St Mary’s is an Anglican church and Grade I Listed building in North Lincolnshire, with some surviving parts dating back to the 11th Century. The works comprised of repairs and alterations to footpaths and drainage, Removal of stonework sections to allow for removal of Buddleia growth at high level, and internal ground repairs including floor covering removal to facilitate excavation and making good of the screed. Due to the nature of the site, all excavation works were carried out under and Archaeological watching brief.
Temporary access was used in the form of an aluminium tower scaffold along side the use of a 33meter reach MEWP. This was to enable the works to be completed within the funding time frame, whilst maintaining the church’s security.
The site manager accessed the high level areas and coordinated with the architect to identify the areas required for Buddleia removal. IPAF & PASMA trained operatives carried out the works, firstly removing the surface Buddleia with hand tools, following this the roots were treated using a Glyphosate chemical which is an aggressive commercially used weed killer to ensure all roots were killed. Re-pointing of the affected area of stone was carried out using NHL 5 Lime and locally sourced sand mortar mix.
Internal works were carried out with sectioning off and the removal of the pews in the affected area, the parquet flooring was carefully removed, cleaned and stacked for re-use. The existing subbase was removed and new screed laid, a moisture reading of less than 2% was required before re-instating the floor covering.
Externally, the paving of the existing pathway was carefully lifted, cleaned and stored for re-use. A 3.5 tonne mini digger was used to excavate the area ready to install the new soakaway. New drainage was installed and set alongside the pathway with the church. The new drainage was connected to the soakaway and tested prior to covering with the subbase. The concrete paving slabs were re-laid with a 20mm channel alongside the church hall filled with 25mm limestone chippings.
