Over the last 2 weeks since the scaffolding was completed our roofing sub-contractor, Ben Bruce, have begun to remove the old worn out lead and the big expanses of rubber membrane that put in place when lots of the lead was stolen ten years ago.
This is a critical moment for the project. During the development phase we did a bit of opening up to assess the condition of the roofing timbers but until you open the can of worms its very difficult to see what is inside. In our case it isn't worms...it's wood boring beetles! On the north aisle we have uncovered large amounts of damage to the wall plates caused by an infestation of Beatles. On top of this where there have been active leaks for some time there is a degree of wet rot in places too.
The project team met today for our first progress meeting after which the team were joined by Steve the structural engineer who has come in to help assess the level of damage and the amount of unforeseen repairs that need to happen. Depending on the outcome of his report this additional work could eat into a large portion of the project contingency.
Steve's initial recommendation was to get a beetle specialist in to more thoroughly assess the damage to each timber and how many could be left, how many could be repaired and how many need a complete replacement.
To add insult to injury, as the roofs are only protected by tarpaulins at the moment, during Sunday's downpour we sprung a leak (pics below). Well done to Mark for battling on through the sound of running water.
Check back in a couple of weeks for an update!
