Scaffolding on airport’s roof for at least a year
Guernsey Airport roof is set to be enclosed in scaffolding for at least a year, as long-running problems with roof panels could finally be tackled.
There have been repeated problems with parts of the roof coming off, most recently during Storm Ciaran.
Guernsey Ports project manager Joe Armstrong said no major impacts to airport operations or passenger access were anticipated during the project.
‘The erection of scaffolding around the terminal building will allow for further ongoing maintenance while a detailed inspection of the roof’s condition is undertaken,’ he said.
‘This inspection will establish what options we have to safeguard and extend the useful life of the terminal roof cladding system. It is anticipated that the scaffolding will be in place for at least 12 months, but this is dependent on the outcome of the inspection and the time taken to undertake any repairs that are required.’
The project is broken up into four phases – erecting the scaffolding, appointing a consultant to undertake an inspection and determine what work was needed, carrying out the work and then taking down the scaffolding.
It will take two to three months to erect all of the scaffolding, which is why it is expected to stay up for the whole project. Formula Scaffolding has drawn up a special scaffolding design for the unusually shaped building. As part of the design, it has been ensured it can cope with the wind in the exposed location. It will be clad, but will also let light in, so the inside of the building should not be dark during the work.
The terminal building first opened in 2004. The roof has suffered repeated weather damage since then, with parts ripped off in 2016, twice in 2018 and 2021, as well as last year.
Mr Armstrong said it was believed there was an issue with how the metal roof sheets were riveted to the main roof structure, so they would be examining that, but also doing a full check of the roof
A full survey roof scaffold canopy was announced in 2022, but instead only small-scale scaffold structures were erected in various areas of the roof to do monitoring and repairs.
This time the entire roof will be checked. Once the survey is carried out, the work will go out to tender. The funding will need to be agreed by the ports board, but if it goes above a certain price it will also need to be agreed by the States.
Mr Armstrong said they expected the scaffolding to be up for at least 12 months, but they would be completing the work as swiftly as possible.
The scaffolding started going up this week.
