The project delivered a complex scaffold structure across six storeys, together with the Uni-Roof Temporary Roof System, which will keep the building watertight for six months while work continues underneath.
The Discovery Museum sits inside Blandford House, a Grade II listed Victorian building built in 1899 and in use as a museum since 1979. It remains a major cultural attraction in the region, welcoming thousands of visitors a year.
Blandford House's roof carries a number of ornate extensions and historic chimney structures which added complexity to a job that already demanded precision on a listed heritage building. James Ingleford Scaffolding had to complete the scaffold to a tight deadline so the building could be made watertight and accessible for the wider F&I Group team to carry out repairs, all while keeping the museum open and operational for visitors and staff throughout.
The site itself added another layer of difficulty. Central Newcastle gave the team a limited footprint for both delivering equipment and working to prepare the roof for lifting into position.
Once the initial design was drawn up, it was passed to the design team at Dessa for review and recommendation. The Uni-Roof System was identified as the best fit for the job, and a design was produced to account for the scale of the roof, the need for economical bay sizing, and the chimneys and towers rising through it.
Getting the system into position took the same level of care. Sections were craned and lifted using carefully planned lifting patterns, with each part of the roof delivered and installed to a tight schedule over a number of days, keeping every delivery on time to meet the customer's needs.
That process was made easier by the way Uni-Roof itself is built. It is Altrad Generation's aluminium based temporary roofing system, proven on industrial, commercial, historic, and domestic projects for more than 25 years. Its bays open individually for crane access, matching the lifting schedule this project demanded. Its unique connection technology, tracks that slide into position with no couplers, pins, or bolts required, meant sections could be installed quickly without compromising the weatherproof seal. Spring loaded track tensioners and a rubber seal between tracks kept the roof watertight throughout, protecting Blandford House and its collections for the full six months the system was in place.
Altrad Generation's Denise Blackwell brought that product knowledge to the planning stage, meeting with the James Ingleford Scaffolding team ahead of the build to make sure everything was in place before the equipment was delivered. That preparation gave the erecting team everything they needed to install the system correctly. The result was a complex scaffold combined with the Uni-Roof system across all six storeys of the historic building, engineered to work around the constraints of the site rather than against them.
James Ingleford Scaffolding's organisation and professionalism, matched by Altrad Generation's ability to deliver the design and logistics on time, lead to the completion of the roof on schedule. Blandford House stayed watertight and the Discovery Museum remained open throughout the works thanks to close collaboration between James Ingleford Scaffolding, the wider F&I Group, and Altrad Generation's design and product expertise. Altrad Generation wishes the wider F&I Group every success with the renovations still to come, on a building that has told the story of the North East's industry for over 40 years.
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