This post has two clear halves, nicely depicted by the cover photo.
The stainless steel covering over the south aisle is almost finished. All that remains is the joining detail between the old lead (covering the nave barrel) and the up-stand of the new stainless steel, and the installation of the all important mushroom vents which will help to keep the wood-boring insects at bay. The terne-coated stainless steel has quite a sheen to it; however, this will dull down somewhat over the coming months and years. The use of batten rolls was favoured in this situation to create the join between each bay of stainless steel. This is partly to do with matching the look of the nave, but more importantly, it creates a robust and strong join which will not be damaged by people walking on the roof to clear the gutters and hoppers in the future. If you know our churchyard, you will know that clearing leaves in the autumn is a huge task!
In comparison, the north aisle is still stripped back to the bare bones. Carpentry work over Kemy’s Aisle has now been completed and the carpenters have turned their attention to the biggest hurdle of the project so far. Following the discovery that large amounts of the roofing timbers and wall plates over the north aisle had been eaten by death-watch beetle, a survey was carried out to draw up a schedule of repairs. The carpenters now have the monumental task of replacing large sections of the wall plates and a significant amount of roof bearers as well.
A scaffold has been erected on the inside of the church for two reasons: it will jack the ceiling up and support it whilst the wall plate is removed and a new one installed; and it will act as a crash deck to ensure that if any workers fall through through the ceiling they don’t fall to the ground. Ensuring the health and safety of all those who work on site has been paramount throughout the project.
Rain has halted work a fair amount in the last few weeks with the various storms we have had over the course of September. The forecast is looking good for the next couple of weeks which will hopefully give us a chance to get the north aisle watertight once and for all!
