Photo selection
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Fitting SkyGard glazing bars
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Interior
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View of new roof
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View across Waterloo Station
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SkyGard glazing bars ready for installation
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London Eye overlooks Waterloo station
Hard copy or digital high resolution photographs available upon request
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Waterloo Railway Station
Patent Glazing
Major 23,500 sq/m refurbishment
The original Waterloo station was opened by LSWR in July 1848 and for
several years expanded & developed. A complete rebuilding programme
was carried out between 1900 and 1922, but it was to be another seventy
years or so before any further major changes were made to the building
with the addition of the Eurostar terminal in the 1990s. Despite this
very modern extension featuring an up to the minute, bolted glass roof,
the rest of the mainline station was in a sorry state of repair.
The original transverse ridge and furrow roof construction was designed
by J.W. Jacomb-Hood & his successor A.W. Szlumper and measured 520ft
x 540ft on plan covering 19 platforms. This is an area equivalent to five
football pitches and is 23,500 sq/m using today's metric equivalent. Serving
the busy South coast mainline route into London, the station copes with
thousands of passengers a week and hundreds of trains all of which have
taken their toll on the station environment and not least the huge glazed
roof.
Years of toll on the patent glazing
Over the years, repairs had been carried out on an ad-hoc basis creating
a patchwork of different glass, various glazing bars and even 'temporary'
timber panels which had long ago been overlooked for replacement. Fortunately,
the original steelwork remained in good condition despite being in need
of blasting and re-painting. The 'patchwork' of repairs had to go and
a whole new patent glazing system with modern glass be installed.
Over 23,000sq/m of glazing to be replaced with the station fully operational
Although the layman may mistake the roof's nine barrels to look the same,
each one varies in size as they were built in-situ nearly one hundred
years ago. The roof covers nineteen platforms all of which had to remain
open and functioning for the duration of the contract with minimum inconvenience
to passengers or train running times.
Amec's solution was to suspend a 'crash-deck' from the steel roof trusses
immediately under the glazing allowing contractors to remove old materials
and carryout the new installation. A rolling rig was constructed enabling
contractors to slide a set of multiple platforms under the curved roof
trusses from one end of the roof to the next without having to take down
traditional style scaffolding and set up again each time they moved to
a new area. Tony Ingram, Roofing Construction Manager for Amec, comments
'Passengers have only been vaguely aware of something going on overhead,
most people don't know we're here'.
Such an operation needs a 'rapid-fix' patent glazing system
A flexible system was essential which would accommodate the tolerance
and variance of the site conditions. A simple, easy to handle product
was required. Various options fromall the major manufacturers were considered,
but 'a few millimetres either way on a linkingpanel system for example,
would cause major problems' states Roy Conway, Amec Project Manager. 'We
settled for Lonsdale due to the systems flexibility and 'forgiving' nature
from the installation point of view.' Despite SkyGard being a tried &
tested product, Lonsdale had to develop specially extended fixing brackets
to permit ventilation at the bottom of each tier of glazing. This was
to allow air-circulation without undue ingress of water from driving rain,
so diesel exhaust could escape, carrying with it dirt and grime detrimental
to the to the glass & aluminium system. Although a polyester powder
paint finish had been considered, this was deemed unnecessary from both
an appearance and performance point of view due to the Lonsdale twenty
five year warranty. The mill finish option will save the client millions
of pounds as a painted finish would require regular cleaning to maintain
warranty agreements. To complete the installation 6.4mm laminated glass
was fitted, having been specially cut to size by The Dorset Glass Company,
Poole using state of the art computer aided machinery.
Swift solution on target to finish Spring this Year
Roofing contractor, Kelsey Roofing, have kept their promises and consistently
delivered on time. Currently, completion is due for Spring 2003. Steve
Arthurs, Project Manager for Kelsey Roofing says, 'We have made surprising
progress with the Lonsdale system as metre for metre we are glazing in
two thirds of the time what we were able to achieve during our last major
station at Glasgow Central'. Richard Burgess, Sales & Marketing Director
for Lonsdale comments, 'We are delighted Lonsdale has made a difference
and Waterloo is excellent testimony to what our design and fabrication
team can achieve. However, all credit to Kelsey Roofing, as their excellent
organisation of this contract and professionalism has made it easier for
us to ensure continuity of supply.'
Lonsdale offer a RIBA approved CPD seminar 'Letting light in, keeping
weather out' - An introduction to Patent Glazing. Readers wishing to learn
more about this and other Lonsdale products and services should visit
their website www.roofglazing.co.uk or telephone their London Sales office
on 020 8801 4221.
Project Details
Project: Regeneration Programme for Waterloo Station
Roofing Refurbishment Customer: Network Rail
Design Engineer: Stephen Frankham Associates
Main Contractor: Amec Capital Projects
Glazing Bar Supplier: Lonsdale Metal Company Ltd
Product: SkyGardSky71 Patent Glazing Bars
Laminated Glass Supplier: The Dorset Glass Company
Glazing contractor: Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd
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