ALL SAINTS NEEDED TO AND DID FIX THE FLOOR!

Posted by R.Broad on December 9, 2021

UPDATE Dec 2022

 

The Ecclesiastical and Heritage World feature of the floor restoration is now available as a pdf download; along with a few words in memoriam of Roderick Maclennen, All Saints late architect who was such a good friend of All Saints and oversaw the floor restoration. 

 

Please click HERE for the article.

 

UPDATE Nov 2022

 

The Floor Restoration project is featured on the Ecclesiastical and Heritage World website which can be seen HERE

 

UPDATE March 2022

 

The Floor Restoration project is featured in the March Newsletter of the Berkshire Historic Churches Trust and can be seen HERE

 

UPDATE Jan 2022

 

The Floor Restoration project is now featured on the Diocese of Oxford website and can be seen HERE

 

UPDATE Dec 2021

 

The floor is now restored and the Church is back in normal use. The new tiles will be polished in the New Year. Services are without the Dias at the moment whilst a decision is made for the future. A new, Digital, Sound System has also been installed which can have streaming added at a later stage if the demand is there.

 

A big big thank you to everyone who contributed to the project and to all those who have helped to fund the project.

 

As well as congregational support we received donations from:-

 

Berkshire Churches Trust

All Churches Trust

Garfield Weston

Shanly Foundation

Louis Baylis (Maidenhead Advertiser) Charitable Trust

Englefield Trust

Sabina Sutherland

Claire's Court School

Citygate Automotive

and a Grant from the RBWM with the two local Councillors nominating the Floor Project for their support.

 

UPDATE OCT 2021

 

After some difficulties along with some more unexpected issues the tiling stage is now making good progress.

 

It is planned to be able to move back into the Church around the middle of November (2021).

 

After the tiling has been completed assistance will be needed to put the furniture and other items back into place - if you feel able to help with this please contact Ken.

 

 

UPDATE JUNE 2021

 

The floor restoration project is making good progress and is still on target to enable the Church to be re-opened by the end of September.

 

As with all projects of this nature some unexpected issues have arisen which have been dealt with, these include the need to re-route pipes that were exposed when the floor was taken up and needing to deal with some asbestos discovered, along with a few more minor items.

 

A pdf with more details, along with information about a book produced detailing the Stained Glass Windows of All Saints, which is on sale with 100% of the price (thanks to a generous donation) going to the floor fund, can be found HERE

 

A big thanks to everyone who are delivering on their pledges and to those who have either increased their pledge and/or made additional donations to help meet the shortfall of approx. £30,000 identified below.

 

With the increased donations, along with the extra work, the exact shortfall is subject to change, however it is currently looking at around £20,000.

 

Again, if you are able to either make another donation, or extend or increase your pledge that would be most helpful and would be gratefully received.

 

Please click here to see a note detailing what is needed and how people can, if they are able, help with this to minimise the use of Church Reserves and to help rebuild them.

 

Many thanks

 

UPDATE MARCH 2021

 

The floor restoration project has now started and services (when in person) will be held in the Parish Centre until the Church reopens - hopefully in September of this year (dependant upon progress)

 

UPDATE 30th Jan 2021.

 

The project to fix the floor is now going ahead - fund-raising has brought us to within £30,000 of the total needed.

 

Whilst the balance of £30,000 can be taken from the Church Reserves, these will need to be rebuilt.

 

Please click here to see a note detailing what is needed and how people can, if they are able, help with this to minimise the use of Church Reserves and to help rebuild them.

 

A great big thank you for everyone who has contributed, in money and time, to enable us this essential work to enable the use of, and mission of, All Saints to continue and develop.

 

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A big thank you to everyone who has contributed or pledged to date - we are well on our way and these pledges will help to support our fund-raising applications.

 

 

FUND-RAISING CONTINUES

Please see the presentation below (The Galilee Project) - if you feel you can assist please return pledge forms to the Church office.

We are pleased to have the support of our local councillors for this project - see the video here

The Church Floor needs fixing and below is an update to the condition, work carried out to date and the status of the project to fix the floor - the leaflet that has been distributed can also be downloaded in pdf form here:-

 

Pledges of support opened on the 22nd Sept 2019 at the Special Meeting - to assist with External Fundraising we would with the initial return by the end of Oct 2019. The total fund-rasing, including donations, fund raising activities and pledges came to approx £140,000. Fund raising, both internal and external,  continues, please assist if you are abke to. The pledge form can be downloaded here.

 

ALL SAINTS – we want to FIX THE FLOOR!

Click clack! Click clack! What a familiar sound as we walk up and down the aisles.

But perhaps we have got too used to it and not realised that the area from which the noise is coming is increasing. And why? Because the floor is deteriorating more and more rapidly and causing more and more tiles to become loose or cracked.  We surely want to ensure the floor is made good again; otherwise as a church we shall be in trouble! We would like you to know what is happening.

The PCC has been actively considering the problem and has set up a flooring project task force to investigate the problem and recommend the way forward.

We needed to know how the floor had been constructed so, with the permission of the Diocese, two test holes which you have probably noticed were dug under the supervision of our architect and a tiling specialist, one under the piano and another by the pillar on the north side of the nave, and which have since been filled in.

These revealed that the floor is soundly built on some two feet of tightly packed rubble (so tight that a kangol hammer had to be used to break it out) and a screed of lime mortar was laid on top in order to provide a level surface on which to lay the tiles. These excavations revealed that the top of the rubble had not been packed level so that when the lime mortar was laid on top we found it was sometimes thick enough to support the tiles but in other places it is too thin, hence the tiles have been loosening and breaking up.

This is not a new problem. You may have also  noticed the extensive cement areas under the carpet in the centre aisle and to the side of the dais behind the lectern. That has been there since before any of us can remember and surely done before the Diocese, Historic England, Victorian Society etc became fully vigilant to the proper care of listed buildings. This would not be allowed now.

The problem lies with the original floor and not the extension to the West.

Carpet and linoleum have been carefully considered as solutions but the carpet companies say they cannot lay on loose tiles, and linoleum traps damp underneath it.

We do not know where the lime mortar layer is too thin – it could be anywhere in the original church floor – and therefore we believe it makes sense to repair the whole of the floor, as attempts at patching obvious spots may reveal further problems that we had not expected or budgetted for. The proposal therefore is to photograph and take up all the tiles, excavate partly the substrata, refill, add a waterproof membrane, provide a correct lime mortar screed and then relay the original tiles supplemented by new ones as necessary. The tile pattern will be exactly as the original.

An initial estimate indicates that it could cost up to £300, 000 to repair. (Revised quotations show this could be nearer to £250,000).

The on-site work could take about six months when the church will be closed for services, and we think this could be after Easter and before Advent in 2021. Consequently we see the parish centre as the core for our Sunday services but we would also like to explore the possibility of sharing our faith elsewhere in  the community as well and engaging the community more with ourselves.

To take on this task will be an enormous act of faith on all our parts and we need seriously to consider how much prayer, time and financial support we should be giving in order to enjoy the building as a focus for our worship and to provide a sound basis for ourselves and future generations in moving forwards. We will seek support from certain Trusts which are prepared to provide money for such projects but we will be working in a very competitive market and there is no doubt that our own sacrificial support will be a prime mover in achieving our aims. We will share with you later on in more detail just how you can provide your support

This is an exciting opportunity for growth and mission.

We will keep you in touch as the project progresses and show you just how you can ensure we look forward to “the Sound of Silence”.

We do however need to know that you the congregation want meaningfully to support this so please will you tell one of us that you do or just send ‘i/we will support the floor project’ to ken.smith1@btinternet.com. This is really important, but by all means also ask any questions you want to of us.

Fr. Jeremy, Ann Rawlings, Ken Smith

“Put out into deep water”; Jesus’ challenge to Simon Peter.