Work to alter the shop front began in the summer of 2020, soon revealing the extent of the threat to the building. The main timber structural beams above the shop front were found to be crumbling with dry rot – mycelium – and unable to support any structural load.
Emergency structural works were carried out and steel beams installed to give temporary support. The property owners applied at the end of February for permission for a permanent replacement, which has now been approved by the Planning Department.
The rot was caused by a hidden lead downpipe embedded in the wall between number 16 and the property next door, which discharges into the local sewer network within the basement of number 18.
Pictured: One of the structural beams that has been destroyed by dry rot.
The spread of the rot has been considerable, extending across the main structural beams and into the timber beams of the neighbouring properties.
The application by ArcTech, the Chartered Architectural Technologist, stated that: “In many areas the extent of the rot through the timber section has already compromised the ability of the timber to be an effective loadbearing structure regardless of any treatment.”
The timbers are part of the original fabric of the property dating back to the 1830s development of Fountain Street and bear the hatchet marks of the tradesmen who took part in its construction.
Their significance was noted in the application, however ArcTech said the importance of the work must override that.
“There is no choice other than to carry out these works. Failure to do so may be catastrophic in the long run.”
A spokesman for the Planning Department told the applicants that the render used in the renovation works must match “as closely as possible” that of the existing building.
They said: “The aspirations of the applicant to replace the timbers with masonry within the walls, repair and retain the first floor windows, and repair and reinstate the areas of render removed for the emergency works, provided that the replacement render matches that on the remainder of the façade, are all considered to have minimal effects upon the special interest of the protected building.
“Any more extensive works to the first floor windows, involving the removal and replacement of large section of timber, may however need to be subject to a separate application for planning permission.”
Pictured top: The front of 16 Fountain Street, which needs urgent repairs or risks collapse.