Castlerigg Manor Website

Flooding Remedial Work: (Notes shared at St Joseph’s Masses in January 2010:)

After the flood Neil Forker set up and chaired `The Way Forward Group' to co-ordinate our activities (members: Fr. McElroy, Michael Roberts(chair Parish Finance Committee), Michael Nixon, Peter Brown) . The group initially sought quotations from builders who could undertake remedial work. It was soon evident that remedial work would be in many phases. From our investigations the Loss Adjuster of our insurers appointed Gill Bros. of Whitehaven to undertake the first phase - investigation of the extent of damage. 

Gill Bros started work at the church on Monday 07/12/2009. By evening the floor coverings had been removed from the body of the church revealing suspended wooden flooring between solid flagged aisles; since the floor was basically dry, the initial diagnosis was favourable. However, on the Tuesday morning random floorboards were removed and it was evident that the sub-floor area had been extensively flooded, was still very wet and contaminated with sludge. It is believed that water which had entered the building through the doors had got into the sub-floor cavity through a hole beneath the choir. It was also deduced that additional floodwater had entered the sub-floor directly from the outside through the ventilators installed in the walls to allow air to circulate below the wooden floor. The wooden floor was completely removed, the sub-floor area was cleared of debris and sterilised. By the first week of January, it had been agreed by all interested parties to Instruct Gill Bros to replace the suspended flooring with an insulated concrete one and to this end the flags were removed from the walkways and the spaces between were built up to a uniform level with fresh infill, all ventilation holes around the body of the church were bricked up to prevent risk of future water ingress through that route. On Monday 11/01/2010 the first concrete for the new floor was being laid. There has _ been considerable debate about the desirability of recreating the choir loft and if so, to what dimensions; for the present it has been decided to lay a uniform floor throughout the body of the church, the final top covering to be decided. During the clearance of the church, plaster fell from the wall behind the choir loft; the wall has shown increasing evidence of damp over several years. The restoration period provides an opportunity to resolve the damp problem and repair the wall. Gill Bros submitted a proposal to do this work that was accepted by the Diocese 12/01/2010. The cost of this work will have to be paid by the Parish.

The extensions that house the altar, sanctuary and sacristy have also been severely flooded through the sub-floor area ventilators and have been fumigated under an arrangement ordered by the Loss Adjuster. It is believed that these areas should be further treated along the same lines as are being undertaken in the body of the church; if so, access will have to be from above e.g. the floor of the sanctuary will have to be lifted. The pews, organ and other furnishings of the church have been taken to storage.

Lifting floorboards in the presbytery showed similar contamination to the sub floor area mainly by the same routes i.e. via the air bricks and to a lesser extent by ingress through the doors. Work here is complicated by the presence of a dividing wall without foundations; it is built upon the floorboards. Full remedial work will be delayed, accommodating Fr. McElroy's desire to stay in residence until his retirement at the end of April. However it is believed that we should institute a full clean below the flooring, renew electrical connections and install an insulated concrete floor - details of design and procedures to be finalised. Meanwhile all contaminated carpets have been removed but the subcontracted deep clean of ground floors rooms never materialised; most of the work was left to Elizabeth. The Loss Adjuster organised fumigation of the sub-floor area. When checking the integrity of gas pipes in the church prior to laying the new concrete floor, leaks were found throughout the properties and extensive replacement was necessary, it is also recommended by the heating engineer that the boiler, which was immersed and is now leaking, be replaced. The gas leaks were in old lead pipes and were probably due to movement during the flood causing pin holes in the lead. The cellar which had been flooded to the ceiling is now drained and emptied, the ceiling has been removed; the whole area still needs to be decontaminated. The garage which had been destroyed has been emptied and removed, the gardens given a preliminary clean. Options for replacement of the garage are under review. The photocopier was partially immersed and was deemed to be beyond repair, we are currently using one borrowed from the suppliers.

On Thursday 10/12/09, the hall which was believed to have completely escaped flood damage was observed to have external air vents at ground level i.e. below floor and below the high water level. The sub floor area appears to have been flooded through these ventilators and will require remedial action, it has also been fumigated. The hall seems to have three types of flooring, solid near the road, suspended wooden in the middle section; suspended concrete under the kitchen and facilities. The middle section is the main cause for concern but is of a lower priority than the church and presbytery.

It is very obvious that the flood has created the need for a programme of ongoing, sequential remedial works that will be active for much of this year. There will also be opportunities to undertake additional tasks e.g. proofing the end wall of the church, supporting the above mentioned wall in the presbytery, repainting the church, redecorating the presbytery, investigating a damp patch in a wall in the hall, etc. Funding and timescales are major considerations. We are also in the strange position of "having to seek the authority of the Diocese to spend our money improving their properties" (N.B. all parish property is owned by the diocese and we have to seek approval to spend any sum over £5000). Every decision has to satisfy many interested parties: diocese, insurers, priest(s), parish council, parishioners, legal requirements, etc. There will also be debate with insurers about what results from the flood and what constitutes improvements i.e. who pays?

We are being taken into areas beyond the expertise of our own parishioners. With this in mind, we have involved a parishioner from Keswick - Richard Kealey a retired civil engineer who looks after property issues for Keswick and, after consultation with the diocese, have engaged at Parish cost, the services of a surveyor -Stephen Harwood of ADK Architects of Keswick who also acts for Keswick parish in their remedial flood work. Stephen visited St Joseph's last Thursday 08/01/2010, seemed very happy with the work in hand and gave good advice on future work, advice that he will confirm to all interested parties.