Over the last number of weeks Mahon | Fox Architects have overseen works undertaken by Rainey Restoration of the replacement of a broken Granite Ridge piece. The completion of these works marks a significant point in the continued maintenance of the church
The works as completed involved the installation of two cantilevered working platforms and other systems to allow for safe working, the repair of a number of damaged slates within the area of works, the removal of the existing ridge piece and the installation of the newly carved ridge piece.
The new granite ridge piece is approximately one metre in length and weighs over 200 kg. For now, the remainder of the original ridge piece has been left in the Rowe Street Carpark to allow for members of the public to appreciate the scale of this piece of stone.
The decision for the new ridge piece to appear un weathered was made consciously. We wanted the repair to be honest and it to be clear as to what is new and what is original.
There were a number of challenges throughout this project. Firstly, the broken ridge piece is one of largest on the roof of the church and the sheer weight of the piece of granite meant there was a necessity to involve a crane. Perhaps more complicated though was the use of a tongue and groove connection between each ridge piece. This complication made the carving of the stone more challenging and also brought added difficulties when it came to removing the original piece as there was a greater risk of damaging or breaking ridge pieces to either side of the already broken piece. The removal went smoothly but did reveal a substantial crack a ridge piece beside the original. This corner unfortunately came away while other repair works were being carried out but thankfully it was able to be rejoined and repaired immediately.
The new ridge piece is now installed fully and works are completed. One of the working platforms has been left to allow for future roof inspections in the new year.
