Heritage North East & Yorkshire Premier Construction

Award-winning experts conserve Britain’s heritage

Teamforce Restoration, Heritage
Written by Roma Publications

Teamforce Restoration, Heritage

An award winning organisation renowned for excellence in masonry conservation, Team Force Restoration has been entrusted with the conservation and repair of more than 250 of Britain’s historical and ecclesiastical buildings since 2002.

The company takes pride in their reputation for high quality craftsmanship, as demonstrated by their extensive portfolio, and directly employs more than 12 talented craftsmen, who are continuously trained and assessed.

The company is proud of their 100% Safety Record and all work undertaken by them meets and exceeds current health and safety requirements.

The company’s main services include stone conservation using masonry repair techniques such as complete stone replacement, replacement of individual stone, carved stonework, indenting, render repairs, redressing, pinning and lime mortar.

Team Force’s experienced craftsmen also have a particular understanding of older and historic listed buildings and have gained a reputation for the superb quality of their timber restoration. The company can effectively treat all timber problems and their services include structural repair external façade refurbishment, roofing and leadwork.

The company’s specialist expertise in leadwork roofing applications means they can accommodate all types of work on older and historic listed buildings, where attention to detail and craftsmanship are vital for proper restoration.

Team Force Restoration successfully removed the 16 acre Coquet Island bird sanctuary from the English Heritage at Risk Register in 2014, in a project for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds which won them the Construction Excellence North East Award 2013.

The island, located off the Northumberland Coast, incorporates a range of historic structures including a monastic cell, as well as a lighthouse and a lighthouse keeper’s cottage.

Working on a site restricted by fickle weather and precarious access, the works included extensive re-pointing of starved masonry, comprehensive overhaul of external joinery and rainwater goods, and upgrading the 19th century lighthouse keeper’s cottage as essential accommodation for the RSPB wardens.

Team Force Restoration carried out repairs the iconic Beadnell Lime Kilns – the earliest dating back to 1789 – which are located to the east of Beadnell Harbour.

The National Trust had raised concerns about the dangers of the structure, following the partial collapse of the most southerly kiln on the seaward side.

Previous repair works of unknown date have been carried out to the kiln, which involved the installation of reinforced concrete beams and a concrete slab ceiling to the front section of the tunnel. Some of the concrete beams were very close to the surface and had rusted, causing the concrete to spall.

The National Trust therefore wished to carry out a permanent repair to the front beam and the concrete slab. The old concrete lintel and the rusting steel sections were finally removed and three new stainless steel beams were put in place to fully support the kilns.

The project also involved repointing the worst areas of the kiln walls. Further interventons included pinning and galleting to the stones, as well as the installation of a new oak door and panelling to create a fisherman’s store within one of the drawing arches.

The grade II* listed St Matthews church is one of the finest Victorian churches in the North East and was built in two phases – the nave in 1880, and the tower and western aisles in 1905.

The roof of the church had undergone a poor quality repair in 1983 and urgently needed re-tiling.

The roof slopes were stripped, the roofing timbers were checked and repaired where necessary, and the roof covering was completely replaced, including the use of new hand made clay roofing tiles.

The existing parapet gutters also benefited from new terne coated stainless steel gutters.

Masonry was replaced in one of the pinnacles and mortar consolidation was carried out to all joints and beds of the existing stones forming the parapets.

 

Martel Scaffolding

Martel Scaffolding, specialise in supplying and erecting scaffolding across the North East of England. The company has worked alongside Team Force on a number of projects, as commented by Joanne Ruddick of Martel Scaffolding.

Joanne said:

“We have worked with Team Force on several projects over the past 18 months. We have a good understanding of each other’s roles on a project and ensure good communication between trades is encouraged.

“All of the projects we work on are important to us and the client.”

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Roma Publications