Heritage Restoration: Addressing the Challenges

Historic buildings are a valued reminder of our rich heritage but maintaining and preserving these structures can be challenging. That’s where our shrink-wrap solutions come in; ensuring that heritage restoration can proceed safely and efficiently without compromising access and the original aesthetic.

The challenges of heritage restoration

Historic building preservation involves many complex challenges. Weather exposure during roof and façade work can damage sensitive materials and original features. Dust and debris from restoration work can affect the building’s interior and surrounding areas. There is also the need to maintain the building’s aesthetics, particularly in conservation areas where visual impact needs to be minimised.

These challenges can be further complicated by the fact that many buildings remain open during the work, so the conservation programme must ensure the safety of visitors, staff and occupants.

Creating a controlled environment

Traditional methods like scaffold sheeting can be unreliable and ineffective. Protective coverings for heritage restoration need to deliver a versatile yet robust, continuous barrier that goes beyond weatherproofing. By creating a drum-tight seal around the scaffolding and work areas, shrink-wrap encapsulation ensures the project remains within a controllable environment with potentially harmful by-products and contaminants contained. Restoration works, such as sandblasting inevitably produce dust, debris and harmful fumes that can damage the historic fabric of the building and the health of workers and visitors. Shrink-wrap is effective in containing these pollutants

Blending in with traditional architecture

Maintaining the building’s original character is a major challenge during heritage restoration. Standard wraps, traditionally in white, can clash with the historic stonework. Recognising the importance of aesthetic preservation, Tufcoat have developed colour options that blend seamlessly with heritage environments. Inspired by a potential contract at Somerset House, our team took to the streets armed with cameras and colour books to capture the true essence of these buildings, analysing Portland and York stone in different conditions and states of weathering.

“Our detailed research helped us to develop mood boards, which we segmented into grey and cream tones, designed to complement historic façades. These carefully selected colour options help heritage restoration projects blend with their surroundings, making them particularly suitable for sensitive locations like conservation areas and historic town centres.”

A perfect example is our project at the National Trust’s Dyrham Park, a Grade I listed 17th-century mansion near Bath. We installed approximately 2,000m2 of our flame-retardant shrink-wrap alongside a Kedar roof to encapsulate a 500-tonne scaffold structure during extensive roof and stonework restoration work. This created a weatherproof shelter that effectively contained dust and fumes during the works and enhanced the visitor experience by providing safe access to viewing platforms, allowing the public to see the heritage conservation in action.