St Paul’s Cathedral work sees IKO and Sussex Asphalte scoop Roofing award

IKO PLC and Sussex Asphalte Ltd recently bagged a UK Roofing Award for Best Mastic Asphalt Project, in recognition of their work on the Stone Gallery in St Paul’s Cathedral.

The awards ceremony, organised and hosted by the NFRC, was held at the Park Plaza hotel in Westminster Bridge earlier this month, where outstanding standards of design workmanship and safety in the industry were celebrated

The Stone Gallery was a shining example of this; it is the first of two galleries above the Whispering Gallery that encircle the outside of the dome of the cathedral.

At 53 metres tall, the Gallery’s exposure to the elements and surface deterioration had resulted in water ingress, which has damaged artwork inside the Dome.

Sussex Asphalte’s craftsmen replaced asphalt originally laid in 1906 with IKO Permaphalt, a specially formulated, polymer-modified mastic asphalt.

Works were phased to guarantee continued public access and the asphalt was stripped and re-laid in sections to ensure watertightness – as the asphalt provides a seamless installation. During the process, a disused stairwell was revealed, which has been kept in place as a feature, having been made safe by the contractors.

The Gallery features a central gutter covered by iron grills that were removed, cleaned and refitted on the new asphalt.

To make sure the correct width of asphalt was applied, a gutter template was fabricated and used as a guide by the asphalters, requiring skilled precision work.

Other detail work involved adjustments to rainwater outlets to enhance drainage, and vertical upstand into a chase, including a double angle fillet around the Galley’s circumference.

The height and highly sensitive fabric of the building meant all materials were transported to the Gallery by three hoists, requiring careful operation and management. The works were completed ahead of schedule, with the overall project proving so successful that Sussex Asphalte organised a site visit for a large group of surveyors to promote the roofing profession.

IKO PLC (Head Office), 
Appley Lane North,

Appley Bridge,
Wigan,
WN6 9AB,
United Kingdom

Phone: 01257 255 771
Fax: 01257 252 514
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ikoplc

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