The Homes and Communities Agency had taken over the Edinburgh Castle, a former public house that had fallen into disrepair. We were contracted to make the building watertight and safe ready for a future conversion.
The building dates from the 1850’s and is situated in Ancoats, an area dating back to the late 1700’s and known for the development of the cotton industry and its role in the Industrial Revolution. Ancoats is in a Conservation Area and we worked closely with the Conservation Officer when carrying out the works.
The initial phase included a large strip out of fixtures and fittings as the building had been unoccupied for a long period of time. The public house closed in the early 2000’s and had been vacant since the closure.
The roof was stripped with an Ecologist present and no evidence of Bats was found. Structural roof timbers were repaired. The building was fully re-roofed with natural slates and new lead work. Chimney stacks were re-pointed with lime mortar. Ventilation works to improve the cross-flow ventilation within the roof voids and halt further timber decay were carried out.
Due to the amount of water damage internally, structural repairs were needed to tie the building together at a high level. Sections of brickwork were rebuilt, and damaged bricks were replaced with matching reclaimed bricks. The ties were carried out with our approved Wykamol accreditation ties. Window surrounds were rebuilt.
Damaged timbers were replaced, and this included replacing large sections of the floor joists and boarding which were unsafe. Internal lintels were replaced. Specialist dry rot treatment was carried out. Internal ventilation was increased.
Old render was removed from the external yard elevation and replaced with lime render. The building was cleaned using our professional facade cleaning service. The paint was removed from the roadside elevations revealing the original Edinburgh Castle ghost sign on the front of the former public house. The elevations were re-pointed with lime mortar.
Our work restored some of the original features and ensured the building is safe and watertight for years to come.
