Work starts
Work began on the barn in the first week of May with the scaffolders erecting what looked like a fairly precarious set of platforms for Pete and the crew to work from.
The first job was to remove the coping stones on the gable ends and then strip the tiles from the roof. It was very important to retain the Staffordshire Blue tiles and it was a great shame that we lost a fair few during the gales earlier in the year. The tiles were stacked, ready for re-tiling after the roof had been felted.
Rotten timbers and resetting quoins
On stripping the roof, Pete realised that the roofing timbers were not in the best condition and advised that replacement of all but the queen posts and purlins would be necessary. By the end of the month, the roof was felted and battened ready for re-tiling.
The first real stonework began this month too, with Henry and Larry removing the huge wooden window/door from the centre of the North wall and replacing and resetting the quoins (for those of you wondering, quoins are the blocks/stones which frame the sides of a window or door).
Raking out
Other work this month included making a start on raking out the pointing around the stonework. This is an absolutely thankless task which seems to go on for ever - especially when carried out properly. Pete's method ensures at least a 10mm gap between all stones in the wall so that when the time comes to re-point, the mortar can be packed deep into the wall preventing cracking and frost damage. Raking out is done using any tool that does the job - sometimes a screwdriver will do and sometimes an angle grinder is necessary but either way that 10mm minimum gap is crucial!