We Have a Waterproof Lid

Not yet a finished roof you understand but today our new roof was boarded over and covered in waterproof Visqueen - a gigantic black plastic sheet.

Not a drop of rain all day and boy did we make the best of the opportunity - in the face of a disturbing weather forecast of heavy thundery rain.  In next to no time flooring grade plywood boards were spreading across the roof and were being nailed to the joists by one of those explosive nail guns, much prized by building site thieves I remember.

Quite soon the entire roof was covered in 18mm plywood

and on went the Visqueen, much to our relief:

 Much of the rest of our roof awaits in Hopleys yard.   These sheets of insulation will be 150 mm deep over the whole roof:

Next job on the list is the construction of internal stud-work walls that will enable electrician Steve Dinsdale to do the first fix wiring.

For those who prefer trains to building sites, here is Saturday's Princess Elizabeth hauled train coming south towards Settle at Waitby:

and then at Ribblehead;

well worth clicking on to enlarge

Between the Showers

This weather may be inconvenient but in between the showers the sun can and sometimes does break through to magnificent effect.

How about this one of the you-know-what railway at Long Preston, the next place southwards down the line from Settle.  Take by local resident Dr Matt Stroh.

click to enlarge

The Rain it Raineth Every Day

This delicate stage of the build, when hundreds of wooden components are being assembled in the open air, has been bedevilled by exceptionally persistent rain.

With the benefit of the weather station of our roof I can show just how persistent:

The weather station online has a map showing the rain radar picture for the next couple of hours.  That at least enables us to plan our days around the rain when possible.

http://www.mylocalweather.org.uk/settle/

As soon as the roof is watertight we can really push ahead but until then a lot of vulnerable and expensive timber needs to be protected.   At this moment in time we might get to that stage next Tuesday.   Watch this space.

Mudlarks and Rafters

Having spent the day at Airedale having an infusion (purely preventative) I returned through torrential rain to find that the rafters were completed and most impressive they look.

Above is the view from the south east corner of the extension, looking towards the existing extension.

Below is the opposite view through the existing annex window:

Meanwhile a group of four absolute heroes from Hopleys have been trenching away in awful conditions laying a land drain and making the foundations for the rear walkway: 

Walls Completed

In double quick time considering the weather and other delays the outside walls are up and right now are being clad in black to keep the immediate weather at bay - and to soften the impact of the wooden walls prior to the (grey framed) windows go in and the grey metal rain-screen cladding is installed

The Flying Squad.  In a cherry-picker bucket CNC keyboard wizard Caleb Driver and Blok CNC boss Jonathan Green have a high level conversation with architect Stuart Green (right).

This shot gives an impression of the size and thickness (largely insulation) of the single block which spans the window opening through which the cherry picker arms can be seen

Overnight the Shogun was parked in The Sidings gateway to keep the cherry picker secure.  The black Tyvek wrap starts to appear round the corner of the building.

A second row of Tyvek has been applied.  When fully applied the appearance of the new walls is much subdued.  Our crane on the tower roof is well placed to hoist heavy or awkward items of furniture etc. into the much extended annex.

Today the remaining roof joists go up, plywood covers the entire roof and is topped off with Visqueen temporary waterproof membrane.  Out of sight a flagstoned footpath is taking shape along the entire length of the rear wall.  We shall then be weather-proof inside and nearly mud free outside.

Internal walls and first fix electrics will be in soon.

Settle in October

As a relief from pictures of building works how about these two super pictures from Facebook today?

Yesterday lunchtime at Settle station

and at Settle weir a hungry heron waits to pounce.  He'll have a long wait as the salmon take the easier route up the fish ladder that avoids the Archimedes screw Hydro power plant.

Roof Joists

Roof joists have landed on the extension floor in between heavy showers this morning.   Using the CNC methods these I section beams are ultra narrow but ultra strong.  And there's a lot of them:

Gathering progress on other aspects of the build today, in particular on constructing the footpath at the rear, complete with land drain underneath.

Glad I don't have to lift these beasts up that banking but that is where they are going.

Also on site now are the timbers from which the internal stud walls will be made.

And the first of the roof joists are lowered into place on their hangers in the sunshine.