Quake proofing starts

Earthquake strengthening work worth $2million has begun at St Matthew's Collegiate School in Masterton.

Principal Eric Pedersen said workmen last week started removing thousands of tiles and loads of bitumen that had bowed main supports on the roof of the school's main classroom block, built in the 1920s.

The school has broken up for the year and long-run roofing iron is to replace the tiles, he said, which alongside dormer windows had distinguished the roof and added architectural character to the eight-classroom block.

"The tiles will be missed but they would be a considerable danger in the event of an earthquake and the board wants the entire school to be 100 per cent compliant and safe," Mr Pedersen said.

The roofing work includes bolstering the ceiling and is expected to be completed before the new school year begins.

The project is the first phase of a $2million quake-strengthening project at the school that includes work on the ground-floor rooms of the main boarding house.

He said work in the downstairs area of the boarding house, home for 95 students, will focus on the kitchens, dining room, three common rooms and some dormitories.

The work would take 12 months to complete and start next year, he said.

Quake safety work had been completed at the school in the 1990s, he said, and the second storey of the main boarding house had been strengthened each time the interior of the building was refurbished. He said the quake strengthening would be invisible and other original features of the 1920s building, which includes ornate plaster ceilings and exposed native timber beams and woodwork, would be returned to their former glory.