Associated Steel Window Services (ASWS) carefully selects skilled operatives for its specialist projects, ensuring they are fully prepared for the unique challenges involved. Each team member receives comprehensive training to approach every task with confidence and diligence, supported by the right safety equipment and expert supervision. This commitment to excellence enabled ASWS to deliver outstanding results on projects such as the restoration of 40 distinctive ‘porthole’ and rectangular steel windows overlooking Westminster Bridge.
Recently completed, the contract concerned the 5th and 6th floors of The Marriott Hotel which forms part of the iconic County Hall building, once occupied by the Greater London Council (GLC), and where ASWS has undertaken multiple contracts for different clients over the past 30 years. This most recent one was won partly on the basis of its unrivalled experience in the field, but was the first time the company had worked with either the main contractor Red Construction or Studio Loren, which led the design work.
Having initially assisted a previous architect with technical advice and preliminary assessments of the damage the ageing steel windows had suffered, ASWS began work on site during the summer of 2023, but had to take multiple breaks due to the complexity of the internal reconfigurations being carried out by Red Construction. Significantly, the difficulty of overhauling and redecorating the 15 crescent-shaped porthole windows at 5th floor level, that included a large central roundel with no opening vents, and the two dozen rectangular windows, mainly measuring 1800 x 2000mm and arranged across both floors, was magnified by it not being possible to scaffold the elevations involved.
The Operations Director for ASWS, Kris Bennell, explained: “While we were only decorating the inside of the windows, a lot of them had to be deglazed which, without scaffolding, required special measures and very strict procedures to ensure the work was carried out safely – both for our staff and the public. We have a ‘tool tethering’ system for any of our operatives to use when required; the NLG, or Never Let Go toolbelt secures hammers, screwdrivers or anything else to their bodies using tethers, tapes and lanyards. If the tool does not have an eyehole or other attachment point, a special tape is applied around the handle to secure the cable. It is not just the initial training which all our operatives undergo, but also explaining the importance and managing it on a contract-by-contract basis which results in our excellent safety record going back years.
“Not only was it many of the steel frames with their through-glazing bars that were in need of significant repair, but much of the glazing also had to be replaced, while all of the ironmongery had to be demounted. The glass was internally beaded which helped, but being located up on the fifth floor there is obviously a large potential ‘fall zone’ so we had to set up quite a wide exclusion zone on the ground below; while we worked during County Hall’s non-operational hours. The team got in early and worked from 5am before the restaurant below opened, carrying out all the hazardous tasks. In addition, we applied a very strong film across the surfaces of the glass before we broke any of it out.”
While the majority of the windows were refurbished in-situ, two which had been isolated for decades by a false wall were found to be very heavily corroded as they took the brunt of the weather off the river. Fortunately, these were demounted from a balcony and removed from site for full restoration: with shot-blasting revealing many parts that required replacement. No longer in production, the Mid-Universal sections had to be fabricated from flat bar and angle lengths in the ASWS workshops and then welded into position.
Kris Bennell summed up: “Sequencing was a challenge and managing noise was particularly restricting as, apart from the two floors we were working on, the hotel remained fully occupied. For instance, the principal suite in the Marriott was above us on the 7th floor, and overall, we were limited to a three-hour period every day, before lunch when we could make noise. However, we stuck to our initial quotation, and the different operations were completed in coordination with the other trades.”
ASWS offers a full range of survey, repair, replica replacement and maintenance services for all ages and types of metal and timber windows. For more information on ASWS, please visit asws.co.uk.
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