Major Project

Spa Bridlington closed the doors of its 1907 Edwardian theatre and classic 1930’s art deco Royal Hall to the public in spring 2006, so that East Riding of Yorkshire Council could redevelop the historic facilities and restore them to their former splendour. The two-year programme of work was undertaken by main contractors Wates Construction Limited’s Yorkshire office and also included essential infrastructure improvements, major structural alterations and the addition of a new state-of-the-art conferencing facility.

The decoration of the redeveloped building was a considerable undertaking and Wates appointed Magill Painting Contractors Limited, a Doncaster company employing over 60 fully trained decorators, to carry out the work. The first members of the team were sent on site in July 2007.   

Challenging task

Simon Magill, MD said: “This wasn’t quite the largest project we’d ever tackled, but it was certainly the most challenging. The new conference facility was straightforward, but the work in the Edwardian Theatre and the Royal Hall was in a different league altogether. Both facilities are very elaborately designed with hundreds of intricate mouldings that had to be picked out in contrasting colours. They also have fantastic domes in the ceilings with very fine relief work. Factor in the heights involved plus the fact that we were working against the clock, under the watchful eyes of the Clerk of Works…the pressure was certainly on!”

The interior specification

The interior coatings specification was open and Simon Magill recommended that Crown Trade products be used throughout. In consultation with Wates and the architects it was agreed that Crown Trade Acrylic Eggshell would be used for all broadwall areas, ceilings and decorative mouldings. Full Gloss was selected for architraves, window sills and door frames and oil-based Eggshell for doors.

Colour had an in important role to play in providing continuity throughout the building as Principal Architect Simon Button explained: “Despite the differences in age and style we were able to bring the Edwardian theatre, the art deco Royal Hall and the new build extension together as a coherent whole using common colour themes. At the same time we chose additional accent colours to emphasis the character of each area. We used various historic references to choose our initial colour swatches and then, with the help of the decorating team who painted up lots of colour test areas, we were able to fine-tune our selections”.

Preparing substrates

No decorative work could take place until every wall, ceiling and moulding had been thoroughly primed. As Simon Magill commented, “Some of the substrates were in a pretty poor state. These are old buildings and water ingress over the years had left staining on some walls whilst other areas were damp. On the ceilings, water-based coatings had been applied directly onto oil-based eggshell at some point and this also had to be dealt with.”

On the advice of Crown Paints Specification Consultant, Dave Hope, it was agreed that Crown Trade Alkali Resisting Primer should be applied throughout. This would help to stabilise the various substrates, lock in stains and provide a sound foundation for the Crown Trade Acrylic Eggshell, resulting in a tough and durable, washable finish.

Access

In came the tower scaffolding and scissor lifts and the work began. Over 500 litres of Alkali Resisting Primer was used, creating a bare white canvas ready for the acrylic eggshell to be applied. Whilst the new build areas of the building were decorated rapidly, the Royal Hall and theatre took a great deal longer. “We were working at heights of up to 14 metres at times so health and safety were a top priority, “ said Simon Magill, “All members of the team were IPAF trained and for the most part were able to use standard access equipment, but the theatre had sloping floors so a specialised scaffolding team had to be drafted in to build us a ‘birdcage’.”

Meticulous planning

Because of the sheer amount of detailing and number of different colours on the mouldings Simon Magill worked out a meticulous painting schedule to avoid wet edges. “Everyone had to keep rigidly to the plan,” he said. “It’s fair to say that a lot of my men had never been involved in a project requiring such constant attention to detail and fine handiwork before, but they all took huge pride in their work and did an absolutely fantastic job.”

Outward appearances

The exterior of the building also needed to be redecorated. Sandtex Trade Fine Textured Matt with its BBA certification for 15 years durability was specified and a bright off-white paint shade, several degrees lighter than the original, was chosen to lift and refresh the appearance. Dave Hope recommended that Sandtex Trade Stabilising solution should be used before any paint was applied, in order to consolidate chalky patches and even out the porosity ensuring the best possible finish.

A five metre high ‘wave wall’ had been built to present a new contemporary face to the venue for visitors using the main south facing approach to the Spa. This new feature was painted in Sandtex Trade High Build using HPL sprays and hoppers to create a rich textured appearance.

Teamwork

Magill’s team applied over 13,000 litres of Crown Trade and Sandtex Trade coatings at the venue, completing the project on schedule and to an exceptionally high standard. The new look Bridlington Spa has now reopened its doors to the public and is once again playing a major part in the economic and cultural life of the seaside town.

Teamwork helped to ensure all the decorating was completed on time: “It really helped that the architects had decamped from their usual council offices and set up a temporary base on site”, commented Simon Magill, “We could always get an immediate response if issues arose on the job and decisions were required. We also relied heavily on Dave Hope who was a frequent visitor throughout the project and always on hand to provide technical advice and assistance. “

Architect Simon Button agreed: “It was a long and challenging journey to restore the venue to its former glory and there were lots of hurdles to overcome along the way but we succeeded because of the ‘partnering’ approach that was adopted by all parties from the outset. The building looks stunning inside and out and everyone involved in the project can take an enormous amount of pride in what has been achieved.”

For further information on the Crown Trade range, please contact the Customer Relations Team – Tel: 0845 389 9583, email info@crowntrade.co.uk, or visit www.crowntrade.co.uk.

For further information on Sandtex Trade, please call 0845 372 3425, email info@sandtextrade.co.uk or visit, www.sandtextrade.co.uk.

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