Walker and Imperial Hall, Kilbirnie | Restoration Case Study

Our role: Principal Contractor
Client: North Ayrshire Council (CARS scheme)

The Walker Memorial Hall and Knox Building in Kilbirnie were a thriving dance hall in the 1950s, hosting acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers and Bill Haley and his Comets. Today they house the Citizens Advice Bureau and community groups. For North Ayrshire Council, through its Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme, we repaired and refurbished both buildings.

The challenge

Defective roofs and cement render over soft clay brick had let water in for decades, causing extensive wet and dry rot in roof, wall and floor timbers. The site was tightly hemmed in by a burn, the High Street and narrow paths, so around 100 tonnes of scaffolding and all materials had to be moved by hand, along with 27 tonnes of cement render and 10 tonnes of rotten timber going out. The buildings stayed in use throughout, and the contract required local apprenticeships and training.

Our solution

We built a 3m-wide scaffold bridge over the burn to move plant and materials on and off site, segregated waste to reduce mixed skips, and reused crushed render as soakaway material. Around 900m² of dense cement render was removed from the soft brick by careful hand methods, controlled through toolbox talks and monitoring, and lost cill and dentil details were rebuilt in lime before a new breathable lime coating was applied. Roofs were stripped for splice repairs to rafter ends and new wall plates, and dry rot was cut out, with joist ends spliced and lath and plaster walls and cornices reinstated. Our site manager worked closely with the caretaker, tenants and neighbours to keep rooms available when needed.

Outcomes

Rot eradicated

Wet and dry rot was cut out and timbers spliced, with breathable lime finishes to stop it returning.

Lost detail reinstated

Curved cills and dentil corbelling hidden under modern render were rebuilt in lime.

Local jobs and skills

Four trainees employed for the project gained SQA units through our Academy’s National Progression Awards in Masonry Conservation.

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Walker and Imperial Hall