The ChallengeThe Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland is not only famous as the backdrop for top international golf tournaments, but also in its own right as a five star, art deco style hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant serving the finest food. Within the main dining room of the 1920s property, however, all was not quite so perfect with a set of 12 towering column casings, having suffered a catalogue of small knocks down the decades: with the various repairs attempted having themselves taken further punishment from the movement of trolleys, chairs and other pieces of furniture. Chips, cracks and divots have all been caused then filled, and often gouged again. So it was then that during a recent two week shut down for essential maintenance that the Gleneagles Hotel’s Facilities Manager called in Plastic Surgeon to effect permanent repairs to the dozen columns, prior to full redecoration. Coordinating their efforts with other tradespeople and sometimes having to start very early in the morning to ensure the restaurant could reopen in the evenings for booked events, two of Plastic Surgeon’s most experienced Finishers from the Scottish Division spent a total of 19 days renovating the ninety year old mouldings. While in principle the task was straightforward: in other words to make good and smooth back the ageing fibrous plasterwork; the ornate form of the columns, and the need to restrict disruption to the surroundings added extra dimensions of difficulty.

Client: Gleneagles Hotel Sector: Hotel and LeisureRepairs: Plaster column repair, plasterwork repair

Site: Gleneagles Hotel Scotland

Plastic Surgeon Case Study:

Gleneagles Hotel

The SolutionPlastic Surgeon’s Operations Manager for Scotland, Derek Whiteford, takes up the account saying: “The 12 columns are all formed of two half casings, made from what appears to be plaster-of-Paris with fibre reinforcement on a metal mesh background; and they had all suffered a series of different types of damage. Probably caused by staff or customers moving chairs and tables - or other objects that have chipped and split the plaster - in some cases resulting in painters and decorators over past years forming patches up to three feet in height.

“Unfortunately these repairs had been made using basic Polyfilla type materials and they themselves had suffered further damage. Our challenge then was to remove the old repairs, without causing any further damage and to rebuild them using our Premium two pack fillers. This was done in layers for the deeper repairs, and then shaping it to match the fluted and highly decorative nature of the column casings. The Finishers achieved this to start with using filling knives and spreaders, but one of them also fashioned templates matching the lines of the columns using a cabinet-maker’s profile that is pushed against the surface to mimic it.

The Result

It was very intricate, time consuming work, and we also had to protect all of the floor around each work area because the carpet wasn’t being replaced.

Happily, with a lot of careful sanding down, we managed to achieve the quality of finish the hotel’s management was seeking, and the decorators were able to gloss paint the entire columns”.

Sustainable RepairsAt the same time as providing clients with a comprehensive cosmetic repair service addressing virtually every type of product and substrate, Plastic Surgeon is also addressing important aspects of the sustainability agenda. For while the company’s ethos of ‘repairing rather than replacing’ represents a saving of approximately £3 for every pound spent, this approach also significantly reduces waste going to landfill and therefore helps cut a customer’s carbon footprint.

Blue Waters House, Pottery Road, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9DSTel: 0845 141 0000 Fax: 0845 143 0000 Email. priority@plastic-surgeon.co.uk www.plastic-surgeon.co.uk

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