Coptic Church no quick fix
Repairs and earthquake strengthening work on the historic St George Coptic Church in Timaru is making slow progress with the finish date now closer to mid-2023.
‘‘A job like this is not a quick process,’’ the project’s foreman, Jayden Gerbich from David Fridd Builders, said yesterday about a project that began last December and was hoped to be finished by Christmas.
‘‘I’m pleased with the outcome of how it looks, and I am pleased with the finished product from all the trades.’’
Gerbich said the scaffold on the 119-year-old church’s tower should be removed by Christmas, the steelwork to the nave should be started in the new year with the new Ecostar tiles due midFebruary, and they aim to be finished mid2023.
‘‘The church have put a lot of effort into preserving this church/icon of Timaru, it is awesome to have the opportunity to be involved with this project also,’’ Gerbich said.
Church spokesperson Dr Albert Makary said they chose the Ecostar tiles because they are likely to last more than 100 years before they need replacing.
‘‘We are importing the tiles, and they are due to arrive in 2023.
‘‘The tiles will be the exact colour to keep the look of the heritage building,’’ Makary said.
Gerbich said they have put in new TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) membrane to the lower flat area of the spire, new custom-made aluminium tiles and ridge caps to the complete spire, new fibreglass detailing at the mid-span of the spire and a new fibreglass steeple at the top with the addition of a cross at the top.
‘‘We have replaced the sash windows up the top of the tower and re-painted.
‘‘We are repairing some cracks to the west side of the tower. We have added steel bracing to the four corners and parapets of the tower.
‘‘Inside the tower we have added a substantial steel cage structure to brace up the brickwork. We have re-painted the bell tower louvres and added new bird proofing to them also.
‘‘We have replaced the lighting to the exterior of the spire, also we have replaced/upgraded the lightning strike.’’
Gerbich said they removed some of the scaffold after the spire roof was completed which allowed them to continue adding steel bracing to the four exterior corners of the tower.
‘‘Next the scaffold on the tower will be removed.
‘‘The main slate tile roof to the nave will be removed, more steel work added to brace up both side walls and roof structure, a new roofing product Ecostar tiles will be installed to the remainder of the roof,’’ Gerbich said.
Makary said any trust or person wanting to donate to the project is welcome.
‘‘Unfortunately the council couldn’t contribute at all to the heritage building’s repairs in the form of funding, donations or loans but wished us good luck and are supportive of the project.
‘‘I think by the time we are finished, we will have a robust weather and earthquake-proofed church. We are also looking for volunteers to take care of the green area around the church.’’
He said they are doing more repairs than originally anticipated, especially after the high scaffolding went up and they saw the true extent of the hail damage on the roof.
He added that the damage was not clear when it was checked by a drone.
The cost has escalated to at least $2 million from the $800,000 originally projected with delays and freight costs adding to the issue after a decision was made to replace all the tiles at once.