Project Details
Kevin Street Library (1904) is single story structure formed with orange-red brick (probably Portmarnock) with red sandstone and granite features. It has a central pediment on three sides capped with red sandstone (Red Cumbrian) with parapets either side capped with granite. The front elevation has a red sandstone plaque and the west has the Dublin City Crest both of which are formed of red sandstone. Brick pilasters define the three sections of the front façade, a granite string course forms the cills to the large rectangular windows with a red sandstone string course lower down.
Works
The building received a steam clean and all windows were temporarily sealed with protective sheeting beforehand. Mild cleaning chemicals were used to remove graffiti and carbon staining.
All of the brick elevations were repointed in a lime mortar with a pigment added to the lower sections to form a grey/black mortar consistent with the original.
The upper sections of the façade had deteriorated badly requiring areas of brick to be repaired using a colour matched restoration mortar.
Both plaques had deteriorated with the Dublin crest badly worn away. These were carefully restored back to their former glory. A plaster model of the city plaque was created as a sample before the actual plaque could be carefully restored by hand.
Other sandstone features (cappings, pilaster capitals & bases, string course) were all restored back to their original form using a colour matched restoration mortar.