Restoring Newbridge Church to it’s best
Project Features:
- Restoration
- Damp Proofing
- Rendering
In 2017 Kilduff Construction embarked on a major restoration project at Newbridge Church in Galway. The Church had a big problem with dampness and crumbling plaster internally. The community had tried various superficial remedies, but the problem kept coming back. Newbridge is one of those communities with amazing cohesion and a tremendous pride of place and the parishioners wanted to have the issue resolved once and for all. We investigated the issue following a request from a partitioner and discovered that the church had been plastered externally with sand and cement in a much earlier renovation.
Sand and cement render is not breathable and therefore is not suitable for old stone buildings with no DPC layer. The cement render prevents moisture which enters the walls through the ground from escaping. This moisture slowly starts to accumulate in the lime mortar joints in the wall until the walls become saturated and dampness develops internally. Old stone buildings were traditionally plastered with lime render. Lime is a softer breathable render and is ideally suited to traditional stone for this reason. We advised that the most appropriate course of action would be to strip the plaster internally and externally and install a new Natural Hydraulic Lime render.
In April 2017 we commenced stripping the plaster internally and externally. Of course, this was a very significant undertaking and stripping back a building is the easy part. Putting it back together is where the fun starts. The most important thing was to allow a few months for the exposed walls to dry out. The strip out revealed some beautiful, concealed stone features which needed to be preserved and exposed. It also revealed some additional problems which needed to be resolved and so for the next 18 months, together with the community in Newbridge and some amazing craftsmen, we transformed the church and grounds into a magnificent example of restoration and conservation at its best. The church is once again damp free and a major source of pride in the community.
Projects Portfolio
Kilduff Construction did an outstanding job on our commercial to house conversion and retrofit. Their team were professional, efficient, and detail-oriented, ensuring everything was done to the highest standards. We’re thrilled with the results and highly recommend their services.
Kilduff Construction have completed numerous projects in our school in recent years, including new classrooms and a new car park. The work on each project has been immaculate. The projects were delivered on time, within budget and with minimal fuss. Donal and all at Kilduff Construction are a pleasure to work with.
Cannot recommend Donal Kilduff and his team enough after they were recommended to me from a neighbour. From start to finish, Donal listened to my vision and worked with us to help bring that alive. Every interaction with the whole team was so professional, efficient and friendly. The end product was done to a meticulous standard and we are so happy with the result’.
Donal maintained a constructive client relationship throughout our build and ensured that high quality detail design was applied to the project. I would definitely recommend Donal for similar projects in the future—his expertise and collaborative approach made everything run smoothly.
Whilst I was delighted when I found out I had secured Kilduff Construction to do my house renovations I only truly realised how lucky I was in retrospect. Donal and his team went above and beyond in every aspect of the renovation. What impressed me the most was the attention to detail even down to the smallest one. Donal took the time to have a number of meetings with me to find out what exactly I wanted to achieve.
From start to finish a very professional service was provided by Donal and his team at Kilduff Construction. Everybody involved was easy to deal with, any queries/modifications were solved without issue. We were so pleased with the end result being completed both on time and within budget. We would highly recommend Kilduff Construction for any project.
My building and business is well over 100 years old, I am the 4th Generation, so when the time came for the roof to be replaced I needed a professional team with knowledge, vision and compassion. Donal was incredibly professional from that very first consultation, he was never more than a phone call away.
Kilduff Construction was great to work with right from the very beginning. What differentiated Donal was how personally invested he was in the project. The expertise of Donal and his team was reflected in their attention to detail and quality of finished work. Can’t recommend Kilduff Construction highly enough.
It was a pleasure working with Donal and his team. From the outset Donal was invested in the project, his great ideas, genuine interest and advice resulted in a bespoke creative space for Tommy. Thank you Donal & Team.
