An Englishman’s home…

A National Trust castle with limited access at high tide could be perceived as quite a challenge when it comes to refurbishment of the m&e services. National mechanical and electrical specialist EIC took the bit between its teeth earlier this year when it was awarded the contract to work on the phased upgrading of m&e services at St Michael’s Mount. This formed part of the refurbishment programme of the former Benedictine priory and castle in Cornwall situated off the south-west tip of England.

With a south west regional office and experience of working on buildings of listed status, EIC was amply prepared and qualified for the job. EIC South West was able to use a local team whose members could be switched to other jobs when tides made the causeway to the castle unpassable. The transport of materials and equipment was planned with an almost military precision, ensuring that the location of the project did not present unnecessary delays.

The popular landmark and tourist attraction is home to the St Aubyn family. They gave the freehold to the National Trust in 1964, while continuing to live in the castle under a 999-year lease – although responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance has passed to the Trust.

The first phase of the refurbishment concentrated on the living quarters and was completed at the end of July. EIC team members found themselves working in line with both the conditions of the National Trust and the requirements of the St Aubyns. The family’s estate management firm Godolphin Building acted as project manager.

With both client and main contractor so close to a job, there is always room for potential conflict – especially when cut off from the mainland! However, EIC South West regional director Damian Salmon found the mix incredibly successful: “The location is challenging, but we ascertained at the beginning how much of a problem this would be and then put measures in place to address it.

“It was hugely beneficial for us to be able to work so closely with Godolphin during the first phase of activity. As the contractor is uniquely connected to the end client, we were able to get a direct line into the family’s requirements and achieve an understanding of their needs. In this case, the Englishman’s home was quite literally his castle and we were extremely sympathetic to the fact that we were working in a family home.”

Services under the sea

The castle is divided into the west and east wings; the latter has private access and contains the family’s accommodation. The two areas share the same m&e services, with external water and oil supplies coming from the village. Most of the services run underneath the causeway, although the Hoval Uno-3 high efficiency boilers are kept topped up by oil transported from the mainland.

As conditions set by the National Trust dictate that there should be no hot works used, all new pipework installed has to be compression fitted. EIC prefabricated some elements of the pipework using a crimping machine to join together sections of pipe in order to make it compression-fitted. This had to be done off-site as the machine was difficult to position in certain areas of the building. The hydraulic machine also requires much longer than traditional soldering to join the pipes – taking as long as 15 minutes for larger sections.

Besides the pipework, work on the first phase of the refurbishment involved the installation of oil-fired central heating; radon extractor pipe; new telephone, fire alarm, pager systems, video door entry controls and data systems; and complete electrical rewiring.

In line with Listed Building Regulations, mineral insulated cabling, which is copper-clad and fire resistant, was used on all lighting and power circuits. Some previous installations were relocated for aesthetic reasons or have been fully replaced due to their age.

The family can expect to be warm this winter, as the heating system now covers all of the east wing’s private areas, together with some other areas that had previously been unheated.

In keeping with the finishes that would be expected in a traditional ancestral home, cast iron radiators and Wandsworth manufactured switches and sockets have been installed throughout. The existing tube radiators have been reused where possible.

Salmon notes that working on a National Trust project brings with it certain responsibilities: “We have to pay strict notice to what has to be constantly maintained rather than replaced as certain aspects of the job are exempt from the normal Building Regulations because of the Castle’s listed status. However safety ultimately and absolutely comes first. I think the reason our team works well in these surroundings is because we always adhere to the safety standards while remembering and being sensitive to the history of the building.”

Having delivered the first phase well within the £1 million budget, the EIC team may well stand in line with the tourists and enjoy the beautiful heritage site in the period of respite – British weather and tide depending!