BUILDING CONSERVATION
Prince Consort House, Farringdon Road, London, 2014
In January 2014, LSC began working to restore Prince Consort House at 109-111 Farringdon Road, London. Our clients, Oliver and Ted Grebelius of Sätila Holding AB, asked LSC to completely refurbish the façade, restoring the building to its original Victorian condition.
Constructed in 1865, the only point of reference for our work to this Grade II listed building was an old drawing of the façade held in the local records archives.
In the intervening years, the building had deteriorated and large areas of the façade had been rendered in cement to hide imperfections and failures on the brickwork. LSC was immediately aware that these interventions had compromised the original design aspect of the structure. As with many neglected structures, vegetation had taken hold over time, weakening sections of the structure; sulphur and carbon staining had built-up on the façade.
To restore the building LSC's work included:
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Removing cement render
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Cleaning the façade using a combination of DOFF and nebulous spray systems
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Manually stripping paint from all ornate stonework
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Repairing and replacing stone including detailed carved stonework
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Carefully matching lime mortar for repairs and pointing
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Extensive brick replacement and repairs
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Repairing gauged brickwork
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Repairing and repainting window frames, including re-puttying glass
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Refurbishing ironwork
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Application of specialist micro-porous masonry mineral paint from KEIM
Over a five-month period our team of craftspeople worked to sympathetically repair the façade. In line with our conservation ethos, we retained as much of the original fabric of the building as possible. Where replacement materials were needed, traditional hand-made English bricks were sourced, colour-matched to ensure a seamless repair. We are delighted with how happy our clients are with the end result, which returns the building to its former glory.
