Holyrood Secondary
Govanhill, Glasgow
The Client
We tend to think of modern high schools as being new and purpose-built for the millennial generation, with most Victorian and Edwardian facades repurposed as chic apartments. On occasion, the heritage of a school is preserved with the expertise and skills of trained craftspeople.
Holyrood Secondary in Glasgow's Govanhill, the largest in school in Scotland, and once the biggest in Europe has been through several renovations and extensions, but still maintains its impressive B listed main building. Designed and constructed in 1936 its alumni reads like a who's who of Glasgow's most influential artists, musicians, sportspeople, businesspeople and politicians.
Starfish Construction undertook on behalf of Amey Miller CJV, a major consortium who are responsible for the build, maintenance and management of Glasgow City Council schools.
Protecting the legacy of a listed building with traditional tiling
Starfish Construction has worked on several projects with Amey/Miller, the consortium who are responsible for the development and construction work at Glasgow Schools. Our roofing and cladding knowledge adds value to their client relationships, where we bring our expertise to projects where required.
The Holyrood Secondary roof replacement was a project where the experience and skills of our roofing division proved invaluable in ensuring the school building repair met the standards of its B Listed status.
The project required the following:
- Remove and replace existing tiles
- Re-build chimneys
- Renew defective sarking
- Waterproof cast iron gutters
- New leadwork
- Treat defective brickwork
- School operational.
- Removal of 850 m2 defective fibreglass wall panels
- 51,000 tiles removed
- Historic bonnet hip tiles installed
- B listed building
- All waste recycled.
£186,000
Value
57 tonnes
New tiles
12 weeks
Duration
Challenges and Solutions
Despite encountering prolonged periods of wet weather during the project, our team were able to strip the old defective roof and install the new tiled roofing system within the 12-week time frame with no disruption to valuable teaching time.
As the project was carried out during term-time, health and safety were critical. Starfish Construction has an industry-wide reputation for safety when working on projects where the general public is at proximity; we are proud of our exemplary record.
The project remit outlined the historic B list status of the building, which required specialist traditional building methods.
The original Bonnet Hip tiling features were reinstated with new leadwork enhancing the original features. The cast iron gutters were treated with a specialist coating which included a 25 years warranty.
The life-cycle, costs and future maintenance have been reduced dramatically by replacing the sarking which sits under your roof tiles as a protective second skin, helping insulate more efficiently, and protects the things you value from bad weather.
The chimneys were re-built, and any damaged brickwork treated to reflect the repairs which we had made on the rest of the building.
Starfish Construction worked diligently with Amey Miller and the Glasgow City Council to ensure that this B Listed Historical School was restored to its former glory. This famous educational establishment has shaped the lives of many famous celebrities. Famous former pupils include musicians Simple Minds (Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill & Brian McGee) and Fran Healy of Travis, footballer Alan Brazil (Ipswich & Man Utd.) and comedian Frankie Boyle.
We would like to thank Starfish Construction for their professionalism in delivering the roof restoration safely, on-time and within the budget. The standard of workmanship was exceptional.
Colin Baker
Building Fabric Manager, Amey Miller CJV
