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CITY DEVELOPMENT

PROPERTY SERVICES

CONDITION SURVEY

EDINBURGH MUSEUM AND ACHESON HOUSES

CANONGATE

EDINBURGH

City Development

Property Services

329 High Street Surveyor :Janis Dunn

Edinburgh EH1 1PN September 2007

CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 SUMMARY OF CONDITION

2.1 EXTERNAL FABRIC

2.2 ROOFS AND ASSOCIATED ELEMENTS

2.3 EXTERNAL WALLS

2.4 EXTERNAL RAINWATER GOODS

2.5 EXTERNAL JOINERY

2.6 STAIRWELLS/RAMPS/ESCAPE STAIRS

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2.7 SPECIAL INSTALLATIONS

3.0 INTERNAL FABRIC

3.1 INTERNAL WALLS

3.2 INTERNAL FLOORS

3.2 INTERNAL CEILINGS

4.0 SERVICES

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 ITEMS REQUIRING SPECIALIST REPORT/FURTHER INVESTIGATION

5.2 ITEMS REQUIRING URGENT ATTENTION

5.3 ASBESTOS

5.4 FIRE PRECAUTIONS

5.5 HEALTH & SAFETY

5.6 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT

6.0 SURVEY PHOTOGRAPHS

7.0 APPENDIX

Asbestos surveys

Conservation Plan

Scottish Lime Centre Report

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A commission was received on the 28^th June to carry out surveys to 10 museums & monuments around Edinburgh. The brief was to provide condition surveys on the properties without any specialist access. The grounds, car parks, outbuildings, boundary walls etc, are not to be included in the report, due to the restriction on budget.

Recommendations are to be made on future maintenance, specialist surveys and whether a more detailed inspection requires to take place using access equipment.

Photographs have been taken of the building to supplement the findings detailed in the report. It was agreed that only guide costings would be provided on the major items, due to the restrictions on the scope of the survey.

The purpose of the survey is for structural and fabric appraisal. Identification of defects, Health & Safety issues and provision of recommendations.

For the purpose of this survey the front entrance has been deemed to be North West facing.

The survey was carried out on 4^th September 2007.

The weather conditions on the day of the survey were dry and bright.

A full and detailed description of both the style and history of the building are given in the Conservation plan which forms part of this report. The plan was done in November 2002 and as it is very comprehensive it is the intention of this report to act as an update on the condition of the building between then and now.

None

Access was obtained to all rooms in both building except to the small cupboard in the main room on the ground floor in Acheson House. The rear gardens to Acheson House were also not surveyed.

1.7.2 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1995

Edinburgh Museum has disabled access to the ground floor only via the main entrance but all other areas of the building inaccessible. Acheson House has never been considered with regards to DDA, if it was opened up access would again only be available to the ground floor. There is little scope in either building to provide any future access to the upper floors due to their configuration.

No outbuildings, grounds, car parks, boundary walls or landscaping have been included within the survey.

The Museum of Edinburgh is directly accessed from the Royal Mile. There is also a staff access point in Bakehouse close and a gated pend to the rear gardens again off the close.

Acheson house can be accessed either from the High Street via a gate on the boundary wall or a gate in the rear wall off Bakehouse Close. The Bakehouse close access is now so overgrown that it is probably inaccessible.

I

See next page.

A full report on the history of the building was given in the Conservation Plan which was done in 2002 by Tod and Taylor Architects. This forms an appendix to this report.

2.0 SUMMARY OF CONDITION

The Conservation Plan gave a comprehensive account of the condition of the buildings in 2002. There has not been any notable deterioration since that time apart from Acheson House roof, however, there has been work carried out to Acheson House and therefore the purpose of this report is to update the information in order to give an accurate account of the building condition at present.

2.1 EXTERNAL FABRIC

2.2 ROOFS AND ASSOCIATED ELEMENTS

The roof to the museum was completely overhauled and all the lead work and skews replaced around twelve years ago and from ground level it seems to be in a very good state of repair. The chimneys have all had their pots replaced and pointing works seem to have taken place. There are no concerns regarding the water tightness of the roof.

Acheson House roof was looked at by Building Design Services in excess of five years ago and was found at that time to be in a very poor state of repair. Due to the listing status of the building, Historic Scotland were called in to look at the roof and identify the slates. A cherry picker was hired to allow them to look at the roof closely. They reported that when replacement takes place it would have to be done on a like for like basis which will prove to be very costly. Since this survey the roof has deteriorated further to the point where it is recommended that the access onto the rear courtyard is locked and anyone entering this area would require to wear a hard hat. There is evidence of severe nail sickness and the courtyard is full of broken slates. A more detailed survey of the roof is required to give an accurate cost for repair. There is new evidence of dampness inside the building which infers that the chimneys are leaking again.

Recommend a survey of the roof again using access equipment to establish condition of roof and provide costings

2.3 EXTERNAL WALLS

The external walls are all in relatively good condition. There is evidence of isolated areas where cement rich over pointing has taken place. It is recommended that if any pointing is done it should be in line with the report carried out on the building by the Scottish Lime Centre in July 2004 (Appendix to this report).

The rear of the Edinburgh museum has areas of boss render. Though this requires to be replaced it is not in danger of falling off and at present it would seem to be fairly water tight.

To the front elevation there is one isolated patch of rising damp and this requires to be investigated further by a specialist.

The vents at ground level (rear) require to be pointed as a matter of urgency to prevent vermin entering the building.

2.4 EXTERNAL RAINWATER GOODS

Commensurate with the age of the building, all the rainwater goods are in cast iron to the rear and there are some timber rhones with lead lining to the front of the building these are all in good condition. However to the rear of the buildings there is evidence of vegetation in the gutters. All gutters therefore require to be cleaned and checked to see that they are running clear.

In the garden area to the rear of Edinburgh Museum there are sections of both guttering and down pipes that are rusting and leaking and will require to be replaced. All of the rainwater goods in this area require to be painted.

There is a hand hole to the down pipe at ground level at the rear of Edinburgh museum that has been protected with denzo tape. The Hand hole cover is probably missing and this requires to be repaired.

All rainwater goods at Acheson House require to be painted and cleared of debris.

2.5 EXTERNAL JOINERY

Museum of Edinburgh

All of the windows are timber single glazed and in generally good conditioned. Painting has taken place in the last few years. There is evidence of a few broken panes of glass that require to be replaced. Many of the windows have been protected by bars externally and these have also been painted.

All external doors are solid timber and have been either painted or stained. No action is required as they are all in good condition.

There are two extensions to the original building in Bakehouse close and these are partially panelled. They are in good conditioned and have been well maintained.

Acheson House

All the windows are timber single glazed and are generally in a very poor condition. They all require to be sanded down and painted, pointed and in most cases the glass requires to be replaced as many panes are either cracked or broken. There are grilles on many of the downstairs windows and these require to be taken off, cleaned and painted. Isolated timber repairs may require to take place externally where rot has affected the timber cills.

There is a timber balcony to the front of the building at the first floor of the building which is accessed through the timber double doors. This area was previously run as a craft centre. Closer examination of the balcony requires to take place but it is possible that it is unsafe and should not be used.

All of the doors to the building are solid timber and require to be maintained.

There are precast concrete steps to the rear of Edinburgh Museum forming an escape route from the building. The bottom step requires to be repaired and there is a vertical rail missing from the cast iron handrail.

At the rear of the close to the right of the building there is a door which is accessed by stone steps, the bottom step here also requires to be repairs. Above the doorway is an ornate lintel which is also requires attention.

The stone steps to Acheson house will also have to be repaired as there is evidence of damage.

.2.7 SPECIAL INSTALLATIONS

None

3.0 INTERNAL FABRIC

The museum has predominantly rendered and whites washed walls or exposed stone walls all in very good condition and no action is required. Splash backs require to be fitted behind the sinks in the toilet areas.

Acheson House has a combination of lath and plaster and panelled walls all of which are in fairly good condition on the lower floors. The fireplaces are all exposed stone and there is evidence of dampness around the fireplace especially on the ground floor. As part of the refurbishment when the floor was replaced it was found that there was dampness penetration caused by the chimneys. The chimneys were all swept and the plaster was removed round the fireplaces and all the stone treated. All of the specialist works were carried out by Rentokil and it is recommended that they are called back in as the original works were covered by a guarantee. The most likely cause of the dampness is water egress around the base of the chimney which would have to be examined as part of the roof survey.

In the upper part of the building the walls are finished with horse hair plaster. This was previously tested for the presence of anthrax but none was found. Dampness has caused many areas of plaster to fall off. This would have to be looked at in detail when considering the future use of the building.

Recommend that a specialist contactor looks at the dampness to the fireplace walls.

3.2 INTERNAL FLOORS

The floors in Edinburgh Museum are a combination of stone flags, sprung timber flooring and carpet on solid floor. They are all in good condition though the timber flooring would benefit from being more securely nailed in places as it has sprung and is quite noisy underfoot especially on the ground floor and the carpet needs replacing.

The flooring to the toilets is tiles and is all in good condition.

As a result of an asbestos survey in the building, it was discovered that there was asbestos deafening under all the timber floors in Acheson House. A contract was awarded by Building Design Services to uplift all the floors and remove all asbestos which was tested and found to be blue, the most dangerous type. On completion of the works it was agreed by the client that as there was future refurbishment plans for the building that all the timber flooring should be carefully numbered and set aside but not replaced. The floors are still laid aside and therefore no one should be allowed to enter the building without protective footwear and an awareness of health and safety when walking on joists.

The ground floor has a solid floor and so is not affected.

During the works the electric cabling under the floor was tested for the presence of asbestos but none was found.

Edinburgh Museum

The boiler house ceiling is asbestos and requires to be sealed and monitored on a regular basis.

The rest of the building has plaster ceilings, exposed beam or timber rafters on the top floor. There are hairline cracks to the plaster ceiling but no action is required. All other ceilings are in a good condition.

Acheson House

The ground floor ceiling in the main hall is ornate plaster and has a crack running across it. This was evident at the time of the asbestos removal and was propped and protected from below for the duration of the works. The crack has not moved since the works took place.

Some of the upper floor rooms have ornate panelled ceiling all of which are in good condition. Generally the ceilings do not require any action at this time.

Edinburgh Museum has many timber internal stairs. They are all in good condition and no action is required.

Acheson House has many panelled walls and ceiling but these have been dealt with in previous sections.

Skirtings to both buildings are timber are timber and are in good condition.

All of the staircases in Acheson House are stone with ornate cast iron handrails. These are in good condition.

The toilets and wash hand basins in Edinburgh Museum were examined and found to be in good condition and in full working order.

Acheson House - the water was turned off at the time of the survey but the toilets would all require to be replaced as part of any refurbishment. There is currently a full bathroom on all floors and on the ground floor there is also a Belfast sink behind a screen which could be reused.

All the plumbing through out the building requires to be inspected in detail but this could only be done once a decision has been made what the future of the building is to be. It is likely that there is lead pipes throughout the building that will require replacement.

Non Destructive and Non Invasive.

A survey of the mechanical and electrical building services installation was carried out at the Museum of Edinburgh during September 2007. This survey consisted of a visual inspection of the services installations only. No testing was carried out on any system, but comments were taken from the staff and users where appropriate. No test records or insurance reports have been viewed as part of this survey. No checks or investigation into asbestos have been carried out as part of this survey.

Acheson House - The electrical installation within Acheson House is completely obsolete.

Recommendation - Rewiring should be planned for in any future development of this property.

Recommendation - Change the main switchboard to a moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB) type or high rupture capacity (HRC) fuse type board to give discrimination between the main switchboard and local distribution boards. Also carry out regular annual inspections of the installation with testing being carried out on a three yearly basis.

Recommendation - Convert system to an analogue addressable system by retaining existing cabling and replacing the panel and devices.

Recommendation - Install replacement luminaires in keeping with the building and surroundings.

Recommendation - Review intruder detection for more discreet units, and review current camera technologies for low or no-light capabilities. Upgrade the CCTV recording to digital format with local DVD writing facilities for evidential purposes if required. This should be given a high priority.

Costs reported are based on present day (October 2007) installation costs only. Please note that the budget costs do not account for any builders work, professional fees, main contractors profit or asbestos removal and assumes that existing distribution runs can be adequately cleaned using chemicals.

Building Services Installations

Electrical Installation

The electrical installation throughout the museum is some 30-40 years old, although it is difficult to be exact as there were no visible dates, and the staff were unsure of the exact date, but regardless it is certainly more than 25 years which would be the normal life time for a commercial installation.

However the installation itself is in a fair and serviceable condition and there is no evidence of any abuse, stress or strain having been applied to the installation.

Distribution, Sub-main and sub circuit wiring

The main electrical supply to the museum is a three phase and neutral (TP&N) supply derived from the Council's contracted electrical suppler. The main switchboard is a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) board giving no discrimination between the main switchboard and local MCB distribution board. The main switchboard should be changed to a moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB) type or high rupture capacity (HRC) fuse type board.

Distribution boards with miniature circuit breakers (MCB) of varying sizes dependent on the area being served. These are in good condition and the staff have also reported that there have been no faults or concerns with these boards at the time of the survey.

The sub circuit wiring from the distribution boards, is generally wired in MICC cable and serves both the lighting and power circuits within the museum. This cabling is old, but there is no evidence of ware and tear or stress or strain. Again staff have reported that they have no concerns with this part of the installation.

Lighting

The gallery lighting throughout the museum is generally unsatisfactory due to large number of faulty luminaires and inappropriate replacement luminaires all with local switching. Staff areas have fluorescent lighting also with local switching. A more detailed investigation should be carried out with a view to upgrading the luminaires to long lamp luminaires but these would require to be in keeping with the building and surroundings.

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Small Power

Sockets outlets within the gallery areas are generally flush within the building fabric and provide supplies for the display cabinets and cleaning purposes etc. Staff areas have also socket outlets for normal office use e.g. PC's equipment etc.

Fire Alarms

A fire alarm system is installed throughout the museum and consists of manual break glass units, alarm bells and automatic smoke and heat detection. The system is a 24V zoned system with 6 of the possible 8 zones within the panel being utilised, the system is connected to the local fire authority via an automatic digital dialler. The panel and activation units should be considered for replacement An investigation should carried out with a view to converting the current system to an analogue addressable type, which would allow the exact location of any activation to be known.

Emergency Lighting

The emergency lighting comprises of self contained luminaires located throughout the museum.

Intruder Alarms & CCTV

There are extensive intruder alarm and CCTV systems located throughout the museum. The intruder alarm is controlled from a master and slave panels. This system comprises of PIR and vibration detectors with alarm audio verification. The detectors are of an older type and should be considered for replacement with a more modern smaller unit.

The CCTV system has old mono cameras but these have limited capabilities during the night and records using VHS video tapes. A more detailed investigation is required to upgrade the system to low or no-light capability cameras and recording to digital format with local DVD writing facilities for evidential purposes if required.

Mechanical Installation

A condition survey was carried out at the Museum of Edinburgh on the 18th September 2007. This survey consisted of a visual, non-evasive inspection of the mechanical service installations only. The report that follows gives a brief outline of the mechanical services identified on site. It also provides details on the condition of these services and any alterations or proposals that the author feels is required. Please note that no testing was carried out on the systems but comments were taken from staff and users where appropriate.

Main Heat Source

Four, natural gas fired, atmospheric boilers currently supply low pressure hot water (LPHW) to most areas of the premises. Although these Hamworthy boilers continue to operate, they were installed approximately twenty seven years ago and have exceeded their useful life expectancy. This plant should be replaced within the next two years.

Fig 1 - Existing Boilers in Plant room

LPHW is pressurised within the plant room before being pumped through a micro-bore pipe work system to a number of fan convectors and low surface temperature (LST) radiators. The fan convectors (mostly manufactured by Biddle) are in very poor condition, with approximately fifty percent of emitters failing to supply any heat. Currently, staff operate a small electric heater to provide an element of thermal comfort. All fan convectors require immediate replacement.

The LST radiators are old and damaged but continue to work. The author suggests that these radiators be replaced within the next two years.

The ageing pressurisation set and circulation pumps associated with heat distribution continue to operate but have recently been repaired. The pressurisation set should be replaced within the next two years however; the circulating pumps could possibly run trouble free for a further five years.

Fig 2 - Existing LPHW Fan Convector Fig 3 - Existing LST Radiator

Domestic Water Services

Two cold water storage tanks are located within the building, one in the attic space and the other in a third floor office. Both tanks are constructed from timber, are lead lined and are in fair condition for their age. These tanks should be replaced within a year as they currently fail to meet legislation and local byelaws. A small hot water cylinder (located on 3^rd floor) generates a limited supply of hot water for a local pantry and toilets. The remaining toilets and staff kitchen is supplied with only cold water, with connections to instantaneous water heaters.

The water service systems found within the staff's kitchen were found to be in poor condition. In particular, the kitchen's toilet currently has no hand wash facilities so it would be considered a top priority to introduce new hot and cold water services within this area.

Fig 4 - Staff Kitchen

Ventilation & Air Conditioning

Ventilation should exist on a point of use basis however; most windows (excluding three) have been permanently closed for security purposes. Additionally, as these windows have no `trickle ventilators' current ventilation rates will not conform to current building regulations. The author proposes that current security procedures are revised or trickle ventilation be introduced so basic comfort and legislative criteria is met. This may prove difficult as the building will almost certainly be listed. It may also be prudent to revise current single glazed units to double glazed units so that the building's heat demand is lowered.

Exhaust fans are fitted to internal toilet and kitchen areas. Some of these fans are not operating correctly and require replacement within a year.

All humidifiers (Andrews) are in poor condition and fail to operate. The break tank and associated booster pump that is supposed to supply water to the de-humidifiers is very old and no longer operates. As the museum's structure is old and deals with historic artefacts, the existing humidifier system should be replaced to protect local fabrics within the next two years.

Fig 5 - Existing De-humidifier Fig 6 - Window Security Stops

Fig 7 - Break Tank & Booster Pump

Gas Infrastructure

There are two gas meters that serve the building, one is located within the plantroom (No. 602438) and the other is in the staff kitchen (No. 1092926). Both are in fair condition and do not require revision.

Fig 8 - Plantroom's Gas Meter Fig 9 - Kitchen's Gas Meter

Automatic Controls

Currently, TAC Andover supply control for the main circulator pump, fan heaters, fan flue system and pressurisation set. Staff commentated that the `auto-changeover' facility did not work when a recent pump failure occurred. As control systems are usually bespoke, any alterations may be expensive. If the main boiler plant is replaced within the next two years, the author suggests that the controls system be revised also. Two heat sensors currently monitor the building's ambient temperature so that the boiler plant's operation is optimised. These sensors are located on the first and third floors however, following staff comments it may be best to try and relocate these sensors to provide more accurate readings. This action is not essential but would be provide greater comfort to occupants once the broken emitters are revised.

Control Panel in Plant room

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

Cost of Recommendations for Electrical Works

Cost of Recommendation for Mechanical Works

Below is a summary of the proposals outlines in the following report.

Action: Suggested Date: Budget Cost

Replace four existing boilers Within two years £ 13,000.00

Replace press set Within two years £ 6,100.00

Replace primary pumps Within five years £ 2,000.00

Replace automatic controls Within two years £ 12,000.00

Replace LST radiators Within two years £ 6,000.00

Replace fan convectors Immediately £ 32,500.00

Replace de-humidifier system Within two years £ 9,000.00

Replace break tanks & pumps Within two years £ 4,500.00

Add trickle ventilation Within one year £ 8,700.00

Replace exhaust fans Within one year £ 5,000.00

Replace water storage tanks Within one year £ 9,000.00

Revise domestic water services Within two years £ 1,000.00

Provide hand wash facilities Immediately £ 2,000.00

Total Cost: £110,800.00

5.1 ITEMS REQUIRING SPECIALIST REPORT/FURTHER INVESTIGATION

It is recommended that a detailed survey be carried out on Acheson House to give accurate costings for the external works. This will require to be done using specialist access equipment and should again involve Historic Scoland. Internally, Rentokil should be called in to determine the route of the dampness to the main fireplaces. Part of the works may be covered under the original guarantee.

5.2 ITEMS REQUIRING URGENT ATTENTION

As per Health and Safety.

5.3 ASBESTOS

The asbestos surveys for the buildings forms an appendix to this report.

Acheson House - The survey was updated after all the asbestos was removed from under the floor as detailed previously in this report.

Edinburgh Museum - The date of the report is 26 March 2003. There is still asbestos present in the building and this requires to be monitored on a regular basis. There are some exposed edges to the asbestos ceiling tiles and these require to be sealed immediately.

5.4 FIRE PRECAUTIONS

The Fire signage all seems to be up to date through out the museum. The signage in Acheson House is practically non existent.

5.5 HEALTH & SAFETY

The courtyard needs to be made a hard hat only area for fear of falling slates. Hand wash facilities require to be provided immediately as highlighted in the M&E report.

5.6 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT

Any refurbishment of Acheson House would have to consider the DDA though it will probably be impossible to give full access to the entire building.

There is no action that can be taken at Edinburgh Museum without major internal reconfiguration.

6.0 SURVEY PHOTOGRAPHS (Fabric)

The photographs that follow were taken to enhance the written report and are referred to in the foregoing text.

CONDITION SURVEY

Museum of Edinburgh and Acheson House

EDINBURGH

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