EAST Kilbride-based Procast Building Contractors has been hard at work on a new roof for the Bathgate West Nursery School.
The project started in the middle of July and was set to last seven weeks. However, it was extended by two weeks due to the accumulation of several unexpected challenges.
“When we got the slate off, you would just be expecting one layer of felt but some parts of the roof had two layers of felt and horsehair and some had three layers of felt and horsehair,” explained project manager, Ryan Crawford.
“Once we got the roof stripped, it was basically a waiting game again – we couldn’t start slating because we didn’t know if the lead work was changing or not.
“The slate size was different on the original roof so the vents weren’t compatible with the slates that we were using. Basically, everything on the roof now is brand new – all the dry verge, all the vents; but once you start stripping it there is a lot of dips in the roof, so we’ve had to cut the sarking and raise it up so it’s all level. “We’ve changed everything to plastic deepflow and we’ve also changed all the downpipes and we’ve jetted all the drains just to try and keep everything a bit more maintenance free.”
In spite of these setbacks, the project has progressed well and the team expect to be finished before the end of the extension. Ryan said, “We started slating on the section at the front door and worked our way round so, if it was going to run over, we had access for all the kids to get back in and have their playground. We’ve got more than 50% of the scaffold down.
“We’ve had to leave a section up at the back to access the flat roof but at the moment we’ve probably got about 90% of the works complete. I don’t think we’re going to need the full two weeks to complete the job; I reckon about another week and a half and this’ll be finished.”
The team has also been visited on-site by Scottish Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop and MSP for Lothian, Gordon Lindhurst.
Trainee site manager, Jaye Reilly, added, “It’s a respected building. A lot of the decisions have been changed for the better and in the long run it’s for the better, as well.”
West Lothian’s executive councillor for education, Lawrence Fitzpatrick, commented, “West Lothian Council is investing £100,000 in the new roof, which is part of an ambitious £5 million summer improvement programme taking place in schools and nurseries across the area.”
