Home > Case Studies > Artillery Mansions, Westminster

Artillery Mansions, Westminster

First Port

External Mansion Block Major Works

Residential Mansion Block in Victoria, London

THE CHALLENGE

The external refurbishment of a residential mansion block in Victoria with 7 entrances and an ornate central courtyard.
Minimising disruption to the residents and reducing the time the scaffold was up.
Erecting a scaffold over a very busy high street used by thousands of commuters en-route to Victoria Station.
Liaison with ground level shops and minimising the disruption to their trade.
Managing a site with a high level of residents and tight entrances in a safe way.
Liaison with over 170 residents in order to have access to the windows for the repairs and redecoration.

WHAT WE DID

We phased our scaffolding program elevation by elevation in order to reduce disruption to the residents and ultimately the time that scaffolding would be up outside their windows.
We liaised carefully with the ground floor shop owners, designed and manufactured temporary signage with their logos on, and installed them on to the scaffold hoarding. We also increased the lighting and signage at scaffold level to ensure that passers-by knew the shops were still open.
We carried out a full clean of the brick and stonework using the DOFF system by Stonehealth, and undertook careful and considerate repointing of the building’s brickwork as well as stone restoration and repair works to the buildings numerous details and finials.
We carried out extensive carpentry repairs to the sash windows and restored defective sash cords and weights.
We managed the residents expectations by advising them early on when their windows were being repainted giving them clear advice on aftercare, and keeping them up to date on progress with monthly newsletters.

WHY WAS IT A SUCCESS

The project was undertaken in a safe and methodical manner where it was key to liaise very carefully with the numerous residents and managing agents.
Now complete, the building has been fully refurbished and the masonry repairs have significantly given the building a lift.
We dealt with some minor leaks on the roof and around some of the windows.
We received a minimal snagging list from the client due to our pre-snag procedures in line with our red scheme quality assurance documents.
There have been no reports of any windows sticking as we managed to eventually get access to all 170 residents and their windows.
Trade to the neighboring shops on the ground level continued throughout the works.

A S Ramsay were open, honest and helpful throughout. Their site manager Andrew Groizard worked alongside us all the way to deliver a first rate project.

Sean Heather MRICS