An update on progress.....

So, the New Year's Resolution to keep more up to date on the blog hasn't quite panned out! Anyway, with the recent cold weather making masonry work impractical (frozen lime mortar doesn't work very well), we have shifted our attention to the cap.

'First-aid' repairs in the '70s did a good job of preserving what was left of the cap. However, the deteriorated condition of the timber means that much of it will have to be replaced, using the originals as evidence of how the cap was constructed. In fact, the cap turns out to be quite a confusing mixture of original material, old repairs, more recent repairs and some mystery items (repaired repairs?!)

So began the process of stripping the cap, recording the evidence as we went, prior to sorting through what can be re-used.

At this stage, the aluminium cladding and felt have been removed, together with some of the ribs, here propped against the curb.

 

This is looking down on the front of the cap, with all the ribs removed. The weatherbeam is rotten, as are the front ends of the shears.

A section of the curb, showing its generally poor condition (rot and worm).

And finally, with everything removed! This picture doesn't quite convey the mass of items which were lowered to the ground: aluminium sheeting, ribs, weatherbeam, shears, brake arm, winding gear, truck wheels, centering wheels and a lot of ironwork.

We have also been making replacement sash windows:

Evidence from remaining parts show the original windows were sash but with no weights, presumably wedged open as required. So, that is what we have made. Once fitted, they will be a great improvement over the chicken-wire / Tyvek combination currently in their place!

All wrapped up for Christmas

The mill is now slightly more conspicuous, with a full scaffold and roof. This will help with the continuing repointing and replacement of the outermost lintel sections. Further down the line, the protection of the scaffold will be crucial when work starts on the cap.

With our first proper close-up look at the upper section of the tower, it is apparent that the masonry on the south side has suffered quite badly from frost. Presumably, this type of damage prompted the rendering of the upper part of the tower, but we hope not to resort to that!

Meanwhile, during the bad weather, we have been in the workshop repairing the wallower and making replacement sash windows. There has also been some repair work for us at nearby Wheatley windmill, so, all in all, a busy end to the year.

Merry Christmas, and see you in 2012.

Unearthing evidence

The ground at the base of the tower has needed lowering for some time. A banking of soil, with nettles and even an elder tree, had somehow accumulated. To assist with working on the exterior masonry, this ground has been dug/raked back to a more appropriate level. This revealed a nice threshold at the eastern door, made from one half of a millstone, complete with outer band!

Cement and centipedes

After the last post, we have been continuing with the replacement of rotten lintels on the inside of the mill. These are now complete, leaving the outermost member of each lintel to be dealt with in the future, pending scaffolding.

Recently, we have turned our attention to exterior masonry. Where to begin?! The original lime mortar, in places, has crumbled quite badly. This appears to have been repointed on at least three occasions. Once, and presumably some time ago, with lime mortar of a more coarse texture. Secondly, with a brown/grey cement, and lastly with an almost black cement. The latter is most prevalent around the base of the tower, seemingly in an effort to weatherproof this region of damaged stone.



Showing original mortar and patches of flaky grey/brown cement, covered with lichen


Unfortunately, cement does not breathe as lime mortar does, and so any water which gets in, tends to be trapped. This is quite clear when chasing out the cement: it is covered with lichen and the original mortar behind it is dark in colour, crumbly and damp, with centipedes, woodlice and even worms living in the cracks. Ironically, the original, un-repointed lime is in a much better state, with no lichen or beasties.

The effect of trapped moisture is also shown by frost damage to much of the stone which had been smeared over with cement.

So begins a labour of love...chasing out the cement and loose mortar, before repointing with lime and, where necessary, filling in stone where the frost damage is at its worst. Give us a day or two (cough!....)




After chasing out, the stonework is more defined.

 

Lots of things being finished at the moment....

The newly-refurbished boulter on the stone floor is looking splendid, seen here with the cover on...

and with the cover off.

Also looking good is the bin floor; the sycamore panelling has been trimmed neatly with douglas fir strips, and capping strips added to the bin dividers. Consider the 'i's dotted and the 't's well and truly crossed. One day I'll buy a fish eye lens to show these views properly!

Up on the dust floor, the very poorly wallower has been removed from the main shaft, for major reconstructive surgery back at the workshop. This freed up some room around the shaft, so the last area of flooring could be joisted and decked out. My knees will never be the same again! The 'hole' in the floor is to allow the sack hoist drum to bear against the underside of the wallower, thus giving a friction drive. Much of the mechanism for the sack hoist was absent, so we are extrapolating from what we have seen on the stone floor (where there are similar mechanisms to drive the boulter).

Unfortunately, over the years, water seems to have found its way into the main shaft, probably where it was seeping through the rotten wallower. So, there is a rot pocket in the main shaft which will need repairing. We need a very solid structure here, against which we can wedge the wallower in place.

And finally, the curved stairs to the dust floor are finished, complete with handrail. Luxury, compared to a tied-on ladder.



Yet more lintel repairs

The lintels above the south doorway, on the stone floor, were in dire need of replacement. Here, the middle and outermost pieces have been removed, these were badly affected by rot / worm. The innermost piece was relatively unscathed, so we are keeping this, with the help of a bit of preservative.

The replacement middle lintel in situ.

The original and replacement outer lintels. Note the 'slight' decay of the original - good job they were over-engineered to start with.

About to lift up the outer lintel prior to installation. Next job - masonry repairs. Deja vu ! Still, at least we're out in the open for this one - cue bad weather.......



Boulter, the next stage.....

Quite some time ago, the remains of the boulter were repaired, and new panels constructed around them. Now, we have a clear area on the stone floor in which the refurbished boulter can be installed. With some tweaking to account for a dished floor and sagging feed hopper, the cabinet was in!  

Working from the remains of the original boulter and floor, the layout of the internal hoppers could be deduced. This gave three outlets, for the fine flour, coarse flour and bran respectively. This photo shows new elm panels being fitted, to recreate the original hoppers. At the top of the photo, the original feed hopper can be seen. The drive to the boulter cylinder passes through the cabinet just beneath this.



And finally, a view from beneath the stone floor, showing the newly cut outlets; fine to coarse from right to left.

The next task is to reinstate the drive mechanism for the boulter. Yet more things on which to bang our heads. The ideal stature for a miller must have been about 4ft 6in.