The detailed repair and maintenance work undertaken by ASWS on Bush House, part of a former broadcasting premises on London’s Aldwych, has not only helped restore the appearance of the facades; it has seen us rectify wartime bomb damage and preserve a system of antique bronze postboxes.
Associated Steel Window Services, is widely experienced in such work and had successfully completed a similar contract on Phase 1 which addressed the central and north-eastern blocks now occupied by Kings College University. ISG was the main contractor for both phases.
Working floor by floor across the ten-storey building, ASWS set about removing excess paint from all of the old W20 steel windows and demounting all of the original ironmongery for repair and lubrication. This included handles, stays and the brass ‘budget’ locks while some of the more badly-worn hinges had to be replaced with ones from our stock of replicas.
In total, 500 opening lights across 189 windows and 22 sets of double doors were treated. Any areas where the frames that had been taken back to bare metal were spot primed, and prepared for repainting by others.
Ironically, while ASWS was required to remove 3,000 sheets of film from the inside of the single glazing, the project also revealed that some of the frames on the Aldwych elevation had been pitted by a Luftwaffe bomb during the blitz while several of the street level shop frontages had also been distorted by the blast. These were taken away to the ASWS workshops to be painstakingly straightened and have new sections fitted where necessary.
Commenting on the success of the project, ISG’s contract manager, Kevin George said, “As is common on such projects, ASWS was further called upon to carry out restoration of architectural metalwork around the historic interior to the old BBC premises. This included careful cleaning and polishing of the building’s internal post system where chutes connect the basement sorting room to boxes on the stair landing at each floor. These are marked as either “London & Abroad” or “Country”.
Kevin George- Project Manager for ISG plc Project – Bush House NWW
“ASWS completed an extensive scope of refurbishment and re-glazing of steel windows at Bush House, Aldwych for us. Laura and her team engaged with us and our client early in the process, at pre-construction stage. Their expertise and knowledge proved invaluable during this phase, to us and the client. Their work ethic and commitment to our project carried right throughout the build phase and beyond. They turned up when they said they would and most importantly for me completed on time. When extra work arose, as it does, they were not fazed and took it in their stride. Their workmanship and quality were top notch and despite being busy with other projects, never let us down on a programme or quality front. Their proactive and positive approach makes them a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended – thanks for all your help ASWS.”