Projects

Description

National Trust have labelled these works as "the most significant historic preservation project of our generation".

Knole House, a historic 15th Century mansion in Sevenoaks, Kent, was the former hunting lodge to Henry VIII and one of Kent’s largest visitor attractions, hosting around 100,000 visitors a year. The house is undergoing major specialist renovation works over a five-year project.

The works to the former Jacobean Palace have been supported by Heritage Lottery Funding, and have been undertaken by ourselves in a number of distinct phases.

An example of some, but not all, of the works to date include:

Conserving and repairing all roofs – Roofs to all four elevations have been completely renovated over a two-year period. Extensive engineer-designed protective scaffolding was used to protect the house while the roofs were stripped back to their original timber, repaired and then recovered.

Replacing and repairing windows – All second floor windows to the east elevation were replaced with replicate original Tudor leaded windows. First-floor bay windows on all of the home's visitor showrooms were also renovated.

Renovation works to the first-floor windows included a full assessment with the Conservation Officer and our own specialist team, to fully assess their condition. Works were then carried out, involving cutting out the decaying timber, scarfing in new timber (windows were jacked with temporary supports while work was carried out) and meticulously blending the old and new oak timber windows.

Undertaking significant stone masonry works – Replacement stone works and repointing / lime mortar repairs to historical areas were carried out over three years. This involved:

• Approximately 60 square metres of pointing
• Replacement of 35 Kent Rag stone pieces
• Improvement works to ‘string courses’ and coping stones (the weathering cap to the top of a parabit wall which is a major part of the weathering process on historical buildings.

Forming high-quality leadwork – Replacement replica (est. year 1606) downpipes and guttering were formed by our highly skilled leadwork team, to replace the existing failing ones.

Replacing lime mortar rendering – Over 200 square meters of render was replaced by removing the existing render and the existing lathes. All damaged / decaying timber studs were removed and de-nailed, before incorporating lambswool insulation between the studs. A vapour barrier was then applied prior to re-lathing on the existing and replacement studs and the final three-coat lime-rich render finish.

Details