Earlier this week we carried out a rot survey to the roof voids of the former Kilmarnock Academy. Out on top of the parapet tower we had a great view of the new college on the old Johnnie Walkers’ site (top right), railway station (just in front), green dome of the old Royal Bank and on the far left (second dormer from the right) our office – you can just about make out Sharon waving!
This disruptive rot survey was requested by the architect prior to work starting on this refurbishment project in order to establish any concealed defects to the roof structure which could have a financial and programme impact on the overall scheme.
Over the years water ingress had occurred from the roof and evidence of this was noted to several areas, particularly at valley gutters of this quite complex roof structure. As these areas are generally concealed by coombed ceilings it was necessary to undertake exposure to lath and plaster in order to establish the condition of structural roof timbers to these areas. Perhaps surprisingly, this revealed these areas to be reasonably sound. Using our judgement and experience, however, we also opened up further areas where we suspected decay may have occurred (taking into account factors such as building design, method of construction and some other indicators of potential concealed decay e.g. heavy water staining, vegetation/ algae growth externally). This did, in fact, reveal substantial dry rot and wet rot to various areas which, if left untreated, could cause serious structural damage and although remedial work will have to be programmed in to the larger refurbishment scheme, this would be much more expensive and disruptive if not discovered until after refurbishment was complete.
We have been able to prepare a detailed specification with the most appropriate solution for rot eradication. We have also provided a competitive cost for this work to be undertaken by one of our Approved Specialist Contractors to ensure remedial work is carried out in strict accordance with our specification and covered with a long-term guarantee protecting this landmark building for the future.
