A listed building in the seaside town of Helensburgh required a complete re-roof in order to accommodate new luxury apartments. Due to strict planning restrictions, CUPA PIZARRAS’ Heavy 3 slate was specified due to its close resemblance to the original Scottish slate used on the project.
Built in the 1860s and extended by celebrated Scottish architect William Leiper, the Braeholm building is an outstanding testament to the Gothic Revival architecture and design of the period. Gaining Category B listed status in 1993, it has seen many changes of use over the years, from mansion house to maternity hospital, to seaman’s mission. Now owned by property developer Panacea Property, the exclusive development of twelve, bespoke two and three bedroom apartments combines historical architecture with a modern interior to create a unique luxury.
Jim Lough, Independent Surveyor, specified the slate for the roof. He said, “Due to its listed status, the new roof had to be as close to the original as possible in order to meet the requirements. There were earlier plans to try and save the native Ballachulish slate, however it had deteriorated significantly over the years. We instead turned this into chipping slate, and we specified CUPA PIZARRAS’ Heavy 3s as they are the closest match.”
Similar to Ballachulish slate, Heavy 3 has the same blue-black colour and thickness of 7 – 8 mm, giving it the strength to withstand the high wind speeds and driving rain that is common throughout Scotland.
“We were really keen to get started on such an iconic, heritage building, especially with the prominent roofing features,” said Darren McGhee, Managing Director of DMG Roofing & Building Ltd.
“Heavy 3 helped these features as although it was easy to cut, the slates themselves did not break easily and were incredibly durable. This in turn helped with costs and with labour time, as minimum breakages meant less slate was wasted, reducing the need to order new slate. We’d never used CUPA PIZARRAS’ slate before this project, but will definitely be using it again.”
