So, after weeks when not much appeared to change, suddenly there are big, obvious developments.
The work on the retaining walls and paving has moved on substantially now, and it’s pretty much off the critical path. There is still (a lot) more to do, but the shape of the paving and steps all round the house is clear, and we are on track to complete the wall that will retain the bank to the right of the house. That will be a great relief, as it will mean that both Alf Blackman’s drive, and the sewer pipe beneath it, will be properly secure.
But today’s particular fun was the lifting into place of some of the big structural timbers for the roof.
Josh was out in his BYT again, a huge JCB forklift, with an enormous reach
Clearly serious stuff, as Josh had to turn his hat round!
The most impressive job was lifting the ridge beam for the roof above the master bedroom into place. This is a 420×140 glulam beam, that located in a pair of sockets at the gable and at the junction with the main roof
The fork lift lifted it about 10m above the ground, and 6 or 7m over, and dropped it directly into place. Well, it was 8mm out, but I suppose that’s OK in the circumstances. Jamie seemed particularly impressed!
The remainder of the work was lifting some more huge timbers into place for the main roof
Tricky, mainly because access is a bit limited. But the forklift was truly impressive
