Maintenance and alterations to churches ‹ CHURCHES HAVE ALWAYS formed a significant part of our practice’s
workload. We have advised on repair works to a variety of types of churches and have designed extensions and internal remodelling of a number of them, writes Martin Hall of Oxfordshire based Hall & Ensom. Maintaining an historic church, be it listed or unlisted, is in many ways no different from looking after any other old or historic building. It is a constant battle against the elements, usually with limited funds and the burden falling on decreasing rolls or attendances. In all cases the key factor is to maintain the external envelope – keeping water out in all its forms and the building as dry as possible. Every church has to have a 5 yearly inspection, referred to as a Quinquennial Inspection and we undertake these for a number of Methodist, Baptist and Anglican churches together with their accompanying vicarages and manses in the agreed QQ pro-forma. In almost every case significant savings could be achieved if first aid maintenance was carried out. SPAB has had a long standing initiative under the heading ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. Such actions as keeping gutters clean and clear of leaves; ensuring down pipes
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and drains work; making sure parapet gutters are sound and carrying out short term repairs to any split lead and replacing any slipped slates or tiles all help keep the building in good order. The Church Care web site at www.churchcare.co.uk gives good advice on maintenance issues. Before (top) and after work carried out One church we recently came across had a substantial internal gutter which had not been kept clear. This was a significant modern listed church and it suffered very badly because of pigeons nesting in this internal gutter causing blockages. In the end many thousands of pounds worth of damage resulted with the legacy of internal disfigurement which is still to be resolved. Another common fault we see regularly in late Victorian or early Edwardian buildings are over covered wood block floors with rubber back carpet or carpet tiles. This causes the floors to sweat, where moisture was previously able to transpire freely into the atmosphere, with consequent decay of the wood block floors. Previously they had lasted for anything up to a hundred years but we have now seen quite rapid deterioration, often within one quinquennial period. Churches should feel free to ask their quinquennial surveyor or architect for advice following his survey, and indeed during the intervening 5 year period. Often this can be given either free or at minimal charge, especially where visits are not needed. Design of Disability Adaptations work is a prominent feature of our workload as churches adapt to the changing needs of society and an increasingly elderly congregation. We have designed and specified a number of lift installations for larger churches. One featured in a substantial internal restructuring in which a large auditorium was horizontally divided into worship space at the new first floor level and domestic and church offices on the ground floor. This £0.5m scheme transformed the church and revitalised its use. Much simpler schemes have involved redesigning toilet and kitchen accommodation to incorporate DDA compliant facilities. Other projects have included extensions to provide new meeting rooms and internal and external reordering. Our practice undertakes all of the design works inhouse and guides the project through the planning and building regs stages – obtaining building tenders and providing construction phase co-ordination. For further information visit www.hallandensom.co.uk. q