What was once the Old Nurse's Home at Ards Hospital, this project involved the complete gutting out of the Grade B Listed, 13,000 ft² three storey building including removal of the roof. All that remained was the external 600mm thick stone wall shell.

After the building was stripped out & old timbers removed from stone walls, an internal steel frame was installed to receive the new floor systems and stairs. A complete new cut roof with natural Bangor Blue slate was then fitted together with new windows and doors. We provided dry lining to all external walls; an Lectros Electro Osmotic DPC system and all old walls were treated for dry rot.

The stonework façade to the building was then cleaned & repaired where necessary, various openings were built up and all stone was raked and re-pointed and all M&E and lift installations completed.

Internally, we provided finishes such as ash doors, frames, architraves and skirtings; large glazed ash screens; stainless steel and ash balustrades and handrails to new staircases; a mixture of floor finishes including marmoleum, carpet tiles, porcelain tiles; complete painting and decorating and window blinds provided a very high level of finish to the completed building, ready for re-occupation. Site works involved kerbing, fencing, upgrading of site lighting and resurfacing of the access road and car park. Soft landscaping to selected areas was also included.

Working in a live hospital complex created many challenges and how we dealt with them was key to ensuring a safe and successful delivery of this project. There was a shared access into the site which was shared with employees of the hospital and all members of the public in terms of visitors/patients. This required a strict traffic management control plan that set out the procedures for access/deliveries etc. that was agreed with the client and design team following consultation with hospital staff.