Project Overview
Re-roofing Historic England's headquarters
The Engine House constructed in 1840 is Grade II* Listed building. Its extensive roof is constructed of Welsh slate fixed to timber battens on a plastic reinforced underlay on timber rafters with boarded ceiling finish to underside. In October 2017, damaged slates from the Engine House roof were found to be posing a potential a health and safety risk to pedestrians and staff. There are 10 slopes in all and in 2019 Ellis and Co were commissioned to repair them.
The busy working offices remained in use throughout the works and so the additional risks to the public were mitigated with effective protections applied on site.
The works included sundry repairs to the roof coverings and rooflights the renewal and partial replacement of two slate roof slopes with associated renewal of fixings, flashings, underlay and battens. A combination of patch and individual slate repairs to all other roof slopes were made using a mixture of reclaimed and new slates in replacement of individual or small patches of slates. Associated fittings and flashings were repaired and reinstated.
While the scaffold was in place Ellis and Co completed additional repairs to the head and eaves courses of masonry work. The Engine Shed is constructed of stone in a variety of colours and some 12 different mortar mixes were used each to match the stone repairs to the hue of the surrounding Victorian stonework. Ellis and Co applied for and were awarded Considerate Contractor status for this contract. The works project started in February 2019 and completed in August 2019. The works took place under the instructions of Rodney Melville and Partners Architects.
