PHOTO: ROSA WOODS/STUFF Old St Paul’s is closing for earthquake strengthening.
Oh the irony. An act of God has caused a house of God to stretch by 15cm and lead to a $2 million fix-up bill.
Old Saint Paul’s on Mulgrave St closes for up to 10 months this Friday as work begins to physically tie together joints in wood joins that began to dislocate in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and saw the wooden building become 15cm wider in places.
Structural engineer Alistair Cattanach said the Mulgrave St building’s wooden construction meant it was flexible and resilient but it was built using a “mortise and tenon” technique meaning there was nothing to hold joints shut.
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