Victorian Glasshouse

As part of a work placement for McLean Restoration on the Building Craft Programme I had the opportunity to restore this victorian glasshouse. The glasshouse had been neglected with nearly no maintenance for nearly twenty years. Every rafter needed partial replacement.  Door posts, and fixed window sashes also required repairs. 

The structure was propped up, and supported before we began work, then the gutters, brackets and glass were removed first. The remaining good timber was restored, and new pieces installed where applicable with scots pine and cedar in places that would be more exposed to the elements. The timber was all painted and glass reinstated using lime putty tape and sealed with lime putty where necessary. Profiles such as the cills and lintols were recreated from scratch, using raw rough sawn timber. Lead flashing was also installed to further weatherproof the top of the structure.

Involvement

I was involved from start to finish on this project, being able to experience the whole process, bar the initial survey work. This project was great for me to practice a variety of skills required for restoring such a structure. It was a great learning opportunity and a project to be proud of. The glass house can now be used for many many more years as it was originally designed for. 

It was great to be able to work on various aspects of restoration, such as splicing, utilising timber restoration liquids to harden the timber, and resin to restore shape and longevity in some key structural pieces. I also got the opportunity to create pieces from scratch such as the lintols and cills, and work with glazing putty and a little lead work.