relaying a 19th Century tiled floor

We've just spent the past three months on our hands and knees in the Great Synagogue in Sydney.  And the result is that the tiled floor to the central portion of the Synagogue is now fully functional again. 

Laid with geometric and encaustic ceramic tiles on a cement mortar bed over a timber-framed floor in 1885, the floor had seen 125 years of services. 

Unsurprisingly, particularly given the structural alterations carried out beneath the Synagogue in the 1950s, some areas of the ceramic tiling were badly disrupted, with tiles cracked, loose and missing.

Over the past few years, we have been working with Peter Phillips of Orwell & Peter Phillips, Honorary Architect to the Great Synagogue, and Simon Wiltshier, structural engineer from Hughes Trueman, to investigate the problem and develop an appropriate conservation solution.

The recent works were undertaken in two phases.  First, structural interventions were undertaken to provide additional support to the timber floor structure.  This work was completed from beneath the floor without requiring any disruption within the Synagogue.  The second phase saw us progressively lifting and relaying the ceramic tiles.

We carried out the work so that each Friday afternoon we could vacate the Synagogue, leaving only a small area of the floor and a limited number of pews discreetly barricaded off.  Each Monday morning, we would open up new areas ready for the week's work.  We also stopped work several times each week during scheduled tours of the Great Synagogue.

We had previously procured replacement geometric and encaustic ceramic tiles for those missing or broken or excessively worn.  These replacement tiles came from Maw & Co, the English company which had manufactured the original tiles installed in 1885.  Needless to say, the limited number of replacements (5-10% of the total) and our work to lift and relay the floor cost rather more than the complete cost of the original tiles - the Great Synagogue's records show that the tiles originally cost £344/1/4 (three hundred and forty four pounds, one shilling and four pence), whilst the tiling cost £100.

We also worked with the specialist supplier of conservation materials, Westox, to develop a cementitious mortar that would be as close as possible to the original mix used to lay the tiles.  The composition of Portland cement has changed significantly since 1878, and it is now much stronger and chemically different to then.  The mix we developed used a combination of modern Portland cement and pozzolans to reduce the strength and shift the composition and characteristics of the mortar back closer to the 1870s Portland cement based mix in the original floor.

Other challenges included:

• how to integrate the replacement tiles with the original tiles
• resolving variations in the dimensional tolerances of the tiles and original joint widths
• lifting and refixing the timber pews

We successfully relaid the floor in the time available to us, and based on our recent post-completion inspection, the floor stood up to all that the large wedding held a few days after we finished work could throw at it ... including breaking glass!

David West
International Conservation Services

from the archives #01: sudan war mural, petersham

For some time, I've been contemplating revisiting some of our past projects for this blog.  With nearly 25 years of conservation work recorded in our archives, there are many fascinating places to visit and stories to share with you.  Last week, I received news about one of our past projects that was a catalyst for this post, the first in an infrequent series to be entitled "from the archives".

The Sudan War mural, with then owner, Keith Sutton

Over the weekend, a shop-terrace at 36 Terminus Street, Petersham was sold at auction.  This building is unique because in the main front room, two of the walls are covered with a mural comprising 27 life-sized or larger caricature sketches dating from 1888.

Many of the caricatures depict military and political figures associated with the Sudan War of 1885, including General Charles Gordon, Governor Loftus (and his chicken) and Ned Kelly.

Governor Loftus and his chicken

Ned Kelly

We were responsible for the conservation work to this mural in 2003.  The owner, Keith Sutton, was able to commission this work as a result of receiving grant funding from the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage.  He had originally discovered the mural whilst removing the existing wallpaper (and overpaint layers) during a renovation of the property.

Condition of mural prior to conservation works

This property is listed on the Register of the National Estate, highlighting the significance of the mural.

You can read more about our work on this mural on our website, or understand the owners' story about the journey he has followed after discovering this mural in the lead article of the May 2004 edition of the Blue Pencil.

David West
International Conservation Services

Christ Church in Bong Bong

One of the great things about working in conservation is that almost all of our work makes a difference, both to the objects that we conserve, and for the people to whom the objects are significant.

But from time to time, we get the opportunity to work on projects where the difference our work makes is highly visible, even transformative.

Such was the case late last year with our work on the decorated interiors of the Anglican Christ Church at Bong Bong in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, it is the oldest church in the region, dating from 1845, and for some time, it was the only church between Sydney and Goulburn.

International Conservation Services was originally requested to conserve the interior paintings and decorative elements of the church. But after some discussions with the parish, we found that we could help the church with a broader project involving advice on the colour scheme, redesign of the internal church lighting, as well as work on the timber pews and running a training course for the parish members on how to care for them.

The large areas of flaking paint found in the artwork and decorative paintwork of the ceiling were of primary concern to our painting conservation team of Adam Godijn, Arek Werstak and Matteo Volonte, who spent a long fortnight working in demanding conditions of up to 40 deg C just below the ceiling of the church.

The flaking paint areas were consolidated as a priority before the extensive cleaning works required to the decorative ceiling were commenced. In order to avoid the heat, the team worked as early in the morning as possible.

After cleaning and consolidation of the paint layers, the losses were filled and inpainted before a final varnish layer was applied. This reversible varnish layer serves as a protective coating from the dust, dirt and debris that will collect in time, and also improves the appearance of the decoration by saturating the surface.

During planning for these works, we undertook a variety of paint investigations around the church to confirm the extent of original decorative finishes, and to attempt to identify the original colour scheme. These investigations uncovered many interesting things.

We discovered that the white gloss enamel painted window frames originally had a wood grained finish. A specialist decorator was brought in to re-create this original wood-grained effect. Apart from looking much more interesting the dark oak-like wood grain significantly enhances and highlights the beautiful stained glass windows.

Investigations around the gothic lettering at the front of the church found that the original lettering was much more ornate, and much more in keeping with the style of the surrounding decorations. The existing lettering was quite harsh in blue and red, whereas the original lettering had three colours - red, blue and gold leaf. After some discussions, the original lettering was replicated.

The plain sections of the church interior were repainted by a local tradesman using a colour scheme developed from original colours revealed by our paint scrapes, and in consultation with representatives of the churchwardens.

During the painting works, all of the plaques on the walls had to be removed, so the opportunity was taken to clean and polish them all before they were re-installed after the painting works were complete.

And finally a new lighting system was installed that provides both uplight onto the ceiling decoration and also spotlights the decorative verses on the two end walls.

You can read more about our work in this article in the Southern Highland News.

We are delighted to have been able to contribute to revealing this real gem of a church interior in a historic region of NSW. Services are held in the church each Sunday if you are interested in visiting.

David West and Adam Godijn

International Conservation Services

remembering the fallen

Tomorrow is the One Day of the Year. And in the run up to Anzac Day, it is interesting to reflect on the representation of war memorials and war memorabilia in our workload at International Conservation Services.

This week, our conservators have been carrying out conservation treatments on:

The Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney, in preparation for the Dawn Service to be held there from 4.30am on Anzac Day

A selection of war diaries kept by naval personnel

Several naval ensigns

But in the course of the past year, we have also treated such disparate items as:

Japanese military swords acquired by a private individual at the time of the Japanese surrender in WWII

WWII anti-aircraft Bofors gun currently located in Redfern Park

A German WWI Minenwerfer trench mortar owned by a Queensland local government authority

And we have undertaken other projects associated with war memorials or military sites including:

• Design, documentation, fabrication and installation of interpretive devices at Fort Scratchley in Newcastle, NSW


• Condition and significance assessment of the Mothers’ Memorial in Toowoomba, Queensland, and recommendations for maintenance
• Dismantling and re-erection of the Shore School War Memorial during redevelopment of the grandstand at their Northbridge playing fields
• Conservation and reconstruction of the War Memorial in Redfern Park, Sydney
• Design, fabrication and installation of an interpretive display of war memorabilia at the Cabra Vale Diggers Ex-Active Servicemens Club

• Fabrication and placement of a plaque to commemorate the distinguished military service (including award of the Victoria Cross) of a prominent individual in the church he attended for many years

The nature of all of these items is that they have enormous personal significance to many individuals, as well as to our community as a whole. We get insights into this in the course of our work, as our clients, or other people associated with the locations we are working at, tell us stories about the objects or places we are working on. These stories are often touching, frequently tragic, and serve to remind us of the sacrifices that have been made for our country. They remind us of our good fortune to live in Australia.

It is immensely satisfying to contribute to perpetuating the memory of those Australians who have served in the armed forces over the past 100 years or more.

David West
International Conservation Services

removing graffiti

This week, three of our conservators have been working on a contemporary sculpture located on the idyllic shores of Sydney Harbour. A wonderful setting; but the work was rather less inspiring.

One of the major challenges we face in the conservation of public art is dealing with human impact on the artwork. And of course, graffiti epitomises the negative impact that comes from some members of our society.

Graffiti removal is almost always problematic. Often, the marker (paint or pen) penetrates the pores or surface roughness of the materials used for the sculpture, and cannot be easily removed. At other times, the process required to remove the graffiti causes damage to the substrate. And occasionally, on sculptures like Dual Nature by Nigel Helyer, the graffiti can actually alter the characteristics of the material itself.

Weathering steel (of which "Cor-Ten" is the most well-known type) is a particular type of steel that corrodes slowly on exposure, giving a uniform rusty brown finish. The most prominent use of this material in Sydney is the shaft of Sydney Tower.

The impact of graffiti on weathering steel is quite substantial.

Firstly, once the graffiti is applied, it slows the rate of corrosion in the areas beneath the graffiti. So that when the graffiti is eventually removed, even if it is completely removed, the surface will be visibly different because of the varying rates of corrosion.

Secondly, even with very careful solvent dissolution of the graffiti, some rubbing or abrasion of the surface of the weathering steel is inevitable, and hence the surface corrosion layer is lost, resulting in a visible difference.

At "Dual Nature", our team of conservators decided that given the age of some of the graffiti (several years) and the highly visible shadows from removal of graffiti in the past, we would scrub back the surface layer of corrosion across the entire face of the sculpture in order to minimise the visible difference between areas that had been attacked with graffiti, and those which had not.

This meant that after carefully removing the graffiti, our conservators spent many hours scrubbing the surface of these wonderful shell elements.

Given the highly exposed location, the salt-laden air will accelerate the process of corrosion, or weathering, of the Corten steel, so that the surface layer of corrosion will redevelop quite rapidly over the coming months.

David West

International Conservation Services

a prefabricated industrial building

Last year we conserved an entire building. Every remaining piece of it, in fact. There were 27 cast iron columns, some of which were broken, and 9 trusses made from a combination of cast and wrought iron elements.
Currently known as the “Grissell Building”, in acknowledgement of the original manufacturers, Henry Grissell of London, this prefabricated industrial structure was discovered on the ACI site at Alexandria. Following documentation in 1997 by Godden Mackay Logan, the Grissell building was dismantled and stored on the site for ten years. In late 2007, we were awarded a contract by Meriton Apartments to conserve all of the elements so that the building could be re-erected in a park in the centre of the site.

We worked with heritage consultants Geoff Ashley and Rebecca Hawcroft of Godden Mackay Logan and structural engineers Simon Wiltshier and Alison Naimo of Hughes Trueman to develop an agreed approach to conservation of the Grissell building. In the end, we:

• Blasted the cast-iron columns before painting with a zinc-rich epoxy primer and 2 pack polyurethane topcoat
• Repaired the three broken columns by pinning the pieces to a new galvanised steel CHS installed inside the columns
• Undertook various other repairs to the cast iron columns, including casting new capital plates
• Deconstructed the trusses to straighten the wrought iron angle and flat bar tension members

• Cast new compression strut members to replace broken or missing pieces of the struts

• Installed new purlin angle supports to carry a new roof
• Blasted and painted the trusses to match the columns

We were assisted with this work by Wrought Artworks (trusses), Traditional Stonemasonry (columns) and IMP Coating (blasting and painting).

The project had many challenging moments. The transport and hoisting of the nine roof trusses, which are quite lightweight, and therefore very flexible, caused us some of the most nerve-wracking moments.

The reconstruction of the Grissell building is now completed, with additional new roof truss components to help interpret the original configuration of the building. It is located in the public park between South Dowling Street and Broome Street, and serves as a shelter and seating area in the park for residents of the surrounding apartments.

Drop in and enjoy the delicate tracery of 19thC cast and wrought iron work sometime.

David West
International Conservation Services