Fixing the roof when the sun shines: Council HQ to be re-roofed

Published on 03 October 2024

Breen Construction will begin re-roofing the Council Headquarters on Thames Street from Monday 7 October.

The work, budgeted at $1 million, involves replacing the existing decades-old roofing with new coloursteel and butynol, renewing the guttering on the property and forming new stormwater overflows within the main roof gutters.

There will also be upgrades to the lift in the Thames Street building, the servicing and relocation of heat pumps, AC to a central location and a refurbishment of the flagpole.

The clock tower will also be washed and repaired. The roof railings and zinc tiles will be repainted, copper guttering and downpipes repaired, steam-cleaning, biocide application, repointing and repairing the masonry. 

The clock tower windows will also be repaired and repainted, and the fluorescent lighting behind the clock-face will be replaced with LED lighting.

Council first took possession of the former Post Office building in September 1994, following a $2.5 million dollar refurbishment.

The replacement of the roof is believed to be the first for several decades, and comes at a point where it is more cost-effective than continuing to maintain a deteriorating roof. This has included gutters not being able to handle heavy rainfall events, causing leaks into the building.

Grant Rhodes, Property Manager says: “Certain parts of the roofing are original, including the zinc tiles and lead on the tower. Some original clock face glazing, which has cracked over the last 121-years, will be replaced with heritage glass with Heritage NZ approval. We’ll be taking excellent care of one of Oamaru’s iconic heritage buildings with this work”

The building, which has been Heritage 1 listed since 1990, was designed by Forrester and Lemon in 1883 and opened in 1884. The clock tower was added a decade later in 1894, part of a bequeathment from John McLean of Redcastle. His nephew, John Buckley, started the clock and bells when they were installed in 1903.

The roof replacement was approved in the 2024-25 Enhanced Annual Plan and work is expected to be completed by February 2025.

ENDS