Scottish Water,
Bullion House
The Client
As the statutory water authority for Scotland, Scottish Water has sites and offices across the country, with many inherited from previous water authorities. Bullion House in the village of Invergowrie, west of Dundee, was the former headquarters of the East of Scotland Water Board and the whole village and surrounding land once formed part of Mylnefield Estate.
INTERESTING FACT: The Invergowie Quarry on the former estate supplied the granite base of Nelson’s Column.
Bullion House carries an element of uniqueness as it was the first house built in this area of Invergowrie. Although there are more modern offices on the site surrounding Bullion House, the original structure stands proud.
The Project
Over the many years since construction, the building has evolved from being a home to offices. Although no longer used as an operational building by Scottish Water, there is a requirement to maintain the structure. Therefore, regular maintenance and repairs are essential to ensure the building’s longevity and the original slate roof, long past its predicted life expectancy.
Starfish Construction is a multi-faceted organisation with a full complement of skilled tradespeople directly employed. Our Diagnose, Design and Deliver methodology ensures we can complete a project from end-to-end. After issuing our comprehensive technical report with findings and costs for remediation, Scottish Water commissioned Starfish Construction to carry out all the necessary works.
- Repairs to original timbers
- Installation of 260 m2 of new slate roofing
- Installation of new gutters and fascias
- Isolation and demolition of annexe corridor building and associated works
- Works completed May 2021
- Skilled slaters directly employed by Starfish Construction
- Restored local historic building for the next generation
£125,000
Value
8 Weeks
Duration
260 m2
Roof Area
Challenges and Solutions
Our highly effective use of drone surveys can identify issues efficiently. In this case, the problems we identified warranted closer inspection using a mobile elevated working platform.
Our survey team identified various issues with the roof, which included rotten sarking boards, which affect insulation and nail sickness. These issues will cause tiles to slip and potentially fall, causing severe injury. Both of these issues demonstrated the roof was no longer watertight. In addition, two of the chimney stacks were loose and required urgent attention. Part of the works also included the upgrade of the flat roof above the porch area, by installing a built felt membrane system to this area of the roof.
Outcome
Every Starfish Construction project is successful due to the planning, coordination, control, monitoring and communication delivered by our experienced people. The benefit of engaging with Starfish Construction at the survey stage allowed us to provide the client with a comprehensive overview with no surprise issues that gave peace of mind to mitigate any associated risks. We designed a scaffolding system to ensure the pedestrian walkways around the building remained open.
We advised the client to have the loose chimneys removed rather than repaired, as they were no longer in use. As custodians, Scottish Water has ensured this building with significant local importance will be part of the local area for many years to come. The newly restored slate roof displays the property’s former glory and provides the perfect sustainable and aesthetic solution.
Our Diagnose, Design, and Deliver philosophy was beneficial to the client throughout this project. Our end-to-end construction services provide cost-effective solutions, combined with our directly employed slaters who demonstrated an excellent standard of trade skills in delivering this project from survey to completion.
Joe Sheridan, Project Manager, Starfish Construction.
