“At all times I found Ciaran Kelly to be diligent, attentive and co-operative and was very happy with the standard of completed workmanship. I have recommended Ciaran Kelly to other conservation professionals in the past for this kind of work and would be happy to do so again.”
Frank Keohane MSCSI MRICS BCAS MUBC
Case Study: Johnstown Castle &| Gate Lodge Repair Works
Date: 2008-2010
Interior and exterior surveys and scopes of each project took place with Frank Keohane (of Paul Arnold Associates). Any timbers that were salvageable were restored on the castle (approx 40%), others beyond splice repair were replaced.
The works involved, re-design, renew and repair and sustain 50 sq metres of roof, restoring to original condition and undo previous works where incompatible materials/structures made. Repairs were carried out to the flat roof only as necessary. Valley boards were removed and replaced and made good with code 7 lead. Entire valley boards on the perimeter were replaced and as water ingress was leading to failure of roof structure, new rainwater outlets were fitted which permanently stopped further damage to the ceiling below.
The whole timber structure of the roof lantern on third floor of the castle was replaced with hardwood. The wall plate, cill and the rafters were red deal. A new laminated toughened glass was designed and fitted with pressure bars and painted.
The link corridor to the front lobby was starting to decay from ingress of water from both the roof and the parapet walls and abutment wall. A creative experimental solution was devised within the limited budget available to address this by removing 300mm of cementitious plaster above the counter flashing then re-plastered in an NHL 3.5 lime render. This innovative approach has proved successful as three has been no further water ingress to date.
The roof and floors of the Gate Lodge had all collapsed in basement of building, all debris was safely removed, and a new roof fitted to exact same as original in both structure and material including roof lite and new drainage fitted. All works were carried out without exterior scaffold.
Working At Height
Various works were carried out on Johnstown Castle at roof level without full scaffolding and as most of the works occurred at height we used our own specialised equipment, i.e. teleporters, specialised roof access baskets for the teleporters and also electric hoists for material lift. We worked at height whilst the castle grounds remained open to the public. To cater for this we developed and implemented a safety logistics plan including full safety measures and signage for the public with hoarding and Harris fencing. All employees received induction talks on the site and hazards associated with the works carried out and are proficient from years of experience of working at heights and keeping all members of the public safe. Harnesses were worn as required and the use of mobile scaffold towers were used to minimise the use of ladders. The staff were always equipped with radios and always worked in twos no matter how small the task.
