Novus Property Solutions has redecorated five buildings at one of Scotland’s largest and most prestigious independent schools over the summer, in a project worth £25,000.
Founded almost 200 years ago in 1818, making it the oldest co-educational boarding school in Scotland, Dollar Academy in Clackmannanshire is a day and boarding school for 1,200 boys and girls aged from five to eighteen.
The 70 acre school campus features numerous buildings of periodic and modern design, all set in a stunning location, with the breathtaking Ochil Hills providing the backdrop.
The redecoration project took just six weeks to complete in order to fit in with the school’s summer holiday break, limiting disruption to pupils and staff. Between four and six Novus operatives from its Bathgate office worked simultaneously around the school campus in order to meet the agreed deadline.
The wide-ranging works included repainting the exterior of one building and the interior of four buildings on campus, as well as refreshing the road and playground markings throughout the school grounds.
The school’s Playfair building, with its distinctive neo-classical façade, was designed by the eminent Scottish architect William Henry Playfair. The team repainted the main reception area and back office as well as the entranceway to the main assembly hall in the Playfair building, ensuring that all works carried out were sensitive to the original structure.
In the award-winning Maguire building, which houses the school’s art, PE and drama facilities, the team refreshed the gym hall, first aid room and entrance. While in the Dewar building, which houses the science department, Novus operatives repainted the ground floor foyer area. Crown Clean Extreme in both matt and acrylic eggshell were used to guarantee a long-lasting stain-resistant finish which can be easily cleaned, saving future maintenance costs.
The Junior School building required redecorating throughout and Novus was tasked with repainting seven classrooms as well as various corridor areas and the toilets. Johnstone’s Acrylic Durable Eggshell and Acrylic Satin, which were specially mixed to shades from the Farrow and Ball range, were applied, providing a high performance tough coating - ideal for a busy school environment.
The scale of the work in the Junior School building was one of the most challenging aspects of the project. This was due to other additional works being undertaken at the same time, including the laying of new flooring. With only a very short period of time to complete the works and a strict deadline to work to, Novus worked carefully around other trades on site to co-ordinate schedules.
As part of the project, Novus also refreshed the exterior of the Prep School building, including the roughcast facia and soffits. Crown Stronghold Smooth Masonry paint, guaranteed to last for 10 years, was specified in a neutral magnolia. Designed to effectively resist dirt retention, the paint is anti-carbonation certified and offers excellent weather resistance – ensuring the Prep School will withstand the elements for years to come. Crown Full Gloss in charcoal grey was used for the exterior woodwork.
As well as refreshing the campus road markings, the team also repainted the playground markings including hopscotch and other traditional playground games, for the Junior and Prep Schools, using a specialist Chlorinated Rubber paint in various colours.
David Yuill-Kirkwood, building and contracts manager at Dollar Academy commented: “It was vital that all the refurbishment work was completed before the start of the new school term and the limited timescale meant there was no room for any delay. We were impressed by Novus – the team worked closely with us throughout and altered their planned schedule of works at times to fit in around other trades on site, which made the whole process much smoother. The quality of finish is excellent and the redecorated areas of the school look much brighter and fresher, and all completed within budget.”