SUSTAINABLE STONEMASONRY

Founded in 2005, Sydney Stonemasons PL are experts in all aspects of stonemasonry. Whilst specializing in heritage restoration they also have a vast experience in stonemasonry on a commercial and residential scale.

The Sydney Stonemasons team began works onsite in early June of 2021. A total of five buildings at the North Parramatta site were refurbished and renovated for the Hub including the Female Factory, part of the old hospital and the kitchen block.

“We carried out a lot of repointing, desalination, new stone indents and created many new internal and external openings, whilst also modifying many existing openings” said Director Roscoe Hannagan. “Many of the original openings had been closed and we reconstructed them by installing structural steel lintels and carefully removing the sandstone infill. We also made few new openings to facilitatemovement through the new buildings while leaving evidence of the later additions.”

“On one of the buildings the gable required immediate attention. We shored up the gable then catalogued and coded all stones in the wall before careful dismantling. When we removed the external stone skin, we found that there was no footing below the wall and the internal brickwork was failing. We carefully dismantled the brickwork, put in a new reinforced concrete footing, and then reconstructed the internal brickwork, ensuring all windows and doors, the fireplace and chimney breast were all reconstructed to their original details.

We rebuilt using a combination of salvaged stone and new stone, cut, and dressed onsite, to match the original in profile and detail. Finally, the wall was cleaned and pointed using traditional lime mortar. All the salvaged material was stored for re-use and future repairs, maintaining as much of the original heritage fabric as possible.

“The job involved stabilizing the structure so as not to damage any existing features while we carried out our work. Also, colour matching the new stonework was a challenge and we spent a lot of time at Gosford Quarry searching for stone that would match. Eventually we used a mix of four different coloured stones to closely match the original stonework.

“We worked extremely well with FDC; they are a very good team. Our first job with them was at Shore School in North Sydney where we carried out sandstone cladding. FDC were happy with our work there and contracted us for Stage 1 at the WSSH and we will be on Stage 2 of the project, rebuilding the heritage perimeter wall.”Sydney Stonemasons PL have established a strong reputation within the heritage restoration industry. They are based out of their factory
in Hillsdale and employ up to 40 tradesmen with specialist skills who carry out all the preparation and restoration of sandstone and other masonry. The workshop is fully equipped with modern machinery to automate the process as much as possible.

“This allows us to complete work more quickly, as a result we are capable of completing large scale projects to the highest of standards in a timely manner.” said Roscoe.

As one of the leading stonemasonry firms in the country, Sydney Stonemasons PL have been at work on a number of significant Australian buildings. In 2020 they were at the Anzac Memorial Centenary Project replacing and repointing cladding stones, and later that year completed restoration work at the Australian Museum.

The future for Sydney Stonemasons PL involves expansion into the overseas residential and commercial market. In April 2022 General Manager Thomas boarded a plane to Dubai to open a new office.

“Australian architects are designing for Dubai and there’s a lot of heritage work there. We’ll be also looking at the sandstone cladding on the Dubai Museum as well as plans for a massive high rise where we will be installing marble and granite cladding along with sandstone,” Thomas said.

For more information contact Sydney Stonemasons PL, 55 Smith Street, Hillsdale NSW 2036, phone 1300 075 544, email info@sydneystonemasons.com.au, website www.sydneystonemasons.com.au