General information
Tony could be holding the last shingle he will need to cleave for the weaving house roof. We are on the last leg of a very long and productive few years of making shingles. It is very exciting and I don’t think we can quite believe it. The maintenance crew are now very proficient in preparing and hanging the sweet chestnut shingles. I am sure we could confidently bid for heritage roofing contracts and give anyone a real run for their money. Watch out for news of the ‘topping out ceremony’.
Tuesday saw a team of us out in the frost and sunshine trimming and shaping shingles. Simon was hanging the shingles and is now close to the ridge. We estimate about another 250 shingle to go to complete the south side.
Kit delivered us some more shingle rounds and we hope to spend next week preparing a load more ready for hanging.
Tuesday saw a small and dedicated team preparing enough shingles for a good days roofing. The latest batch of sweet chestnut is cleaving well and the wood is perfect for axing, draw knifing and planing. It was good to see Donald back after his contretemps with the axe!
Also the team that is thatching the roundhouse is nearing the apex of the roof.
This Tuesday saw another fair weather day in the wood. The team worked hard processing the logs into shingles and attaching them to the Weaving House roof.
Donald and Tony were giving it their all cleaving the logs, so much so that the mallet finally disintegrated. Jon needed two attempts to make them a new one! He made the classic error of sawing too far down into the handle with the first one.
John and Beryl used both shaving horse and carpenter’s plane to finish the shingles to the right size and smoothness.
No matter how fast the team worked we couldn’t keep up with the shingle fixers! They spent a fair time helping us make more or waiting for the next ‘right size’ shingle.
Still at the end of the day we had added substantially to the number of shingles on the roof. Thanks to all that came and helped.
The latest maintenance day saw further progress on the Weaving House roof. A new delivery of sweet chestnut logs meant the team could swing into ‘full factory production’ mode to help keep the roofers supplied.
The Thursday team have been working hard on the thatching of the Roundhouse roof.
Last Tuesday we had a good team working on the shingles. It was the first day that we felt it was really Autumn and although the sun was shining it was distinctly chilly in the shade. In between throwing the ball for Gemma, everyone applied themselves to the preparation and fixing of the shingles. Thanks to everyone and we look forward to seeing you again on site next week.
Our school visits this year have been a great hit thanks to the volunteers’ hard work and the delightful children and their staff. Each day has had its highlights and the children were great fun and eager to learn all about the skills demonstrated in the workshops. They all had a chance to practice those skills and everyone took something, they had made, home with them.
They are some more pictures of the activities on School Days 2021
It is the time of year when we need to hold our AGM, and there is no better time than soon after the last school visit.
Accordingly I am pleased to confirm that the 2021 AGM will be held on Tuesday 26th October, on site at 1100hrs. Hopefully this will be a convenient time when most volunteers will be able to attend.
We aim to be completed by lunchtime, so please bring along some lunch and drink, feel free to bring a banquet or just sandwiches! There will be tea and coffee available as usual.
The condition of the roof over the oven had been deteriorating over the last months so a team went into action to strip the old roof and replace it. A temporary cover was needed to protect the oven. Once the roof is finally waterproof we can repair/ replace the oven.
The team had a good couple of days working on the shingles for the Weaving House roof. Donald, our new volunteer recruit, was initiated into the joys of roof shingle preparation. Simon and Roy are back fixing the new shingles to the roof.
The team of volunteers have been working hard on the roundhouse during July and the thatching and daubing of the walls are the two main projects at the moment.
Using Norfolk reed the first bundles are prepared and fixed on the’porch’ of the roundhouse.
Whilst the thatching is going on other members prepare and fix the daub to the walls.