When I visited the castle last week, picture above, the joists on the first floor were just going in. By the time I went down on Tuesday....
....not only had they been completed and a temporary floor laid, but so had....
....the second floor. At the top of this picture is the attic floor, completed a fortnight ago.
On the roof, the sarking boards are now all in place, and the next stage is to cover it with felt. Battens will then be laid along the roof to take the slates which are being laid by a specialist, local contractor.
In the attic, Damien, seen here with Nick, is working on the the stone interior gable which contains four chimneys. Once he has it high enough to become load-bearing for the roof timbers, then they'll cut through them and he'll complete the chimney from the outside.
One of the most interesting aspects of my regular visits to the castle has been meeting the workmen. Most are either specialists or have been in the trade some time, but both last week and this I met younger men who are up here experiencing an almost unique opportunity.
Joe Firth is one of the apprentice builders who has been working here for the last few weeks. He's from Otley, Leeds, left school last year, and has been accepted onto a building course at college this autumn. Although his father is a plumber, Joe intends to specialise in plastering, building or painting/decorating. He says that working at Mingary has been a great experience, and he's enjoyed most of his time up here - what he hasn't enjoyed has been some of the weather, and being so far from good shops.
No comments:
Post a Comment