Project case histories illustrating Benring's resin systems expertise
A diverse and, we hope, interesting selection of project case histories demonstrating our extensive experience of supplying and applying our own formulated resin based repair and protection systems. With a lifetime of experience and a wealth of knowledge Tony Grimes and his Benring operatives have worked on an incredible range of projects and provided resin-based solutions to many problems encountered within the building and construction industries, repair, conservation and restoration of buildings and fine artefacts.
Mary Dobson Stained Glass Repair
Putting things to rights with Bencon's Epoxy Resin
A case history in failings; in preparation, in execution and in understanding but followed by a successful repatriation, sounds boring, but do continue, for a while at least. Maybe we’ll capture your imagination.
Mary Dobson, the artist who later on in her career specialised in stained glass, designed and made the East Window; a thing of beauty, but flawed in execution and so, perhaps the story is worth telling.
The window sections are made of sheets of plate glass with the coloured decoration glued onto it, (applique), but after some twenty years the two were separating. The Trustees were in a quandary and requested Derek Latham, Architects, to find a remedy; which was to call on us to discover “what’d gone wrong”.
Primarily the problem was one of preparation, both of the host and the coloured pieces for the depictions (tessarae), the most they appeared to have received was to have been washed; it seemed that this, coupled with the use of maybe not the best adhesive, (though it was found to be an epoxy resin), made for eventual trouble.
A fact not perhaps given much thought? The window array is the EAST one so, it would be cold throughout the night and as the sun arose, the temperature could sometimes increase very quickly, so the differences in expansion between main plate, adhesive and small glass pieces would be such that schism was bound to occur (as they say!)
Jetties on Coniston Water
Resin repairs give longer service life to Coniston Jetties
Thanks to Benring Ltd, Brantwood, The National Trust and The Rawdon-Smith Trust now benefit from a novel method of restoration to the main post tops on the poles that support the jetties at Coniston Water.
Gipsy Moth IV Restoration
Resin repair system donated to Gipsy Moth IV restoration
This tales stretches back to 1968, when I sold the original resorcinol adhesive to Camper and Nicholson, after Peter Nicholson had attended the series of lectures I had been invited to present at Southampton University on ”glues for boat building”. Peter was impressed with the ease of use of the adhesive in the work place and its meeting BS1204 for weather and boil proof adhesives; although no-one was going to boil a boat it did mean that these veneered craft would be fine/serviceable in any of the World’s oceans and waterways.
Everyone knows of Sir Francis Chichester’s exploits with Gipsy Moth, culminating in his being knighted on board by HM The Queen at Greenwich.
Years went by and GM lay quietly mouldering in her berth near the Cutty Sark: she appeared OK but in the bilges rot was attacking her keel area. When I learned of her planned restoration by Camper and Nicholson I had phoned Paul Gelder of the Yachting Monthly to offer to donate the same resin system for repairs as the one used in the original build. This was taken up and I took the adhesive down to Gosport to find that the same man whom I had met all those years ago was the one who would be in charge of repairing GM IV’s hull!
Biddulph Grange Bandstand
Epoxy glass rods and resin rescue slumping historic bandstand
Biddulph, not far from Congleton, is the home of one of the countries’ most interesting gardens; in scope they span the world with specimens bought in by Mr. Bateman whose father who had accumulated a fortune from coal and steel in the early 19C; Bateman Junior moved to the Grange from Knypersley Hall and began to indulge his passion for gardens and plants and luckily his wife was also keen. The story is vividly told in NT web sites.
A feature of the garden is a bandstand, unfortunately built on a slope and with precious few foundations; over time the retaining wall has moved, monitoring highlighted the acceleration in the slumping and we were invited to tender for the all too necessary stabilisation project.
On the platform - a good viewing point for guests - was a scattering of gravel underfoot, covering a packed earth base and this meant surface/rain water was able to trickle-in to the back of the retaining wall and so add more pressure on the retaining wall; no wonder it got tired!
So, here’s a structure bellying-out like a Victorian lady loosening her corset which had to be saved for the future; how was this accomplished?
Polegate Windmill
Restored Windmill at Polegate uses Bencon 22 Epoxy Wood
Polegate Windmill was built in 1817 for Joseph Seymour. It continued to be operated by wind until 1943, when the fan-staging became unsafe. The mill was then powered by electricity until 1965 when it ceased operating commercially.
Earlier in 1952 Polegate Windmill was listed as a Grade II* building of historic interest. Concerns about its fate and other buildings like it during the early 1960s resulted in the formation of the Eastbourne and District Preservation Society.
The windmill was purchased and restored by the Eastbourne and District Preservation Trust in the late 1960s. They continue to maintain and operate it as a museum showcasing what is now the oldest working Tower Mill in the South East.
Benring is delighted that the Trust have found our Bencon 22 Epoxy Wood to be such a useful product in their ongoing task to maintain and manage Polegate Windmill for Future Generations.
Sedan Chair Specialist
Sedan Chair poles repaired using Bencon 20 Epoxy Resin
Stephen Loft-Simpson is a European Sedan Chair Specialist based in Bristol. He has provided consultancy and loaned a sedan chair for the BBC series “How we Built Britain” presented by David Dimbleby and also appeared with Tony Robinson as part of Channel 4’s first series “Worst Jobs in History”.
Stephen used our products for a repair on the original poles of one of his historic sedan chairs and although successful sought further advice, which we were very pleased to give.
Helping to conserve Upton House Mirror Pool
Bencon 39 epoxy resin helps conserve the National Trust's Upton House Mirror Pool
It had been discovered that the 1930s constructed lining of the Mirror Pool in the gardens of Upton House was leaking: the pond has a “puddled” clay lining to the bottom and there’s a small dam to one end which seems built of stone and with a cementitious screed to the inner face, this to make quite sure the whole is watertight. The pond is fed from a small stream / spring at one end and spills through at the other courtesy of a drainpipe set in order to make sure the right level of water is maintained.