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Montalto Estate, Ballynahinch

Ballynahinch, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
In 2009, the Montalto Estate in Ballynahinch changed its use from a private residence to an exclusive events venue. In doing so, extensive renovations and refurbishments were required. Stronghold Preservation tendered, and were successful, for structural repair works required for the Threshing Mill; an old stone building, which, now beautifully restored, is used as a wedding and function room. A series of Cintec stitching anchors were diamond drilled and installed, as per the engineers instructions, in order to repair fracture cracks in the stone walls, thereby stabilising the structure. In addition, the timber trusses were suffering from wet rot, and required repairs using a timber resin splice method.

Further Information


Timber Resin Splice - Trusses and Beams
The existing timber trusses in the mill had been affected by wet rot at the bearing ends; Stronghold Preservation cut away the affected portions of timber, and repaired the trusses using a timber resin splice technique.  This involved the trusses being repaired by splicing on a portion of reclaimed pitch pine; bonded seamlessly together using resin and metal rods, inserted into grooves within the trusses.  This allowed the majority of the existing timber to be retained, and results in a discreet finish; essential in a historic building with aesthetically important trusses. 

Timber floor beams were also repaired using the timber splice method, again because wet rot was found at the bearing ends; however, aesthetic finish was not an important reason in using the splice method in this instance.  The timber splice method is a quicker and more economical way to repair the timber floor beams; conventional methods would have necessitated significant disturbance of the ground floor.  Our operatives were able to repair the beams with little inconvenience to the existing structure; having only to remove the wet rot affected timber portions, and splice onto the existing beam, in line with the existing beams.

History
The Montalto Estate, a privately owned House, set within 400 acres of land, recently underwent major renovations and is now an exclusive venue for weddings, banquets and special occasions.  The original house dates from 1765. 

The 19th Century Threshing Mill (circa 1850), is a grade B listed building and is now used as a venue for hosting weddings and events; named 'The Carriage Rooms'.