Library gets new roof
When wild winds hit Nelson on July 11 and plastic sheeting covering the Nightingale Library Memorial came loose, locals were worried.
The library had shut its doors weeks earlier on June 23 while its 35-year-old roof was in the process of being replaced.
Fortunately, the Nelson City Council has confirmed that neither the library structure nor its treasured collection of books has suffered any significant damage.
Work on the library had been expected to take about eight weeks, but the storm would delay the project slightly as contractors took extra time to inspect the building and allow it to dry out, the council said.
“As part of the project, the flooring, shelves and books had already been covered in a layer of plastic to protect against debris and dust. This was hugely beneficial once it started to rain.
“Some books are damp, but none are sodden, and all are expected to recover back to their original state.”
Contracting firm Fitzgerald Construction “responded swiftly” and deployed staff on Friday afternoon to recover the roof. They returned on Saturday for a final check and to add protective layers.
The council’s acting group manager for community services, Martin Croft, said the membranes on each of the three towers were at least 35 years old and had reached the end of their functional life.
The membrane was leaking and needed to be replaced to protect the building from weather damage, Croft said.
Other works included replacing rotten timber around the high-level windows and the water-damaged parts of the interior plywood ceilings.
The ceilings were also being insulated, and the skylight glass would be replaced.
Upgrades would be in keeping with the historic building status, and the total project budget for the work was $345,000.
The replacement roof was expected to last in excess of the 35 years that the previous membrane was in place.
Croft said the rest of Nightingale Library was in very good condition.
The Nightingale was last given a renovation in 2017, when it was closed for three months for upgrades, according to the Nelson City Council’s sesquicentennial tome written by historian Paul Christoffel.
Its name comes from publican and property speculator Nellie Nightingale, who left a bequest in her will that a library with the name of Nightingale Library Memorial be built in Tāhunanui.
The bequest stipulated that the library memorial should only come to fruition if Nellie’s adopted daughter, Myrtle, did not have any direct descendants, Christoffel wrote.Myrtle died in 1970 without any children, and the estate’s trustees left the bequest with the council.
Eventually, Alex Bowman, considered Nelson’s leading architect in the post-World War II period, was commissioned to design the library, and it was opened in 1978.
The end date of the roofing project was dependent on the building passing structural condition checks during the works, the council said in a post on social media.
Caption: Contractors resecure the plastic roof covering after high winds hit the region on July 11.
By Warren Gable, Nelson Mail
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