Tag Archives: dementia friendy

Repair of Cedar Shingle Roof

9th June 2022HeritageBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, breathable mortar, carpenters, cedar shakes, chelmsford builders, church, church builders, church joinery, church tower, church tower re-pointing, church tower repointing, coarse lime mortar, conglomerate, conservation, conservators, dementia friendy, Essex, essex joiners, ferruginous, flint, general builders, grade I listed, hand split shakes, hardwood roof covering, heritage, heritage builders, heritage craftsmen, Lime Mortar, masonry re-pointing, masonry repointing, masonry round tower, oak shakes, octagonal church, octagonal church tower, octagonal roof, octagonal spire, Re-shingling of Cedar Shingle Roof, Re-shingling roof, Refurbishment, repair, restoration, Restoration of cedar shingle roof, roman, roman bricks, roman quoins, roman tiles, Roof Re-shingling, round church tower, round spire, round spire roof, shake roof, shell mortar, shells, shingle roof, softwood roof covering, strange shaped churches, tiles, tower room, trusted builders, wood pecker damage to wooden, woodcraft, wooden, woodpecker damage, woodpecker damage church, woodpecker damage to roof, woodpecker damage to wooden, woodpecker holesRachel Finlay

Summary: Tower repairs including repointing to the round tower, re-shingling the spire roof and refurbishing and reinstating the weathervane.

Location: Broomfield, Essex

Value: £140,000

The octagonal spire roof, which is covered with cedar shingles has suffered extensive damage caused by woodpeckers pecking holes in the shingle roof. Bakers will first remove the softwood cedar shingles from the roof structure to allow the architect and structural engineer to review the battens and substructure. There is expected to be a minimal number of structural repairs needed before the spire roof is covered in hand split Oak shakes on pre-treated softwood battens, with new stainless-steel soakers.

The woodpeckers will be deterred from damaging the new spire roof, firstly because by replacing the shingles it will ensure any insects the woodpeckers were drilling for are removed. Secondly, the new oak shakes will be free from all visual traces of former pecking sites which make woodpeckers more likely to return. The new shakes will be constructed from oak which is a hardwood and will have strips of stainless steel behind them, as the sound vibrating off of them will help deter the woodpeckers.

The round tower is of significant importance due to its round shape. It is constructed from coursed flint and ferruginous conglomerate with roman bricks and quoins and houses six bells, just below eves level supported in a steel frame. Bakers of Danbury will be repointing around 60% of the tower as the existing lime mortar pointing (which includes a very coarse aggregate) is failing at parts. The new pointing will also be of a breathable lime mortar with crushed shell.

Bakers of Danbury will also refurbish and reinstate the weathervane. It will be cleaned, a primer applied, and regilded with 24 carat gold leaf. A traditional sand cast lead cap/ weathering will be designed and installed to the weathervane.

Westminster Abbey Infirmary

11th May 2022Heritagealterations, Bakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke fitted furniture, bespoke fitted joinery, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church tower, church woodwork, conservation, conservators, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, furniture made to fit, furniture made to last, general builders, grade I listed, hand made mezzanine floor, heritage, heritage builders, heritage craftsmen, joiners, joinery, joinery shop, joinery work shop, joinery workshop, mazanine floor, mesanine floor, mezzanine floor, oak staircase, oak wall, one off wooded furniture, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, remodelling grade I listed, secret staircase, sold fitted furniture, sound proofed oak wall, tower room, trusted builders, unique fitted joinery, westminster abbey infirmary, westminster abbey infirmery, westminster abbey refurbishment, woodcraft, wooden, wooden fitted cupboards, wooden fitted furnitureRachel Finlay

Summary: Refurbishment and alterations to Westminster Abbey Infirmary

Location: Westminster, London

Challenge: Access to this part of Westminster Abbey is restricted

Solution: Bakers of Danbury carried out refurbishment and alterations to Westminster Abbey Infirmary providing a galleried area around the room, accessed via a new oak staircase and balustrade manufactured in Bakers specialist joinery workshop. Bakers also manufactured and installed bespoke hand-crafted fitted cupboards and kitchenette which seamlessly filled the space beneath the new gallery level. Masonry and glazing repairs were also carried out.

When working at Westminster Abbey it is important to have continuous liaison with the Clerk of Works to work together and overcome access issues and restrictions. All staff wore a security tab which gave them access to the restricted areas they needed to access. All other areas were strictly prohibited. During special events, such as when HRH Queen Elizabeth visited, the works onsite had to stop. During such times, our Site Manager had to liaise closely with the Clerk of Works and Security.

Church Tower Mezzanine Floor

6th May 2022HeritageBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church tower, church woodwork, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, mazanine floor, mesanine floor, mezzanine floor, oak wall, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, sound proofed oak wall, tower room, trusted builders, woodenRachel Finlay

Summary: Church re-ordering and new mezzanine floor within tower to make it a usable space.

Location: Impington, Cambridgeshire

Challenge: The existing 15th century wall paintings needed to be protected and later restored

Solution: Bakers carried out a re-order of the church which included a new mezzanine floor with a glass screen entrance within the tower to allow the tower to become a usable space. Externally, stone repair and re-pointing was carried out to the south and partial west elevations. A new lead roof was installed to the tower and the church was decorated throughout, whilst protecting the early 15th century paintings which were later restored.

Church Re-ordering

23rd January 2020HeritageBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church woodwork, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, oak wall, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, sound proofed oak wall, trusted builders, woodenRachel Finlay

Summary = The church re-ordering which took place at St Mary's Church in Saffron Walden involved our specialist joinery workshop manufacturing and installing English Oak bespoke DDA and Dementia friendly toilet, storage cupboards, children's library and a pew storage area.

Location = St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden

Awards = Diocese of Chelmsford, Design Awards in 2019 (Highly Commended)

Challenge = Attention to detail was important in this project as it was all made of English Oak then stained and fitted on site.

Solution = One of the largest parish churches in Essex, the building dates mainly from the fifteenth century.

The west main entrance was re-ordered to incorporate new storage units in bespoke manufactured in English Oak by Bakers of Danbury’s Specialist Joinery department. We also manufactured and installed a bespoke all-person DDA / Dementia friendly WC, with baby change area in English Oak. In the North Aisle we introduced a pew storage area, bespoke servery facilities, flower arranger’s sink and storage area. All were crafted by our Joiners from English Oak in our joinery workshop, it was then taken apart and wrapped flat pack for transit, before being fitted by our onsite carpenters.

Great attention was paid to the highest spec soundproofing, with all panels either insulated with a solid block board or infilled with bricks to eliminate noise. The WC door alone weighed over 100kg.

Every post included a hand carved crocus detail to the top. To watch a film of our skilled Joiner hand carving a crocus detail click here.

The complete project was very detailed and complex with hand carved designs, modern sliding doors and bespoke detailed cornice which ran around the top of the complete project.

The church re-ordering project to St Mary the Virgin in Saffron Walden was Highly Commended in the Diocese of Chelmsford, Design Awards in 2019.

Bakers of Danbury revisited St Marys Church in 2021 to replace the existing copper roof to the Chancel, with a traditional lead roof. A scaffold and temporary roof, designed by an engineer, was erected above the roof and parapets to protect the valuable historic building from inclement weather while the work was carried out. To the roof, Bakers installed a new timber deck and upgraded the insulation before covering it with traditional code 7 milled sheet lead.