Second Lift

With the first lift completed, and the joists and first floor laid, the winter arrived - and what a stinker it was - I covered up with DPM, and ran a 110mm pipe down into the drains so I could sweep the water away easily.

It was a pain, but I had little option.

Just more of the same.

Scaffolding is expensive to hire, especially for me as I would need it longer than a team of builders would. I didn't want such expense, but that's why we know 'blokes in Pubs'!

Honk, a good friend with plenty of contacts offered to lend me some towers. I retrieved them from a large pile of 'crap' around the back of a famers barn.

I am very grateful, and so far they have done the job, but not everything fits together properly, and they are a bit 'don't try this at home'

I got to wallplate level a lot quicker than I expected. maybe I am getting to be a better bricky!

I fitted padstones then had to lift a large steel into position ready to take the roof. (I didn't get a picture of me lifting the heavy steel because I was a little busy and reluctant to let go half way through)

However, in suitably Wallace and Gromitt style it involved the ladder in the previous picture, several supports to stop the ladder bending, a semi-willing brother, and inching it slowly up and through the window before being lifted onto the padstones.

Where the steel loaded onto the main house I cut out some brickwork and fitted a 300 x 150 x 100 padstone. I also cut the steel into the old wall plate, and drilled some holes in the steel so that its wall plate could be bolted down (advice taken from BCO)

Old and new wallplate heights do not match perfectly along the whole length of the building. This is because when I measured the old building I found that the wall plate height varied by over an inch from one end to the other. I had to find an average.

At the eaves on either side of the building I laid the bricks in a dog tooth corbel pattern to match the main house.

I fitted timber wallplates to the eaves walls, and tied them down with a series of wall straps.

I did the same from the inside. By doing half the wall thickness at a time and fitting the lintel, I reduced the need for propping.

I will cut through once the roof is on.

I cut out brickwork from the outside of the building and fitted a lintel where I would ultimately cut a doorway.