Building Roof & External Walls Works

The maintenance of the Cathedral building is no mean feat. It is a constant cycle to ensure that the facilities are in good running order. One such issue that we have been facing for many years now is with the degradation of the roof over the Main Cathedral building.

There have been various leaks that have been patched up over the years, but the overall condition of the roof has been slowly deteriorating causing more leaks into the building. It is currently in need of urgent and major repairs. The water and moisture damage is also taking a toll on the building's exterior. 

The photos below highlight the existing condition of the roof and external walls.

The box gutters of the roof over the chancel area of the Cathedral needs to be overhauled.

Water damage in the chancel area as a result of malfunctioning gutters.

Water damage inside the building is extensive, causing plaster to peel and mould to grow on the moist surfaces.

Water stains causing efflorescence on the historically valuable tessellated tiles.

There is an area of significant leakage directly above and behind the pipe organ, threatening damage to the sensitive wood and pipes of the organ. This Henry Willis pipe organ from 1895 was completely refurbished as recent as 2014.

Along the main roof, the wooden fascia boards have warped, causing damage to the gutter.

Many roof tiles are also cracked and in need of replacement.

Water stains can be seen even on the ceiling of the roof over the Jubilee Hall.

The exterior of the building is in need of a fresh coat of paint, with repairs to specific areas where the plaster on the facade is damaged, or where algae growth is visible due to moisture within the building's fabric.

The works to repair the roof and external walls will be extensive. Due to the status of the Cathedral as a National Heritage Building, works will need to be carried out by a conservation contractor under the supervision of a certified conservator. The overall cost is estimated at RM250,000 for the roof repairs, and another RM250,000 for the external wall refurbishment and painting works.

If you would like to make a contribution towards this Building Roof & External Walls works, please do so via Bank Transfer with the details as below:

Bank: Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad

Account no.: 312-1-4233469-1

Account name: St Mary’s Cathedral

Description: Building Roof Walls

If sending from overseas: SWIFT CODE SCBLMYKXXXX

LATEST UPDATE!

(as of 2 October 2023)

Total donations collected : RM 168,865

Survey and investigative works are underway to prepare a dilapidation report of the current state of the roof. This report will contain details on the extent of damage, and map out the location and severity of damage, as required by Jabatan Warisan Negara before any works can be carried out.

A message from the Dean on 10 Sept 2023:   "I’d like to update you on our building repair project.

We all thank God for those who have contributed towards this, and we are so grateful for that we can do this together. Thus far, we have received nearly RM150,000 in the building fund for the repairs of the roof and we are so grateful.

We also thank God that we received news this week that we have been approved for a substantial grant from an urban rejuvenation body towards repairs of the Cathedral building. I will formally announce the details of the organization and the grant when we’ve actually been given the letter of award – we don’t want to count our chickens before they are hatched.

But the reason I’m telling you about all this now, is because if, God willing, we receive the funds, and we add it to what we have already received, it will take us significantly over the amount we need to collect just to do the roof and be well on the way towards having the funds to fix the outside walls of the Cathedral as well.

So, we are really thankful to God for this development.

In light of that, this is what we will do moving forward: You can still contribute to the building fund, but any new contributions from tomorrow onwards will go to towards the whole project which includes the outside walls rather than just the roof, assuming the grant comes through. In the meantime, we will also be approaching other bodies who are interested in heritage preservation to ask for grants to help us complete the larger project.

So we are thankful to God for this good news, and we are thankful for everyone who gave, prayed and worked for this project."