Engineers suspended at heights of nearly 140m have undertaken tests on the concrete and steel of St Johns Beacon in Liverpool using specialist rope access techniques.
CAN Structures, part of RSK Group, was contracted to carry out a defect survey and concrete testing of the Grade II-listed communications tower following previous inspections in 2011 and 2015.
Work was carried out on the 138m-high tower through the night, over the course of nine days, so that the streets below could be closed during the works.
Louis Thomas, project manager at CAN, said: “We carried out acoustic hammer tests – tap tests – on the entire concrete facade of the tower. Defects were recorded and depth of carbonation and covermeter tests were taken.
“The steelwork at the top of the tower and the windows to the ‘doughnut’ also received a full visual inspection.
“Access to the underside of the ‘doughnut’ proved particularly challenging. Initial access was gained through lighting openings on the underside of the tower, and we then put up rigging between the adjacent openings.
“The staging platform we call ‘CAN-Span’ was then winched up from ground level to enable technicians to get within touching distance of the underside of the tower to carry out their inspections.”
Future-proofing the structure
Roger Fulford, director at Munroe K Asset Management, which manages the building, added: “The Beacon tower is iconic in Liverpool and, like all buildings, needs to be inspected and maintained. For most buildings, the view while doing so is significantly less dramatic.
“The information gathered during this inspection will be used to assess maintenance schedules and inform us of the condition of the structure so that it can be future-proofed, ensuring it remains an integral part of the city’s skyline for many years to come.”
