RCS case study
Skylight Rooftop Bar at Tobacco Dock — Dilapidations & Complex Asset Removal
A 44-person, multi-trade dilapidations programme at Skylight Rooftop Bar, completed in two weeks against a three-week lease deadline.
The project
RCS Maintenance Group was appointed to complete a major dilapidations programme at Skylight Rooftop Bar, part of the multi-storey car park at Tobacco Dock. The site contained a fully fitted nightclub, bar and event operation extending across four levels.
With the lease approaching expiry, the £135,000 programme required the complete installation to be dismantled and removed and the property returned to its original lease condition within a strict three-week deadline.
The venue before dilapidation works
Authorised archive photographs show the original public-facing rooftop venue and the scale of the structures, fitted areas and operational assets covered by the dilapidations programme.
RCS pre-start site survey
The initial survey recorded the mezzanine, bar areas, furniture, decorative finishes and elevated structures that had to be separated, dismantled and removed within the lease deadline.
Rapid mobilisation
The scale and deadline demanded immediate, controlled mobilisation. RCS assembled and coordinated a workforce of more than 44 people across the dismantling, electrical, fire-alarm, plumbing, kitchen, waste and lifting workstreams.
The programme was completed in two weeks—one week ahead of the required handover date.
The scope of work
- Complete dismantling and removal of the nightclub, bar and event installations across four levels
- Careful dismantling of the mezzanine floor
- Isolation and removal of the electrical installation
- Dismantling and removal of the fire-alarm system
- Removal of commercial kitchens and associated equipment
- Removal of toilet blocks, plumbing systems and tanks
- Removal of containers and other loose or non-fixed assets
- Waste segregation and recycling throughout the programme
- Specialist crane operations planned to protect the existing building
RCS team in action
RCS operatives worked across the rooftop and car-park levels, using controlled access arrangements and fall-protection equipment while structures and assets were dismantled and moved through the site.
Complex lifting in central London
One of the most demanding elements involved removing containers from elevated positions on the eight-storey building. The lifts had to be completed within a severely restricted central London working area, with active neighbouring sites and very limited space for crane positioning and material movements.
RCS coordinated the lifting sequence, dismantling teams and exclusion areas so that the assets could be removed while protecting the fabric of the building and managing the constraints surrounding the site.
Coordinated strip-out and responsible disposal
The project required far more than a general clearance. Electrical, fire-alarm, plumbing, kitchen and structural elements each had to be identified, dismantled and removed in a controlled sequence.
Materials and equipment were separated as the work progressed, allowing waste to be recycled wherever practicable and helping maintain an organised route through a fast-moving programme.
The outcome
RCS delivered the £135,000 project by clearing the installations across all four levels and restoring the site to its original lease condition in only two weeks. This was achieved through rapid mobilisation, a workforce of more than 44 people and close coordination of multiple specialist trades and crane operations.
The project demonstrates RCS’s ability to take control of a complex, deadline-critical dilapidations programme, scale its delivery resource quickly and complete safely within a constrained central London environment.