Airdrie Mosque

I’ve been asked to assess a small chapel that has been converted to a place of worship for the local Muslim community.  It is based in a disused chapel that has been partially converted for immediate use. 

Money is now being collected to do a complete renovation of the building and it access to make it more suitable for the current purposes.  The building is listed by Historic Scotland, so an assessment of the work required was needed.  I was asked to provide information on the work required for the windows and some indicative costs for the application to Historic Scotland for grant money.

The central part of the building has been covered at the balcony level.

This area shows some of the worst of the damage caused by weather and lack of maintenance.

The work includes the need to replace much of the timber work behind the stone mullions.

The external view of one of the windows shows the full extent of their height. Although they are protected by a wire mesh, there is visible damage to the upper portions and they are not as secure in the stone as is desirable.

A lot of work will be required to make the windows sound and divide it into two levels appropriate to the needs of the new religious community.  I do hope they will be able to get the funding and support needed.

Gillespie Centre

The community centre in Biggar has several windows in the converted church’s upper hall.  During a storm, the upper portion of one of the windows was blown in.

Inspection showed that the storm had damaged the lower portion too.  It was decided to repair and refurbish the whole window and do a few repairs required to the blue green borders too.  This work was conducted in conjunction with Stephanie Whatley of Biggar Glass Works.

The glass is installed into stone and protected by an external mesh in a steel frame.  To get the outside of the window to remove the protective mesh access to the roof was required.

This required the hire of a cherry picker to get onto the roof and access the window from the outside.  One day to remove; a couple of weeks to clean, repair and re-lead; another day to install.

Bearsden Changes

A house from the 1920/30’s was being refurbished and extended and needed its leaded glass at the front installed into new double glazed units.

This was installed into wood in the traditional manner and only needed refurbishment.  There were external storm doors to reduce heat loss.

However, other windows were installed in steel frames, creating a lot of condensation to collect at the bottom of the frames.  The steel hopper was rusted shut.  This needed to be placed in a double-glazed unit and new window frame.

 

The window above the entrance on the first floor also needed double glazing and new frames.

The front door is a good example of how persistent the Arts Noveau designs were even after the Arts Deco style, that is reflected in the rest of the house, was firmly established. It also shows how designers were willing to incorporate various styles into the same building.