STRUCTURAL APPRAISAL

GROVE HOUSE
SKERTON ROAD, MANCHESTER

V1.0 - 18/05/2009

Client: Fresh Start Living

Prepared by: Mick Silversides

N13078
March 2013

N13078 RP-01

STRUCTURAL APPRAISAL
GROVE HOUSE
SKERTON ROAD
MANCHESTER

CONTENTS

1.0

INTRODUCTION

2.0

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

3.0

DETAILS OF INSPECTION

4.0

CONCLUSIONS

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A PHOTOGRAPHS

N13078

Structural Appraisal

1.0

INTRODUCTION

1.1

On the instructions of Fresh Start Living, Patrick Parsons Limited Consulting Engineers
have been engaged to carry out a non-intrusive visual survey of Grove House, on
Skerton Road in the Stretford area of Manchester.

1.2

The purpose of the survey was to assess the structural condition of the existing building,
as far as visual means allow, and report on the suitability of the building for conversion
into residential accommodation.

1.3

In addition, the report will detail major defects and recommend further survey works to
investigate these defects should this be considered necessary.

1.4

The report is based on a visual, non-invasive survey, and no attempt was made to
remove fixtures, fittings or furniture. The survey of the external fabric was carried out
from ground level, and is therefore limited as a result.

1.5

The building is situated on Skerton Road, and all references to front, rear, left and right
are made assuming the reader is on Skerton Road looking directly at the building.

1.6

The survey was carried out on Tuesday 26th March 2013, and the weather was cold and
overcast, but dry.

1.7

Photographs taken at the time of the survey are included in Appendix A, and are crossreferenced to the relevant paragraphs.

N13078

Structural Appraisal

2.0

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

2.1

Grove House is a nine storey, plus roof top plant/lift motor room, former office building
located off Skerton Road, Manchester.

2.2

To the front elevation the cladding consists of horizontal brickwork panels to each floor
level, with continuous horizontal glazing to the full width of the elevation at each floor
level, punctuated by the vertical metal clad face of the columns. The plant room is set
back from the front elevation.

2.3

To the rear elevation the cladding is broadly the same as the front, but to the central
service core is full height brickwork punctuated by single windows to the toilets and lift
lobby, and full height strip windows and cladding panels to the staircases. The plant
room abuts the rear elevation, and its cladding is solid brickwork.

2.4

To the gable elevations the cladding comprises full height brickwork with a central
section of vertical glazing and cladding panels punctuated by the vertical metal clad face
of the central column. The plant room is set back from the gable elevations.

2.5

The building structure comprises a concrete flat slab supported on perimeter reinforced
concrete columns and a single line of central reinforced concrete columns. No
thickenings were noted around any column heads. Measurements taken in a small
service void suggest that the floor slab is in the order of 225mm thick, but this would
need to be confirmed by more invasive techniques. The gable ends appear to be
reinforced concrete shear walls with a single central reinforced concrete column.

2.6

At ground floor level the side walls to the entrance are of solid construction, we were not
able to determine whether they were reinforced concrete or blockwork construction. The
walls to the disabled toilet were also solid. Access to the left wing of the ground floor
was not possible during our survey.

2.7

There is a solid concrete/masonry core to the service area at the rear of the building
encompassing the staircases, lifts and toilets. We were able to confirm reinforced
concrete construction to the lift shafts and staircases, but the other walls would require
invasive survey work to confirm. The internal walls to the main toilets are lightweight
blockwork, and extend to the underside of the floor slab above.

2.8

The solid service core runs on the same line throughout the full height of the building. All
other walls are studwork, and the stud wall layout varies on every floor, with only the
service core being common to all levels.

2.9

To the perimeter of the building the floor slab steps to form a boot lintel, and this step
supports the brickwork cladding panels below the windows to the front and rear
elevations. We were not able to determine the details of any inner leaf, and invasive
survey work would be required to confirm this.

N13078

Structural Appraisal

2.10

All floors have a lightweight suspended lay-in grid ceiling system hung below the
structural concrete soffit. The service void created is not large. There remains the
original directly applied ceiling finish to the soffit of the slab, comprising a stippled finish
plaster painted white.

2.11

All floors generally have a carpeted finish applied directly to the concrete floor slab, with
the exception of old computer server rooms on the first and sixth floors that have a
raised floor system in place.

2.12

The only other notable variation was the presence of mobile storage racking located on
part of the fifth and sixth floors. No floor strengthening work was noted below either of
these areas.

2.13

The roof is accessed via the main left staircase that issues onto the roof via a single
storey masonry enclosure. This enclosure has a reinforced concrete frame and roof, and
is clad in brickwork to match the main building.

2.14

There is a rooftop plant room adjacent the access enclosure and this is split into two
areas, the first houses the lift motor room and the second houses other plant. Access
was not possible to either of these areas during our survey. The plant room is
approximately a storey and a half in height with solid masonry walls, and follows the line
of the service core below extending to the line of the central row of internal columns. The
access enclosure is set back from the internal columns following the line of the main
service core below.

2.15

The roof slab is of flat slab construction. The thickness of the roof slab could not be
determined, and neither could the nature of any finishes on the roof itself, other than the
waterproof membrane at the surface. This membrane extends to the full roof area and is
taken up the face and top of a small parapet to the full perimeter of the roof.

N13078

Structural Appraisal

3.0

DETAILS OF INSPECTION

3.1

All visible areas internally appear to be in good condition. The building is still
predominantly heated, and has been kept in a good state of repair generally.

3.2

The reinforced columns have a plaster finish internally, but no distress was noted to any
of the members inspected.

3.3

Local inspection of the flat slab soffit was made by lifting ceiling panels. While the slab
has a directly applied plaster finish, no obvious signs of stress or overloading were
evident at or around the inspected points.

3.4

Inspection of the ceiling over the eighth floor shows no obvious signs of water
penetration through the roof, suggesting the roof finishes are in good order. There were
isolated areas in other parts of the building where water staining was evident to ceiling
tiles, but it is suspected that these are due to leaking pipes. No obvious signs of ongoing
water ingress were noted during the survey.

3.5

Externally, the masonry cladding is in a good state of repair with no obvious defects
observed from ground level.

3.6

Windows all appear to be single glazed, aluminium framed units and are in reasonable
condition.

3.7

The external face of all of the reinforced concrete columns is clad in metal panels
precluding a detailed inspection.

3.8

The exposed section of floor slab/boot lintel below the brickwork panels to the front and
rear elevations is painted externally and is generally in good condition. There are a few
areas that have received minor repair work in the past, but the only observable defect
was to the top of a lintel over the rear eighth floor window directly against the left edge of
the service core. Here the concrete has spalled locally at the junction with the brickwork
to the service core.

3.9

Also to the rear elevation, the concrete lintels over the windows to the toilets generally
have a horizontal crack between the top of the lintel and the brickwork above. It is
suspected that these lintels are not integral with the floor slab, and this cracking is not
structurally significant.

3.10

The roof top parapet appears to be in good condition when observed from the ground
via binoculars. Inspection from the roof was considered too dangerous as the parapet is
only in the order of 300mm high with no edge protection. It should be noted that the
rooftop does have designated walkways that are barriered off.

N13078

Structural Appraisal

APPENDIX A
PHOTOGRAPHS

N13078

Structural Appraisal