In spite of the horrendous weather of late and the last unfortunate report in which we shared about the collapsed ceiling, things are picking up again and slating has now begun on the Chancel and Kemy’s Aisle roofs. Aaron and his team are doing a beautiful job, considering the roof structure is a bit all over the place they are using their expert skills to keep the tiling nice a straight. It’s certainly going to be a far cry from the asbestos cement tiles that were once on this area of roof.
In addition to this, the majority of the timber repairs required due to the unexpected discovery of deathwatch beetle have now also been completed. The firings and new penny gap boarding on top of the north aisle and lady’s vestry substructure (to increase the pitch for good water run off) have been installed and felted which, although its still has a tarp to give extra protection, means that the north aisle is relatively watertight. This also means that the scaffolding on the inside of the church can be removed which is good news for the congregation! It will however uncover the hole caused by last months ceiling collapse.
In other areas, the stone masons have started repairs to copings and are waiting for extra scaffolding to be installed so that they can carry out the majority of their repairs to the pinnacles and crenellations.
The main contractor has reported some delays to the contact due to the weather and will be making an time extension claim which means we need to find even more money from somewhere. We have made an application the the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (GHCT) for some grant funding to help cover the extra costs that have come up throughout the course of the project. They meet in December so we will hopefully have news by Christmas.
