The Sleepers

Getting out of the ground is something of a relief. The stone filled trenches, compacted and levelled, can now receive the sleepers which will support the weight of the building. The floor structure will rest on these sleepers and be fixed to them creating a sort of giant raft. This will ‘float’ around 450mm or 18″ above the surface of the field so, should I be inundated with water as a consequence of climate change, I can sit and contemplate the best course of action. As the floor itself will contain 300mm or 1 foot of insulation the water would have to rise a full 750mm or two and a half feet to get inside.

As I write, incessant rain is cascading down in unseasonal amounts. If it were not for the long days one would suspect that it was autumn. Perhaps the Irish obsession with talking about the weather will now awaken the national consciousness to what is actually happening!

For our part we now need a few weeks clear weather to get the structure up and the roof on. After that we can continue work relatively protected. We are currently completing the last of the Peter Posts under the lean-to. The jig is indeed proving its worth – we can turn out a post in around 20 minutes. Floor beams are also being made – these take around 15 minutes each. Our slow preparation time is now paying us back one hundred fold!