The upper courses
As autumn comes to a close....
Laying slates has begun again in ernest. The top courses are proving to be a challenge for many reasons. First they are awfully heavy to push up the sloping roof one by one. We don't want to slide a load up all at once as we are concerned that the stack could damage the ones already in place. As this type of roof does not lay as flat as a modern version, it is easy to chip off the corner of a slate.
Secondly, they don't seem to be fitting in place as easily as the lower courses. At one point it took 4 hours to fit 9 slates! Tedious!
It is now becoming evident that the new roof still maintains the quirky bulges that the old roof had. This will be because the original beams and purlins were not replaced. The Building regs inspector has asked for a few to be re-positioned as they tip up when the weight of the upper courses sit on them. Trying not to be discouraged by how long this is taking.
We have left the original wooden pegs in some of them, so that the next owner can find them and 'read' the story of this building. My time capsule is now well imbedded under the slate within the eaves and walls. I hope that in 50 years or more, the next owner will marvel at the contents....including an electicity bill from 2006.
Laying slates has begun again in ernest. The top courses are proving to be a challenge for many reasons. First they are awfully heavy to push up the sloping roof one by one. We don't want to slide a load up all at once as we are concerned that the stack could damage the ones already in place. As this type of roof does not lay as flat as a modern version, it is easy to chip off the corner of a slate.
Secondly, they don't seem to be fitting in place as easily as the lower courses. At one point it took 4 hours to fit 9 slates! Tedious!
It is now becoming evident that the new roof still maintains the quirky bulges that the old roof had. This will be because the original beams and purlins were not replaced. The Building regs inspector has asked for a few to be re-positioned as they tip up when the weight of the upper courses sit on them. Trying not to be discouraged by how long this is taking.
We have left the original wooden pegs in some of them, so that the next owner can find them and 'read' the story of this building. My time capsule is now well imbedded under the slate within the eaves and walls. I hope that in 50 years or more, the next owner will marvel at the contents....including an electicity bill from 2006.
There has also been another clear out of the garden around the barn and cottage before winter sets in. A chance to stock up on firewood and make the place look somewhat presentable again.
posted by R & B at 10:44 pm
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