St Matthias Church

One of our first commercial projects to be completed this year is the strengthening of a beautiful country church. In 1866 the New Zealand Company gifted five acres of land to the people of Makara for the express purpose of building an Anglican Church. A traditional timber, pitched roof church was initially built but was quickly replaced by the current building. In 2017 we were asked to strengthen the Church to ensure its continued survival. 

In 1979 The Historic Places Trust registered the 'unpretentious Church' as a building of local importance with considerable architectural merit. Its location on the hill above the village crossroads makes it very much a focal point. The structure has been seamlessly and sensitively upgraded following the original design. Northern Construction have completed the latest work on time and on budget with Silvester Clark providing some clever engineering. The work is so well integrated into the fabric of the building it is virtually invisible. 

The work involved replacing the roof to match the original tiles with a full plywood diaphragm underneath and new structural connections between the roof framing and concrete walls. The centre truss was strengthened with steel, and steel angles were used to strengthen the tower and tie it to the nave. This work was all done so it is almost invisible and does not detract from the original architecture.

It was relatively smooth sailing despite the discovery of asbestos in the render and the fact the original flooring had rotted due to being built very close to the ground, just 50mm clear. Replacing the floor to provide clearance for air movement and to stop rising damp required digging out the ground below. All materials including clay tile roofing and matai flooring matched the original construction.

The project was made possible due to the generosity of the local parishioners with some extra support from the WCC, Lion Foundation and Meridian energy.