St Sophia’s Church, Galston, Ayrshire
Approved Installer: Quadriga Ltd
Client: Diocese of Galloway		  

  PROBLEM

Built 1895, this building of Special Historic Interest is Grade A listed and is scaled down version of the Byzantine masterpiece, Sancta Sophia in Istanbul.

After a large lump of concrete fell from the main arch without warning, two separate structural surveys found that the church required extensive remedial repairs particularly structural reinforcement and reinstatement of the concrete barrel vaults and brick arches, the external brickwork below the main dome, the concrete supporting the purlins to the main roof and cracked masonry in the front elevation.

  SOLUTION

These significant and sensitive repairs were completed reliably and cost-effectively using the Helibeam System.

Circumferential chords of double HeliBars, each over 10m long were installed around the soffit of each internal arch and barrel vault and secured into the adjacent masonry. Grouted CemTies were then installed vertically through the arches into the brickwork above.

To support the purlins, load bearing beams were created in the concrete using pairs of HeliBars while ring beams were produced in the main tower by installing pairs of HeliBars around its entire 30m circumference above the top windows.

Cracked masonry near the corners of thefront elevation was secured by installing 1m long CemTies through the brickwork and into the stable masonry beyond. After re-pointing and re-plastering the classic features of this prominent church were fully stabilised and visually restored.