BUILDERS made light work of a heavy job revamping a 171-year-old listed building in Glasgow city centre.

Contractors had to upgrade stonework at the site in Buchanan Street, which houses the Molton Brown, Planet and Accessorize stores.

Experts said cracks in the building could have made it dangerous.

But replacing some of the stones was hefty work.

Some weighed up to three quarters of a ton – and had to be winched in place.

Stonemasons also used traditional techniques to recreate detailing on the building, which dates to 1840.

Niall Robertson, associate director of Jones Lang LaSalle, who managed the works on behalf of the landlord, said: “This property had major redevelopment in the late 1990s when the original building was demolished and only the historic stone front elevation retained.

“This technique was known as facade retention and was common in Glasgow to allow redevelopment while retaining the Victorian character of the city.

“The works meant damaged stonework had to be removed and replaced with huge stones, some of the biggest ever handled by the contractor.

“They were winched into place and stonemasons carved the stone using traditional techniques to recreate the original Greek detailing.”

After three months of being covered in scaffolding, work is complete and the building has been revealed.

Jones Lang LaSalle has also just completed the transformation of the nearby ‘A’ Listed Argyll Arcade and the facelift of Princes Square.

As reported in the Evening Times, Princes Square’s £5.5million makeover was completed last month.

It includes metal ‘foliage’ created by Glasgow design firm Timorous Beasties sprouting from the facade.

The trailing is made from aluminium and was installed by Glasgow sculptor Kenny McKay.

The idea for the ornate wrought iron foliage came from the unwanted growth blighting some of Glasgow’s rundown buildings.

Work on refurbishing Princes Square began in 2009.