Inveraray Castle 18th Century Painted Ceilings
In the course of refurbishing the private apartments at Inveraray Castle and installing pipework and cables, structural problems were uncovered in the first floors supporting the stunning painted ceilings of Tapestry Drawing Room and the formal Dining Room. These ceilings were erected by the plasterers John Clayton between September 1781 and October 1782 and decoratively painted by French artists working to Robert Mylne, the work being completed by 1789. They were very lucky to survive the two fires that have affected the castle, both of which destroyed the roof, one on 12 October 1877 and the other on 5 November 1975. In fact holes which are still visible were made in them to let thousands of gallons of fire-fighting water through.
Before work could proceed on strengthening the floors we brought in William McVey, a plasterer with very considerable experience in the restoration of historic plasterwork. By carrying out careful investigations he revealed that significant areas of the ceiling plasterwork were at risk of collapse. It was decided to secure the plasterwork by a combination of wire reinforced plaster “backjackets” on the upper side and mechanical fixing, mainly with screws and washers on the underside, the latter being embedded in the plasterwork and then filled. The screw fixings have been located in plain painted areas of the ceilings so making good the paintwork is straightforward. Structural repairs that transfer the loading from the floors above directly to the main structure and not to the ceilings have been carried out.
The refurbishment project is now at an advanced stage and the prospect of comfortable centrally heated family accommodation in the castle, for the first time ever, is not far away!
Before work could proceed on strengthening the floors we brought in William McVey, a plasterer with very considerable experience in the restoration of historic plasterwork. By carrying out careful investigations he revealed that significant areas of the ceiling plasterwork were at risk of collapse. It was decided to secure the plasterwork by a combination of wire reinforced plaster “backjackets” on the upper side and mechanical fixing, mainly with screws and washers on the underside, the latter being embedded in the plasterwork and then filled. The screw fixings have been located in plain painted areas of the ceilings so making good the paintwork is straightforward. Structural repairs that transfer the loading from the floors above directly to the main structure and not to the ceilings have been carried out.
The refurbishment project is now at an advanced stage and the prospect of comfortable centrally heated family accommodation in the castle, for the first time ever, is not far away!