National maintenance, refurbishment, and new build contractor, Novus Property Solutions, has transformed a block of apartments in the world-famous waterfront location of Liverpool’s Albert Dock.
The Royal Quay consists of 200 apartments overlooking Liverpool’s prestigious Albert Dock area. The building, though only completed in 2003, was in a poor state of repair, owing to its exposed location on the quayside and so was in desperate need of attention to bring it back up to the desired finish. Premier Estates, which has managed the development for the past two years, undertook a demanding tender exercise and Novus Property Solutions was entrusted to bring the buildings back to their former glory.
Preparations began in July 2016 and saw the team working to demanding Swedish Standards to protect all the steelwork from the elements for much longer, something that was vital considering the building’s exposed waterfront location.
The team from Novus’ Liverpool office carefully prepared all the surfaces, which involved jet washing the building and preparing steelwork mechanically using needle guns, hand grinders and rotary wire brushes. Novus operatives also had to uplift and relay the waterproof membrane to the penthouse balcony flooring and seal all external windows as water ingress was a big issue within some apartments.
The task was made all the more challenging as access to the external areas was difficult and the team were unable to use scaffolding in certain areas, instead using a selection of access equipment such as cherry pickers, scissor lifts mobile access towers, tube and clip fixed scaffolding.
Over the course of the five-month project, close co-ordination with the client and the building’s residents was paramount due to both the condition and waterfront location of the flats. The design of the building, being built on stilts with a car park below, meant that arrangements also had to be made with residents to relocate their vehicles so as to avoid damage during the works.
Completion in December 2016 saw the apartment’s exterior transformed into a building perfectly suited to its surroundings on Liverpool’s prestigious waterfront.
Chris Brocklehurst, senior estates manager for Premier Estates’ northern team, said: “Novus carried out works to an excellent standard on what was a very challenging project due to the building’s location and weather.
“This potentially disruptive project for the residents living at Royal Quay has been very well co-ordinated by Novus operatives and in turn residents have seen their building restored to its former glory.”
For more information about Novus Property Solutions please visit www.novussolutions.co.uk
