The Chimes

Last month we reported on the excellent renovation work on the old St Ildephonsus’ parlour, now used for lunches and morning teas for regular bus tours visiting the town. Renovation work on heritage-listed buildings is a painstaking and exact craft. Fortunately, we have that expertise on site and available to us through regular contractors, including Colourwest Painting, Mark Leuba Electrician and ACM Air Conditioning.

As with the parlour walls, the old dining room, used for nearly 100 years by the boys of St Ildephonsus’ College, got its cladding stripped bare. Approved contractors were used to remove the asbestos cladding. The above composite of two photos shows the degree of restoration work undertaken thus far to restore this room to its former glory. When complete this dining area will provide a larger space for use by our Group Accommodations.

Steve Mossman was onsite in January to commence the laborious task of filling holes in the wall. He then applied an undercoating to the walls and painted the pressed metal ceiling. Pressed metal ceilings leach rust if not properly treated but Steve is the consummate professional and has completed a wonderful first stage of the restoration.

The latest work saw Ian and Greg from our Maintenance team stripping three layers of lino, tiles and Masonite to expose the original floors. Fiddly work, removing thousands of 15mm staples that held the Masonite in place!

And, there is still much work to be done: the floors, window frames, rails for art works, replacement fans and Gyprock wall sheets installed to achieve a clean flat surface on the western end wall. Shady and Ian from the Maintenance team will assist Steve as the work continues. Stay tuned for updates!