Replace and Re Use.
Replace and Re Use
So, although really handy having something to carry materials in, I’m starting to rethink these white van sleeping arrangements. There is no insulation so it’s either stifling or freezing cold. It’s dusty, smells a lot like the petrol can and the chemical toilet and I’ve had another night feeling like I’m being shot at. As a light rain and leaves land gently on the roof, it echoed through the metal panelling all night long like ball-bearings. I’m awake well before dawn with bloodshot eyes and a slightly vacant thousand yard stare going on splashing water from the stream into my face trying to rouse some enthusiasm. Gary on the other hand has had a great night’s sleep in his tent. The gentle pitter-patter and the babbling stream were enough to send him off to sleep for nearly nine hours, only packing up his stuff and putting the kettle on again as Donald arrives!
It’s around 8am. I’m already knackered and very jealous! This roof isn’t going to build itself though so I have no alternative really but to shake it off and get stuck in.
Moving along with the roof replacement means we have to move these ridiculously big stone slates off the roof and place them very, very carefully onto the scaffolding ready to go back on. I can see Donald is a bit worried about these not only as replacing them will probably be impossible but because of the added weight the scaffolding will need to cope with, so we start off by moving things around and if it doesn’t need to be there, it gets moved off. Gloves on, it takes every bit of strength to slowly slide the first one down and into position and my back is already screaming for me to look into a Pilates session after today. Only another ten to go!
My sleep deprivation seems to be taking hold by late afternoon though and as Donald shouts out measurements, I’m struggling to take one number from another and have to leave him to figure it out, which considering I’m currently studying for a degree is more than a bit embarrassing!
Our neighbour pops over to see how we’re getting on and we have a brief chat about what we’re trying to get done next. It’s a really nice chat though and he’s genuinely interested to see how we’re getting on. As Donald leaves, me and Gary carry on for a while longer cleaning up bits of stone and old mortar which have landed in the field.
With a proper night’s sleep and a new day comes more climbing and we’re all set to get stuck in with everything prepared the night before. While I get on with placing and securing the rafters, Donald makes a start on walling up around the chimney so we can rebuild the stack on a solid base.
Although raising more issues than the front roof, we’re making really good progress and it’s only once you’re up on the roof that you can see it’s almost twice the area of the front, so it’s going to take a little bit longer. At the end of the day, we’ve tacked the felt on to give the building a little bit of weatherproofing, given the place a good tidy, secured the tools before it’s time to head home for showers and a good meal.
One important thing to do before we start to relay the slates is to source two new (reclaimed) purlins which not only suit the building but which are also of on an equivalent or better quality to those being removed. One additional problem we’ve got though is the beams being removed are 12 feet long. Most oak beams on the market are actually cut to 10 feet almost as standard so it’s a bit of a relief when I come across High Pole Reclamation in Bolton-by-Bowland who might have what we need.
The next day me and Donald do a bit of measuring up and after speaking to the owner on the phone, we head out on another road-trip.
I’m terrible with names but either Graham or Keith (apologies, it’s the same person by the way. Like I said, terrible with names!) meets us at the yard and we go through what he has. There is a lot of American oak which although it looks in great condition just isn’t the right colour for us. Most of the stock has been pre-cut to ten feet but an old barn which was recently brought down hasn’t yet been cleaned up and cut so it’s here among a mixture of English and French oak we find what we need and at £10 per foot, it’s a great deal compared to what I’ve seen elsewhere. Cleaned up and trimmed to length they’re worth more but the two lengths which pass Donald’s hardness poke-test are loaded into the back of Donald’s van while we take a look around the yard at the stock. Pretty much everything in there has a shabby-chic feel to it but they also restore things too so I have a feeling we’ll be back at some point, probably with Rachel.
It takes a bit of doing between myself and Donald but we manage to get one of the old purlins out and onto the floor ready for its replacement to be put into place. This isn’t like placing a concrete lintel as nothing on an oak beam is quite straight so it needs a bit of adjustment to get it just right. That done, Donald gets into walling it up so it stays where it is supposed to for the next few hundred years.
With the weather turning against us a little, that’s almost the whole day gone so we bring the remaining beam to the front and I get stuck into cleaning it up ready for going in the next day.