National maintenance, refurbishment and new build contractor, Novus Property Solutions has refurbished a historic Grade II listed building as part of a large-scale multi-million pound makeover at Teesside University.
The Constantine Building, dating back to the late 1920s, was originally home to the Constantine Technical College which opened in 1930 – now Teesside University. The University delivers an outstanding student and learning experience and in recent years has invested £270m in its campus. Novus was called in to refresh the historic Constantine Building to create a modern learning environment.
The extensive upgrade included the installation of safety flooring and suspended ceilings, new vinyl flooring and the re-plastering of all walls throughout the first floor corridor as well as the installation of nine new radiators plus new energy efficient lighting. The team of 15 operatives from Novus’ Gateshead office worked carefully to ensure the restrictions imposed by the building’s listed status were adhered to throughout the project with all new pipework fully concealed.
The building remained in use during the works, which ran for two months over the summer, and Novus liaised with University staff to ensure disruption and noise levels were kept to an absolute minimum. The entire corridor was cordoned off and access routes set up but where access was unavoidable Novus operatives were on hand to escort university staff and students safely through the site.
The existing built-in locker system in all three corridors had to be demolished before the refurbishment could begin with the removal of these extending the width of each corridor by an extra 500mm, creating a wider and more spacious corridor area.
As the works got underway it became clear that the existing pipework for the radiators wouldn’t allow the operatives to isolate the system to install the new radiators easily. To counteract this, the team worked closely with University staff and the project’s mechanical subcontractor to come up with the best solution to the problem which involved freezing the pipework in the floor below and installing a new main isolation valve to drain the system down before the new radiators were fitted.
Novus has since carried out interior repainting works to four other buildings on the University campus following the successful completion of the Constantine Building refurbishment.
Phillip Cuthbertson, quantity surveyor at Novus Property Solutions, said: “The outcome for students and staff at the University is a safer, more spacious building that benefits from lower running costs. The University complimented our standard of work upon completion, and we hope that this will stand us in good stead for future contracts in university settings.”
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