The idyllic property of the Bishop’s House on Romain Rolland Street is a flurry of activity these days with men and machines engaged in restoration work on one of the city’s oldest buildings.
The two 30-feet-long wooden beams holding up the high ceiling have completely worn out on one end posing grave risk to the structure as a whole. Under the guidance of INTACH, a team of restoration experts is engaged in taking out the damaged beams and putting in iron equivalents.
For the last several years, the 18 century heritage building on a sprawling property in the Boulevard is being used as the residence of the director of French Institute of Pondicherry.
What actually set the alarm bells ringing in the household of IFP’s present director Pierre Grard was a persistent leak in the ceiling of the main hall where the family dined. When a workman attempted to repair the leak, a portion crumbled away.
“We decided not to take a risk and have evacuated the main hall. We’ve virtually been living out of the verandah since last month,” said Ms. Johnsi, the IFP director’s spouse.
The Bishop’s House, custodians of the property, was informed about it and an assessment last month by an INTACH team found that the two nine-metre span beams were in a precarious state. It was decided to remove them and put in two i-section replacements for each of the wooden members.
“The problem was that the edges of the beams had been packed in with the ceiling perhaps to avoid pests. Ideally, a gap left between the edge and the wall serves as a vent and without this the constant exposure to the saline moisture decays the wood,” said A. Arul, architect with INTACH.
A few weeks ago, the INTACH team had carried out a similar restoration at the landmark building housing the French Consulate. That building too had its main beam decayed which had to be replaced with a beam of Burma Teak.
At the two centuries-old Romain Rolland property, i-sections are the replacements for the wooden members as they are less expensive. The cost of restoration is estimated to be about Rs. 6 lakh.
Workmen began the process of erecting props connecting the ceiling to the ground floor of the two-storeyed building about 10 days ago. The i-section replacements made of iron were cast to specifications and it was on Wednesday that a crane was deployed at the site to pull out one of the damaged beams, a task made all the more delicate by the narrowness of the street and the presence of a hospital and a school in the vicinity.
“We have to allow a couple of days for the new beam to set into the lime wall. Only after that can we start taking out the second beam and replacing it,” said Mr. Arul.
The iron replacements have been given anti-corrosion coating which should hold good for another 50 to 70 years.
“We want to give all the rafters a check as well. We should be done with the project in a few days,” the INTACH architect said.
So, it will be a few more days, before Bobby, pet dog of the Grard family, who has been going crazy over the last few days at the sight of strangers (workmen) trooping in and out of the compound, re-establishes exclusive rights over the sprawling courtyard.
