With 45 years of experience and a wealth of expertise, Sparks has become one of the most trusted welding companies in West London and beyond. We are no strangers to tricky projects and high profile clients, and handle each with the utmost care. It is thanks to this reputation that we were recently called out to help with two projects for the Crown Estate.
Windsor Castle
The first project was to take place at Windsor Castle. Built in the 11th century, time has begun to wear away at the ceiling of the castle’s boiler room leading to crumbling walls and ceilings. Sparks were called in to manufacture a solution to the problem, which was beginning to pose a health and safety risk.
Upon arriving at Windsor Castle, Grady at Sparks passed through a number of high security checks before donning a hard hat and heading through the Castle’s tunnels to reach the boiler room. These underground tunnels are built into the castle’s foundations and serve practical purposes for plumbing and heating as well as escape routes that may have been used in the castle’s past.
Once in the boiler room, Grady immediately understood the challenge and conducted an initial survey. It was quickly determined that the best solution would be for Sparks to custom-manufacture some trays with brackets that would hang in place just below the ceiling. These trays would be used to catch any falling debris from the 957 year-old structure.
We took the required measurements for the room and the ceiling, and drew up detailed specifications for the trays. These were then passed along to The Royal Estate for approval before work could commence.
The results
From the first initial survey to completion, the project took roughly 5 weeks to complete. The team at Windsor Castle were very happy with the outcome and the installed trays offered the perfect fix to the falling debris, allowing the boiler room to remain safe for its workers. The rubble and debris that had been collected by the trays was able to be recycled and reused throughout the remainder of the castle’s structure.
Royal Farms
The second project we conducted for the Crown Estate took us to an estate on one of the Royal Farms for a complex project that aimed to provide more privacy for high profile figures.
Some of the older gates on this estate were renowned amongst paparazzi thanks to the gaps in their design, which had frequently allowed photographers to take photos of those staying at the Royal Farm. This, naturally, posed a significant security risk and Sparks was called in to help increase security measures by covering many of these gaps.
As the gates were very old and of great historical importance, we had to take great care that none of the measures we introduced would damage the gates nor permanently modify them. This had the potential to be a challenging proposal, but with Spark’s experience and technical expertise, we were quickly able to come up with an innovative solution.
We adapted our usual techniques and custom manufactured metal clamps with box sections that would then be used to hold carefully-constructed sheeting. This sheeting would be able to perfectly cover the gaps in the gate with absolutely no damage to existing structure or its other security measures.
The results
This was a complex procedure, but we were able to turn it around in just 6 weeks. The team at the Crown Estate were very pleased with the outcome, and impressed by Spark’s speed, knowledge and ability to adapt to the brief.