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Case Study: St Pancras International Station Refurbishment

The client

St Pancras isn't just an international train station. It's also a Grade I listed Victorian building with the largest single span roof of its kind in the world, completed in 1864.

The problem – protecting Victorian ironwork

Along with the refurbishment that accompanied the station's transformation into a cross-channel rail link, the entire span of the Victorian ironwork needed to be protected – not just for the station's use, but to preserve it for future generations.

So they came to Sui Generis to provide the long-lasting protection the ironwork needed while giving it a great-looking finish travellers from across the world could admire.

The solution – a specialist coating system

The ironwork needed to stay safe and corrosion-free for decades to come –
so we recommended a specialist

coating system, which will leave a lasting impression and have a longer life span than most other coating systems – more than 20 years, in fact.

Because the work involved the removal of old lead paint, we implemented the most stringent decontamination procedures – to protect the workers on site and ensure the ironwork was prepared ready for coating application.

An industrial coating in tough conditions

The height and span of the girders, the sixty other contractors on site and the often confined space in which the work had to be done meant that we had to use all our experience and expertise to get it right.

Since the refurbishment has been completed, the new St Pancras International has been a great success, and thanks to our specialist coating system, we've had the added bonus of being able to inspire a little envy in the French.

Refurbishing the largest single span roof of its kind…

The taskThe task

Having stood empty for over twenty years we were entrusted with restoring this glorious structure back to its former glory. Undeterred by complicated high access issues and lead paint removal we embarked on a project that would be the focal point of the stations refurbishment project.

UHP water jettingUHP water jetting

One of the first hurdles we had to overcome was to ensure lead dust would not be released into the atmosphere during the removal of the old lead paint. UHP Water jetting was identified as the safe solution and water at a pressure of nearly 40,000psi was used to remove the paint.

Application of protective coatingApplication of protective coating

With the Iron work now prepared to ensure optimum application, the specialist coating was carefully applied to match the shade of blue originally used when the shed roof was first completed in 1868.

The perfect finish The perfect finish

Some 20 000 man days and 50 000 litres of paint later the Barlow shed roof was once again ready to astound visitors from far and wide. Indeed the statue of the famous Sir John Betjeman, who was instrumental in saving the station, mirrors the response of virtually every visitor to the station as he looks up in awe at the striking blue finish.

Sui Generis: The market leader in industrial coatings

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