This week we had a visit from Huw who is a specialist in wood boring beetles. He came with a very high tech piece of kit which drills a small hole into the timbers, measures the torque and other parameters which in turn tell you how much good wood is left and how much is sawdust. Literally sawdust.
The project team met back on site towards the end of the day to hear how Huw had got on. There was a quiet nervousness about the project team as we climbed the ladders to roof level. This felt like a make or break moment for the project. We were greeted by Huw in his blue overalls and blue hard hat and braced ourselves for bad news. Huw explained that although it looked bad and there were some areas that were completely shot the key areas of concern were not as bad as they looked. The death watch beetle had destroyed most of the sapwood however the heartwood was still good and could remain with a few repairs and supports in places. Huw will now write up his report in detail which will show in detail the condition of each timber after which Steve, out structural engineer, can instruct us what repairs need to happen.
In other areas the roofers have been pressing on with the installation of the new counter battens and felt over the Chancel and Kemy's Aisle. During this work they notice a small card pinned to one of the principal beams from A.S. Reed general builder and contractor. It read:
This roof was restored to it's original condition under the directions of
P. Hartland Thomas in June 1936
The weather has remained fine so far which has been very advantageous, lets hope it continues for the weeks to come.
