In other areas, progress has slowed a little as we are waiting on the final drawings and specifications through from the Structural Engineer regarding the replacement of roofing timbers after our other insects in residence, the death watch beetles, had a picnic with our oak on the menu.
The south aisle is coming along and we hope to bring more updates soon.
This week we had a visit from Huw who is a specialist in wood boring beetles. He came with a very high tech piece of kit which drills a small hole into the timbers, measures the torque and other parameters which in turn tell you how much good wood is left and how much is sawdust. Literally sawdust.
The project team met back on site towards the end of the day to hear how Huw had got on. There was a quiet nervousness about the project team as we climbed the ladders to roof level. This felt like a make or break moment for the project. We were greeted by Huw in his blue overalls and blue hard hat and braced ourselves for bad news. Huw explained that although it looked bad and there were some areas that were completely shot the key areas of concern were not as bad as they looked. The death watch beetle had destroyed most of the sapwood however the heartwood was still good and could remain with a few repairs and supports in places. Huw will now write up his report in detail which will show in detail the condition of each timber after which Steve, out structural engineer, can instruct us what repairs need to happen.
In other areas the roofers have been pressing on with the installation of the new counter battens and felt over the Chancel and Kemy's Aisle. During this work they notice a small card pinned to one of the principal beams from A.S. Reed general builder and contractor. It read:
This roof was restored to it's original condition under the directions of
P. Hartland Thomas in June 1936
The weather has remained fine so far which has been very advantageous, lets hope it continues for the weeks to come.
Over the last 2 weeks since the scaffolding was completed our roofing sub-contractor, Ben Bruce, have begun to remove the old worn out lead and the big expanses of rubber membrane that put in place when lots of the lead was stolen ten years ago.
This is a critical moment for the project. During the development phase we did a bit of opening up to assess the condition of the roofing timbers but until you open the can of worms its very difficult to see what is inside. In our case it isn't worms...it's wood boring beetles! On the north aisle we have uncovered large amounts of damage to the wall plates caused by an infestation of Beatles. On top of this where there have been active leaks for some time there is a degree of wet rot in places too.
The project team met today for our first progress meeting after which the team were joined by Steve the structural engineer who has come in to help assess the level of damage and the amount of unforeseen repairs that need to happen. Depending on the outcome of his report this additional work could eat into a large portion of the project contingency.
Steve's initial recommendation was to get a beetle specialist in to more thoroughly assess the damage to each timber and how many could be left, how many could be repaired and how many need a complete replacement.
To add insult to injury, as the roofs are only protected by tarpaulins at the moment, during Sunday's downpour we sprung a leak (pics below). Well done to Mark for battling on through the sound of running water.
Check back in a couple of weeks for an update!
The first two weeks of the contract is set aside for scaffolding and site set up. Doug Brown from Carrek is our site foreman and calls the shots on site. Carrek currently have another site up at Trinity Centre and are sharing resources between the two sites.
Security is a massive concern when erecting scaffolding on buildings which have valuable metal roofing. Before the contract started SmartWater was applied to all the metal at roof level and notices put up advertising so. The roof alarm remains in place so potential thieves won't get much done before the alarm would star wailing and the police called.
Ricky and his team from Clarke Bros Scaffolding are great guys and understand the risks involved here. In order to ensure maximum security they are constructing the first lift of scaffolding which they will then clad in a 4m high steel sheeting before completing the second lift which will take us up to roof level. As the scaffolding is being put up we are also installing CCTV around the perimeter of the building and at roof level too and to put the cherry on the security cake the scaffolding will also be alarmed and tied in with the roof alarm.
Apart from a few heavy showers from time to time the weather is good and we hope it will continue for the weeks to come. Check back for more updates as the project unfolds.
We are please to announce that St Philip and St Jacob Church, Bristol, has received a confirmed National Lottery grant of £249,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for critical roof repairs.
The Grade II* listed building is thought to be the oldest centre of Christian worship in the Bristol area. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project will repair badly leaking roofs and guttering over the nave and chancel.
The works are desperately needed following a number of past lead thefts. These have been patched with a temporary rubber membrane that is also now failing. Water leaking through the roof has resulted in widespread damage throughout the building.
An initial development grant of £18,600, awarded in December 2016, allowed the project team to undertake key surveys and investigations in preparation for the project. This phase was completed in December 2017 and the church has now been awarded a further £231,000 delivery phase grant; the grants make up 66 per cent of the total delivery costs of £375,294.
The PCC have also been awarded £20,000 from the National Churches Trust, which will help to cover some of this cost. The rest of the funds will be covered by PCC contributions and by claiming eligible VAT through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. Work will begin in May 2018 and is scheduled to last for 6 months.
After the repairs have been completed, the building will go from one that is in a considerable state of disrepair and on the edge of closure due to safety concerns, to one that is watertight and that can be used, visited and enjoyed by the community for the years to come.
The city centre area around the church is developing rapidly. The need for community space is already very high and is going to increase significantly in the next five years. St Philip and St Jacob Church is inundated with requests for space to hold various community and charity activities, some of which have to be declined due to the state of the building.
Tim Silk, vicar of St Philip and St Jacob, said: “There has been Christian worship on this site for over a thousand years. As a church in the heart of the city, we are longing to love and serve our neighbours. This historically significant building plays a key role in how we can do this. We are very grateful for this grant which will help us steward the church site into its next season so that it may continue to be used for many years to come.”
Nerys Watts, Head of HLF South West, said: “We are delighted to support St Philip and St Jacob Church to carry out urgent repairs and engage new audiences with this much-loved local landmark. Thank you to the National Lottery players who have made it possible.”