52 | Christchurch benefits from Scottish stonemasons Stonemasons Kris Boyd and Stuart Mackintosh moved to New Zealand to work on the Christchurch rebuild following the earthquake of 2011, which damaged many of the city’s iconic heritage buildings such as the Canterbuty Provincial Chambers building. Pinnacle Masonry T T Russell Fredric “All our masons and technicians work to the absolute highest level of stonemasonry standards, which have been in place throughout the world for hundreds of years....” CONTRACTING Harking back thousands of years, the craft of stonemasonry is still in strong demand today for both the restoration of heritage buildings and new builds. As the owners of Christchurch-based Pinnacle Masonry, Kris Boyd and Stuart Mackintosh have brought notable skills and industry experience from their homeland. The Scotsmen both previously worked for the same government agency, Historic Scotland, the department responsible for heritage sites, including, castles, cathedrals, churches and monuments. “I was based in Dumfries in Galloway,” Kris says. “I looked after about 13 sites, right through from small crosses up to full-size castles, fortresses, farm buildings, all sorts of old corn mills, all that sort of thing. “Stu was based in Edinburgh at the palace. He worked between the palace and all the castles.” The pair moved to New Zealand to work on the Christchurch rebuild following the earthquake of 2011, which damaged many of the city’s iconic heritage buildings. “We both worked at The Arts Centre. Stuart was a lead hand and I was a stonemason for a couple of years,” says Kris. Kris and Stuart worked on restoring some of The Art Centre’s most prominent buildings and features as part of an international team of stonemasons, who gradually restored it to its former stature. All up, the work took just over a decade to complete at a cost of more than $200 million. Towards the end of this rebuild, Kris and Stuart started to look towards other projects, and had the opportunity to work on Trinity Congregational Church, also in the central city. “This was an incredibly exciting, yet challenging project, which included earthquake strengthening to 100% of the building code. “We finished up at The Arts Centre in 2016, and we started at the church; that was our first project [as a business] and from there it just started to gain momentum.” Pinnacle Masonry today employs eight to nine staff, some having completed BCITO stonemasonary apprenticeships under Kris and Stuart’s mentorship. “All our masons and technicians work to the absolute highest level of stonemasonry standards, which have been in place throughout the world for hundreds of years, to ensure Pinnacle Masonry are one of the best and most respected Christchurch stonemasons,” Kris explains. The knowledge required is considerable, and includes understanding different rock types and the nature of each. While much of the hand-crafted nature of the work has not changed over millennia, some technology is now employed. As a key supplier to Pinnacle Masonry, Oamaru company Parkside Quarry is able to provide bespoke stone shaped with a computerised CNC machine that can fabricate virtually any design or profile, which is an enormous time saver. “We’ve just finished the Lincoln University rebuild at the end of last year that we’ve been on for the last two years, and quite a lot of the new stone, such as the individual balustrades [sections], were all by a CNC machine. “They do a lot of that work for us which takes out a lot of man hours.” Having contributed so much to the restoration of Christchurch’s architectural heritage, Pinnacle Masonry has also both completed and is working on significant new residential builds. “We get a lot of repeat work through builders, architects and clients that we’ve worked for previously.” Proud Suppliers to PinnacleMasonry. We love working with the great team at Pinnacle Masonry. If you are looking for a unique architectural difference, natural Oamaru Stone is worth your consideration. Phone 03 433 113 Visit www.oamarustone.co.nz 151 Airedale Road, 5 RD, Ōamaru 9492
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