Anniesland Court, Glasgow

A well-known landmark in the West End of Glasgow dating back to the 1960s, Anniesland Court at Anniesland Cross has recently undergone a complete refurbishment, overcoming a number of significant technical obstacles with regard to the tiling. Glasgow Corporation have carried out extensive repairs to the fabric of the building in a programme which commenced at the end of 2003, at which point the project was featured in a BBC Artworks programme.

The 23-storey building is unusual firstly in that it is Grade A listed and the refurbishment was carried out in close consultation with Historic Scotland. Secondly the development comprises flats on a number of levels, with only seven levels on the lift. The building features mosaic tiled facades on its two opposite ends, totalling over 700sq metres. Originally the mosaic surfaces were pre-cast when the building was constructed. Over the years these had deteriorated badly and had been patched up with layers of paint in various colours.

The refurbishment carried out by Glasgow Corporation has however been of the highest quality with red mosaic panels being installed by tiling contractor DM Hughes. The tiles were fixed with BAL's innovative and unique Mosaic-Fix. This is a bright white, highly non-slip, water and frost-resistant thin bed tile adhesive ideally suited for fixing all types of mosaic tiles. The bright white finish of the adhesive means easier grouting - it reduces the appearance of adhesive residues in the grout lines. Grouting was with BAL Easypoxy.

There was a significant number of technical issues concerned with the tiling on this project. The height of the building, for instance, means that there can be significant climatic variations at the top, compared to ground level. Sometimes this can amount to 5°C. On occasion it can be dry at ground level but misty at the top. The tiles and adhesives had to perform well in both sets of conditions. All the tiling was carried out from a suspended cradle, so wind levels were also a factor which had to be born in mind.

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