A very difficult logistic element of the currently carried out renovation of the roof of the north wing of the Wilanów Palace was the dismantling of 12 large and heavy skylights, which had been unused for many years. At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, during the general renovation of the Palace, they were installed in the concrete construction of the roof, but they did not fulfil their function properly and leaked. They were covered up in the 1970s and now they have been removed. The roof of the north wing has a new covering, including in the area of the sculpture-decorated attic, which were disassembled during the works. Despite the difficulties and unfavourable weather conditions, the entire scope of works connected with the renovation of this part of the facility was completed on time.
The “Conservation renovation of the roof of the north wing of the Wilanów Palace” task was carried out from mid-September to the end of November 2017. The work consisted of replacing the roofing, installed over half a century ago, with a new roof, also made of copper. Conservation work was also carried out on four stone sculptures and four stone vases that decorate the palace attic. These sculptures were removed and then reinstalled after appropriate preparation of the copper sheeting surface of the roof. This was not an easy task – it is worth noting that the heaviest sculptured weighed over 750 kg.
The now-removed skylights were initially intended to provide extra light to the picture gallery located on the upper level of the north wing. However, the heavy reinforced glass, along with the thick metal that made up the construction of the skylights, frosted over in the winter, which resulted in condensation of water vapour and leakage of water into the gallery interior. At the same time, due to construction errors, they were not appropriately water-tight, which further exacerbated the phenomenon described above. Therefore, as early as the 1970s, the decision was made to completely cover them up, which led to them losing their function. The lack of natural light is successively compensated by appropriately selected artificial light, which is safe for the valuable historical exhibits.
During the whole task, the most unfavourable factor was bad weather. Work had to be stopped many times because of constant rainfall or gusting wind. However, thanks to the very good cooperation between the Museum employees and the contractor, as well as excellent organisation of the work, the task was accomplished within the set time.After the completion of the work, the entire roof underwent a natural patination process.
