Rafferty Steeplejacks have successfully completed the dismantling of 2 No. 35.3m high multi flue steel chimneys for BAE Systems at their Radway Green site in Cheshire. The following photographs show various stages of the dismantling procedure.
Yearly Archives: 2013
Marston’s Grade II Listed Brick Chimney Refurbishment
Major Refurbishment of a 41m High Grade II Listed Brick Chimney
In January 2013 Rafferty Steeplejacks were awarded a major refurbishment contract on a 41m high Grade II listed industrial brick chimney for Marston’s Plc at their historic brewing site in Burton-Upon-Trent.
Our initial survey of the redundant structure in August 2012 came just in time as it revealed that the chimney was found to be in a structurally poor and deteriorated condition, in particular within the top 14m where the brickwork in areas was literally crumbling on touch. Due to the seriousness of the defects encountered, Marston’s immediately instructed Rafferty’s to install safety scaffolding within the top 16m of the chimney to prevent any loose and deteriorated brickwork from falling directly to ground level. The installation of the scaffolding had to be carried out very tentatively as not to disturb any of the deteriorated brickwork. This was completed without incident and ultimately ensured the safety of all on-site personnel.
In the meantime Rafferty’s promptly compiled a comprehensive inspection report and proposed a detailed refurbishment plan to the engineers and senior management of Marston’s. Such was their faith in Rafferty’s wealth of knowledge and experience in projects such as this, Marston’s awarded the six figure contract on single tender.
With the chimney being a grade II listed structure all plans had to be approved by the local council who commendably fully co-operated with ourselves and the client to ensure the safety of the structure.
The refurbishment plan consisted of the following;
- Careful plotting and detailed drawings of the existing brickwork were issued prior to deconstruction to ensure that the re-building work was carried out to identically match the original chimney construction.
- Careful deconstruction of the top 14m of chimney brickwork.
- Re-build of the top 9.147m of brickwork to identically match the original Victorian construction of the chimney before an extension was added in the 1970’s. New antique style bricks had to be manufactured for the re-build due to the poor condition of the existing brickwork.
- Re-pointing of the remaining 27m of chimney brickwork externally.
- Re-pointing of internal brickwork and replacement of loose and missing bricks where required.
- Repairs to retaining band steelwork.
- Upgrade of lightning protection system to comply with current BS EN 62305 European standard.
- All re-pointing and re-building works was carried out using an English Heritage approved lime mortar.
The contract was carried out over a 21 week period and was completed without any safety incidents and to the full satisfaction of the client, local council and all involved. Garry Hollins, Site Engineer and Ian Reeley, Senior Projects Manager for Marston’s made the following testimonies on completion of the works.
“The chimney looks fantastic, could you send a big thank you to your team for a job well done. I have felt for them in some of the awful weather we had at the beginning of the year and the blistering heat at the latter part. The job has been carried out with the up most professionalism and will be more than happy to give a reference to anyone thinking of using your Company.” – Garry Hollins, Site Engineer, Marston’s Plc.
“You have completed an excellent project, carried out with great pride, determination, quality and with a very high regard to safety. Very well done.” – Ian Reeley, Senior Projects Manager, Marston’s Plc
To be given the opportunity to refurbish a structure such as the chimney at Marston’s is something which we relish as a company. This particular industrial brick chimney has stood for well over a century and is an iconic local landmark in Burton-Upon-Trent. We are delighted to have our name behind restoring and preserving the chimney for many years to come and would like to offer our gratitude to Marston’s for entrusting Rafferty’s with this project.
The following photographs show the chimney before, during and after the refurbishment works.
CONDITION OF BRICKWORK BEFORE REPAIRS
INSTALLATION OF SAFETY SCAFFOLDING
DECONSTRUCTION OF CHIMNEY BRICKWORK
DURING RECONSTRUCTION OF CHIMNEY BRICKWORK
COMPLETION OF WORKS
Achilles UVDB Verify Accreditation
Rafferty International Limited are pleased to announce that they are now registered as a supplier under the Achilles UVDB Verify accreditation.
Following a 2 day audit from Achilles assessors Rafferty’s achieved the following results;
Management Systems
Health & Safety 79.9%
Quality 82.2%
Site
Health & Safety 86.5%
Quality 85.1%
The senior management at Rafferty’s are delighted with the results which highlight the company’s commitment to health & safety and quality. We would like to thank all staff involved in obtaining the accreditation, in particular, Office & Quality Manager Jane Pope who worked tirelessly throughout the process and 2 day audit.
New 50m High Steel Chimney Project Complete
Rafferty’s have recently completed the design, manufacture and installation of a new 50m high twin flue steel chimney in the West Midlands, UK.
Oil Refinery Shutdown Contract Awarded
Rafferty Steeplejacks have been involved in every major shutdown on this particular Oil Refinery since 1974 and we are delighted to have been awarded inspection & maintenance works on 4 No. reinforced concrete chimneys during this years shutdown turnaround.
The site work will commence in August with the shutdown planned to start at the end of September through to early November.
The chimneys covered under Rafferty’s remit include the following;
1. 122m High SRU Reinforced Concrete Chimney
2. 121.7m High HVI Reinforced Concrete Chimney
3. 120m High Platformer 3 Reinforced Concrete Chimney
4. 80m High CO Boiler Reinforced Concrete Chimney
Rafferty’s Receive Praise for Safe & Professional Conduct
Rafferty’s have recently carried out the partial dismantling of a 39m high steel chimney for Severn Trent Water at their Roundhill Sewage Treatment Works.
The following comments were received from Mr John Wilks – Technical Planning & Logistics Technician for Severn Trent Water on successful completion of the works;
“Can I just pass on my personal thanks for an outstanding and professional job that was carried out at Roundhill Sewage Works today by your employees and sub – contractors. I was overwhelmed by the professionalism and calmness of all parties involved on site today carrying out a high risk job in a perfect manner from start to finish.
To bring a gang of people together to carry out a high risk task isn’t easy and the guys today made it look a doddle. They are a credit to you.
Can I also thank all other people involved in getting this work done in a safe and efficient manner throughout. It is a good job well done and will ensure that our employees can carry on with there daily duties with this risk eliminated.”
Rafferty’s would like to thank John for his kind comments and praise all their staff who were involved in this contract.
Grade II Listed Brick Chimney Refurbishment
Rafferty Steeplejacks are delighted to have been awarded a substantial contract to carry out major refurbishment works on a 41m high Grade II listed brick chimney for Marston’s Plc at their historic brewing site in Burton-On-Trent.
Following our initial inspection survey in August 2012, safety scaffolding and netting was immediately installed within the top 16m of the chimney due to the poor condition of the brickwork in the upper levels of the stack.
The 21 week project is due to start in early February and includes for carefully deconstructing and re-building the top 14m of brickwork, re-pointing the remaining 27m of the chimney and fitting an up to date lightning protection system.