September News
ROSEMOOR RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 27th September 2023
After last week’s washout we were relieved to have a dry morning for this week’s working party at Rosemoor. Thankfully, Storm Agnes delayed her arrival until after our session had finished so we enjoyed an uninterrupted morning’s work.
After last week’s washout we were relieved to have a dry morning for this week’s working party at Rosemoor. Thankfully, Storm Agnes delayed her arrival until after our session had finished so we enjoyed an uninterrupted morning’s work.
We continue to repair and re-build the west wall of the lime kiln. We were able to make good progress this week thanks to the kind donation by RHS Rosemoor of 10 tons of good quality building stone which should be sufficient to complete the reconstruction. Having decent, faced stone speeds up the whole stone-laying process enormously and will also improve the overall appearance of the finished wall. The more difficult task is hauling stone and concrete up to our working platform! By the end of the morning, we had successfully laid another two courses of stone and can now definitely see light at the end of the tunnel (or perhaps the end of the kiln...)
Hauling stone up to platform
Re-building wall of lime kiln
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Another course completed
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View of repaired masonry
Working parties are held every Wednesday morning, meeting in the main car park at RHS Rosemoor, Torrington at 9.30am. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.01237- 475707) for more information.
HAVING A BREAK - Alternate title - HAD ENOUGH FOR THE DAY! - Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 13th September 2023
Today, (Tuesday, 12.09.23) was the last working day at Sea Lock for some time. My wife and I are off on holiday tomorrow and are unlikely to return home for several weeks. We debated whether I should go working today but I was keen that progress on the upper wharf wall would continue. Steve and Nick arrived around their usual time, not exactly bright and shining at this moment since it was drizzling with commitment. Steve was confident that the weather was due to improve around 10 o’clock. They were already wearing waterproof jackets where as I wasn’t! Whilst they sorted tools and mortar mixes, I went back home to fetch my waterproof jacket, passing Michael on the way who had just arrived and who was also appropriately dressed. Almost exactly at the moment that I arrived back at my house, the rain stopped falling!
Today, (Tuesday, 12.09.23) was the last working day at Sea Lock for some time. My wife and I are off on holiday tomorrow and are unlikely to return home for several weeks. We debated whether I should go working today but I was keen that progress on the upper wharf wall would continue. Steve and Nick arrived around their usual time, not exactly bright and shining at this moment since it was drizzling with commitment. Steve was confident that the weather was due to improve around 10 o’clock. They were already wearing waterproof jackets where as I wasn’t! Whilst they sorted tools and mortar mixes, I went back home to fetch my waterproof jacket, passing Michael on the way who had just arrived and who was also appropriately dressed. Almost exactly at the moment that I arrived back at my house, the rain stopped falling!
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Clad now in a waterproof jacket I walked back down to where the other three were getting organised. The sun began to shine and within a very short time waterproofs were discarded and restoration began. Nick got a double load of mortar mixed and trundled it over on the Kubota tractor front-end loader to where we were working. He and Michael passed buckets full of mortar along with a variety of stones to Steve and I who were down on the scaffold platform.
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I had already dry-laid some facing stones on the wall the previous day, so once they were mortared into place Steve and I concentrated on back-filling the rather large space behind. We decided that a concrete mix rather than mortar would be more suitable for this task, so Nick got to work providing us with that. By the end of the day, we had made dramatic progress on bringing up the front of the wall and back-filling it, consuming a considerable amount of material in the process. Nick had mixed and moved a total of 3 batches of mortar and 8 batches of concrete. The wall had swallowed the best part of a ½ ton of good stone and a whole load of ‘uglies’.
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The weather was contrary for most of the day but did not prevent us from ‘cracking’ on. Having produced the last batch of mortar, Nick began cleaning out the mixer when it decided it too had had enough for the day and stopped working. It seems that the drive belt from the electric motor to the mixing drum has worn out. This will obviously have to be replaced before any more mixing can take place. Just another of life’s little problems! |
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TIME AND TIDES - Sea Lock report by Adrian Wills - 6th September 2023
The last day of August 2023 saw the second highest tide at Sea Lock of the year. Coastal flood warnings had been issued by the Environment Agency but either way this had little bearing on what was happening at Sea Lock itself, other than filling the basin and threatening to float away the contractors’ digger (really?) which he had temporarily parked along with his tipping trailer on the side of the bank.
The last day of August 2023 saw the second highest tide at Sea Lock of the year. Coastal flood warnings had been issued by the Environment Agency but either way this had little bearing on what was happening at Sea Lock itself, other than filling the basin and threatening to float away the contractors’ digger (really?) which he had temporarily parked along with his tipping trailer on the side of the bank.
Since the tide was predicted as being even higher over the following 2 days, it was deemed sensible to contact the contractor and tell him to move his digger to somewhere a little higher. This he duly did. The only downside of the high tides was the amount of dross, which was deposited on top of the scaffold platform. This was easily removed. The highest tide on Saturday (02.09.23) was predicted as reaching 6.8 metres. It was a ‘biggie’ but no problem.
On Tuesday (05.09.23) Steve and Nick, followed shortly later by Michael, reported for duty. It was the beginning of a very hot, sunny and almost uncomfortable day.
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Although our stock of facing stones is running low again, we did sort out some good ones except they were very large, heavy and had to be transported by the Kubota tractor and carefully lowered on to the wall to where we wished to permanently lay them. Several of these stones took two of us to physically manoeuvre them into place. The great advantage of laying very large stones is that they do not require a vast amount of mortar and they do raise the height of the wall very quickly.
By the time we had had enough it was very hot and humid. However, we had raised the level of the section we had been working on quite dramatically and consumed a considerable amount of stone, mortar and infill in the process. |
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Once again, we have run out of cement and hydraulic lime. This will need to be replenished before we can continue, as will our stock of facing stone. ‘Ugly’ stones for infilling, we still have a plentiful supply of! And, yet again, I will have to get busy casting more copers.
An Otter visited the site during the night. Tracks left in the mud are always good to see. It is a pity that the animals themselves are so elusive.
