Facelift for old Government Buildings

1 June 2007

Facelift for old Government Buildings

Ten years after the restoration of Wellington’s grand old lady of the public service, the wooden Government Buildings is looking sprightly after a receiving the full facial treatment.

Over the past five months more than 2800 litres of paint has been skilfully applied to the aged exterior of the building, which now again resembles her former glorious self. A further 6.5 km of bird proofing wire has been reinstated to ensure that the paint is not compromised by pigeon droppings. While the building was surrounded in scaffold, it was also an opportune time to repair any obvious defects, says DOC heritage officer Richard Nester.

“Good preventative maintenance over the past decade extended the life of the paint. But it was beginning to fade, flake and peel, which would have allowed water to enter cracks and deteriorate the wooden fabric.”

The building has been repainted in colours that were considered the best possible match to its original colour schemes, and are the same used 10 years ago when the building last underwent a major restoration.

Wellington-based company Programmed Maintenance Services was awarded the contract to paint the building with the paint supplied by Resene Paints Ltd and the project is being managed by OPUS International Consultants Ltd. The contract began in early January and was completed last week.

The whole project went relatively smoothly given its size and complexity,” says Melissa Turner of OPUS International Consultants.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to lose only 10-15 days due to weather in that time.”

ENDS

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