Friends of George Street: Day 5 - Scaffolding and Cladding

Friday, 8 February 2013

Day 5 - Scaffolding and Cladding

Week 1 - Day 5
George Street Chapel is now slowly disappearing behind scaffolding and cladding. Both to enable a temporary roof to be erected over the top of the building, but also to enable access to the whole of the outside walls, to make the site secure and to protect passers by from being hurt by any falling debris from the re-pointing and brick work restoration.
So, what happens next?
Over the next week a start will be made on removing the modern pointing, much of it of recent addition which used the wrong materials. Replacement with the correct mortar will add life to the building and protect the surviving bricks from the elements for another 200 years.
The window frames will be removed so that they can be repainted and then put back with a damp-proof membrane, again to enable them to survive without needing replacement for many years.
A temporary roof will be built over the chapel, so that the slates can be removed and the internal lath and plaster ceiling removed before being restored and re-built, and a new lead-lined stone gully replaced to the rear elevation to prevent rainwater spilling over and damaging the rear brick wall.
meanwhile internally the plaster will be removed from the walls, the stone floor on the cellar will be lifted to enable the insertion of underfloor heating. This will make the chapel warmer and more sustainable for Age UK Oldham to maintain and heat.
To enable work to be carried out to the roof and to the chapel floor at the same time, a temporary floor will be built internally supported from the scaffolding at a level above the present Gallery.
Watch this blog to see how it all gets done.
Thanks to Roy and Peter for the daily photographic record so far.
We hope to set a new date for a Friends of George Street Study Day towards the end of February to re-place the session cancelled on 25th Jan because of the snow.