Got the glass clamps fitted this week, a friend had told me that one could get a tap with a drill integral and a hexagonal shank so that the hole could be drilled and tapped in one operation. So we drilled 3mm pilot holes than started the drill and tap operation. Unfortunately one of the two combination taps broke on the second hole, they are so hard they are also very brittle. So we drill the holes with a 6.2mm twist drill and just use the cimbination drill and tap to tap the holes. That works really well and we don't break the other tap. (we had a few normal taps as backup just in case). As the holes are tapped we follow round and bolt the clamps down with some Duralac paste to stop any electrolytic corrosion between the zinc and the stainless clamps. The weather was revolting again, freezing rain, so it was a very dedicated crew that got the clamps on. I was very relieved as the glass people were booked for the following Monday to measure for the glass panels.
Monday, 13 September 2010
23rd February 2010
The working party start to instal the handrail. The good news is that the length of the rail is the same as the length of the veranda! The tricky bit is to get the nuts inside the upright box section and onto the bolts without too many nuts disappearing down inside the box section. A good application of grease on the socket meant that only one disappears. This I rate as a big sucess as its pretty cold and it doesn't take long for my hands to go numb. I wonder if we can get the glass clamps installed before the glass people come to measure. I think it'll be good if we can get the clamps bolted down as its just one less variable.
19th February 2010
The first half of the Galvanised rail for the edge of the veranda was delivered on the 5th Feb, today the second half of the rail arrived from the galvanisers and is carried round to the club and stacked on the veranda ready for installation. I'm starting to get a bit anxious about time as the season is to start in Mid march ; the handrail is to be bolted down before the glass people will measure for the glass as they are worried that the railing may distort when bolted down. (I doubt it, I've seen how massive the railing is). The glass will take over a week to be made as it has to be sent to London to be toughened.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
16th February 2010
Terrible day, rain is heavy and more or less non stop. The working party carry on working regardless and by the end of the session there are only a handful of boards to be screwed down on the river side of the club.
Pat Morgan uses his chain saw to cut the handrail support for the downriver end of the veranda to length. We slide the beam into place using timber tongs borrowed from Paul Masters, maybe the rain was good as the old deck was pretty slippy and the new beam could be slid into place without using my specially prepared low friction nylon pads (plastic kitchen chopping boards to you).
Then, beyond the call of Duty, Pat stays on in the wet to cut another piece of hardwood to form support pads for the handrail support to fit between the two joists that form cantilevered beams that run out in front of the patio doors. If you stand at the top of the launching ramp and look at the club you'll see where they fit.
Pat Morgan uses his chain saw to cut the handrail support for the downriver end of the veranda to length. We slide the beam into place using timber tongs borrowed from Paul Masters, maybe the rain was good as the old deck was pretty slippy and the new beam could be slid into place without using my specially prepared low friction nylon pads (plastic kitchen chopping boards to you).
Then, beyond the call of Duty, Pat stays on in the wet to cut another piece of hardwood to form support pads for the handrail support to fit between the two joists that form cantilevered beams that run out in front of the patio doors. If you stand at the top of the launching ramp and look at the club you'll see where they fit.
5th February 2010
Handrail arrives and the decking gang is diverted to unload the lorry. Each 3metre section needs 4 people to carry it from the lorry to the clubhouse. Not only that but I picked up the next 2000 deck screws yesterday so the drought is over.
Start thinking about how I'm going to position 5metres os handrail support beam in front of the patio doors without it rolling into the river.
Start thinking about how I'm going to position 5metres os handrail support beam in front of the patio doors without it rolling into the river.
2nd February 2010
The first half of the handrail went to be galvanised today, it stretches from the oar store down to the gap for the access ramp. It is due back on Friday.
We are almost out of deck screws, the supplier sent 2000 the wrong size. Spent a couple of days while they were pursuaded that it was their mistake and they need to change them at no charge. Now they are late delivering.
We are almost out of deck screws, the supplier sent 2000 the wrong size. Spent a couple of days while they were pursuaded that it was their mistake and they need to change them at no charge. Now they are late delivering.
26th January 2010
Great progress being made on the decking. Discover that we've missed a joist to support the Crows nest support posts so another joist ordered and fitted quickly before the deck boards can be screwed down. A bit of a problem getting one end shoved under the wall of the oar store but a bit of judicious action with a panel saw and hammer and it was pursuaded to fit. I need to order another 2000 deck screws as we are running low on the 2000 I ordered initially.
19th January 2010
The working party starts on the deck. In order to speed progress we have arranged for small teams to work on the Thursday and Friday mornings. The original plan was to start at the down river end of the veranda and work steadily up the deck. However, with the number of people that we have it is decided to have 3 gangs, each starting at different points on the deck so work can proceed at three time the pace. Some careful measuring is done to make sure that the start points for those who start in the middle of the deck fall on a multiple of the width of the deck board plus gap.
15th January 2010
Cyril and Will came for 2 days this week and put in the missing braces and finished off a few other jobs that got missed before Christmas. Now we can start on screwing down the deck and I can get the metal fabricator to come and measure the dimensions for the railings.
The committee has decided that they would like a rail with glass panels rather than vertical bars. It'll be more expensive but they feel that it will be worth the extra spend to keep the view of the river. Also the glass will act as a windbreak.
The committee has decided that they would like a rail with glass panels rather than vertical bars. It'll be more expensive but they feel that it will be worth the extra spend to keep the view of the river. Also the glass will act as a windbreak.
9th January 2010
At last the scaffolders get to the club and install the rail. They try and reverse their lorry up to the club but on the ice the rear wheels skid and start to slide do the grass bank towards the tea hut. It looks like a serious problem and I'm worried that the lorry may roll and crush someone.
With the help of one of the scaffolder's brothers and his 4x4 they get the lorry back on the tarmac and get the handrail in place. I'm very relieved both that we have a handrail and that no one got hurt.
With the help of one of the scaffolder's brothers and his 4x4 they get the lorry back on the tarmac and get the handrail in place. I'm very relieved both that we have a handrail and that no one got hurt.
4th January 2010
The scaffolder was dure today, I was pleased that I'd laid out the decking as he had a wide open solid floor to work from. Howeve he felt it was too icy and he had someone off sick. I began to think that he just didn't want the job. It was frustrating as we couldn't do any more work on the deck until the handrail was in place.
Cyril was busy this week but said that he could come back next week with Will and finish the braces that were missed.
Cyril was busy this week but said that he could come back next week with Will and finish the braces that were missed.
3rd January 2010
I've been away to my sister in Sussex for Christmas and then my brother inlaw in Yorkshire for New Year, arriving back on yesterday evening. I'd intended to have the temporary scaffolding handrail installed before Christmas but the scaffolders felt it was unsafe to work when the beams were covered in snow and ice. At this stage there were no decking boards laid except a few laid out from the back door of the clubhouse. The rest of the boards were in 2 stacks laid across the rafters, waitning to be put down.
The weather was glorious today, very sunny but very cold, so I decided that, with Margaret's help, I would lay all the decking loosely across the rafters as each board would span the entire distance from the club to the river edge beam to form a complete floor. I had agreed with the safety coordinator that we could avoid the need for a temporary subfloor if we had all the boards laid out to form a working surface, just taking up a decking board, cutting it to length and then fixing it down. With only 1 or 2 boards up at a time there was never a gap large enought to fall through into the mud or water.
So I tried to get my first board off the stack, unfortunately the stack was frozen and I thought I'd have to give up; the boards were looser where the sune had shone on the stack so I had to start at the south side of the stack. As the job progressed I had more and more space to stand on and the job got less and less risky. One of the stacks had to be moved so boards could be laid where the stack was sitting which was a bit of a blow. All together there was more than one 7.5 tonne lorroes worth of timber so I think I moved about 10-12 tonnes of oak.
I did have a climbing harness that was intended to be worn for this operation, this was insisted upon by the safety coordinator. However it was more of a hindrance and I think increased the risk of a fall as I was walking up to 10metres carrying deck boards and a rope might have snagged and thrown me off balance. I would also have had a big swing, possibly against a pile or beam, so I just gradually increased the width of my platform, by laying boards out from the stack and felt pretty comfortable once I'd got about 10 boards laid down as that gave me a platform over a metre wide.
The weather was glorious today, very sunny but very cold, so I decided that, with Margaret's help, I would lay all the decking loosely across the rafters as each board would span the entire distance from the club to the river edge beam to form a complete floor. I had agreed with the safety coordinator that we could avoid the need for a temporary subfloor if we had all the boards laid out to form a working surface, just taking up a decking board, cutting it to length and then fixing it down. With only 1 or 2 boards up at a time there was never a gap large enought to fall through into the mud or water.
So I tried to get my first board off the stack, unfortunately the stack was frozen and I thought I'd have to give up; the boards were looser where the sune had shone on the stack so I had to start at the south side of the stack. As the job progressed I had more and more space to stand on and the job got less and less risky. One of the stacks had to be moved so boards could be laid where the stack was sitting which was a bit of a blow. All together there was more than one 7.5 tonne lorroes worth of timber so I think I moved about 10-12 tonnes of oak.
I did have a climbing harness that was intended to be worn for this operation, this was insisted upon by the safety coordinator. However it was more of a hindrance and I think increased the risk of a fall as I was walking up to 10metres carrying deck boards and a rope might have snagged and thrown me off balance. I would also have had a big swing, possibly against a pile or beam, so I just gradually increased the width of my platform, by laying boards out from the stack and felt pretty comfortable once I'd got about 10 boards laid down as that gave me a platform over a metre wide.
18th December 2009
Tam, Cyril and Will's last day. There's been 8 inches of snow overnight and I have a cheque for Tam's final payment to deliver. I decide that biking is unwise so I'll catch a bus from Martlesham Tesco's. The bus stop seems eerily quiet though a route 66 appears; after a while I decide that I could stand for hours waitning for a bus so I'll walk to Woodbridge. Its a beautiful walk, very little traffic, unfortunately the snow plough has been up the back road down to the Red Lion so the road is fairly clear but there's over a foot of snow on the footpath. I'm a wimp; I meet a cyclist on a recumbent tricycle near the fish and chip shop, he is pushing his trike though as the wheel is spinning on the ice as he goes up hill.
At the DYC there's still quite a bit of tidying up to do, I'm hoping that we'll finish by mid afternoon and I'll take Tam, Cyril and Will for a beer at the Anchor. John Davis comes down and though he's happy with the work done he notices that we've missed some cross braces. Probably my fault as I failed to order timber for them, if I had we'd have been looking at a pile of timber wondering what we'd missed. As it was we had no more timber so we assumed we'd finished...well you would wouldn't you?
In the event more snow is forecast and everyone decided to go home at 3.00pm so as not to be stuck in Woodbridge. The only one certain of getting home was Tam as he commutes by boat so he's OK unless the river freezes.
Overall I feel that Tam and Cyril have worked hard and done well. The job was a big one and quite close the limits of their equipment. They worked in some horrible weather as well as some really lovely days and I think we only lost 1 or 2 days because of high wind.
At the DYC there's still quite a bit of tidying up to do, I'm hoping that we'll finish by mid afternoon and I'll take Tam, Cyril and Will for a beer at the Anchor. John Davis comes down and though he's happy with the work done he notices that we've missed some cross braces. Probably my fault as I failed to order timber for them, if I had we'd have been looking at a pile of timber wondering what we'd missed. As it was we had no more timber so we assumed we'd finished...well you would wouldn't you?
In the event more snow is forecast and everyone decided to go home at 3.00pm so as not to be stuck in Woodbridge. The only one certain of getting home was Tam as he commutes by boat so he's OK unless the river freezes.
Overall I feel that Tam and Cyril have worked hard and done well. The job was a big one and quite close the limits of their equipment. They worked in some horrible weather as well as some really lovely days and I think we only lost 1 or 2 days because of high wind.
17th December 2009
Well the good news is that the standoffs arrive. The access ramp now can't be reached by a crane from the barge as the pontoons are in the way so we decide to put the standoffs on without the crane if we can. On a rising tide, just as the float starts to exert some upward pressure unbolt the float and use body weight to push it down and out to one side of the ramp. We quickly bolt on the standoffs on and try and get the float back under the access ramp, of course the float has to be pushed 300mm further into the water to get the standoffs in position; rather difficult but just possible by putting as much weight as possible on one side at a time. Once they are are in position we bolt them on and wait for the tide.
What a disappointment, this time the float sits much deeper, but doesn't have enough buoyancy to lift the access ramp. At the top of the tide the float is nearly submerged, just a couple of inches of freeboard, so a bigger float is needed, as well as being set even lower relative to the ramp.
What a disappointment, this time the float sits much deeper, but doesn't have enough buoyancy to lift the access ramp. At the top of the tide the float is nearly submerged, just a couple of inches of freeboard, so a bigger float is needed, as well as being set even lower relative to the ramp.
16th December 2009
Bad news, the carrier fails to deliver the stand offs from Walcon, I volunteer to cololect them from the depot, unfortunately the carrier is Fedex and their depot is in Thetford. \at least with the good old Post Office you can just drive to Ipswich and get stuff. Stand offs promised for toomorrow.
In the meantime the joists are down and cross braces are being bolted on between the piles. I'm getting quuite optimistic that we'll finish on Friday and arrange for John Davis the engineer to come down on Friday to check the structure has been buit to his satisfaction.
In the meantime the joists are down and cross braces are being bolted on between the piles. I'm getting quuite optimistic that we'll finish on Friday and arrange for John Davis the engineer to come down on Friday to check the structure has been buit to his satisfaction.
14th December 2009
Good progress getting joists down, it looks like Tam, Cyril and Will may finish by the 18th December, we have a problem if they don't finish as Tam is committed to dredging the Royal Harwich marina from the 4th January. In order to help get finished Tam and Cyril have employed Will, a steel erector who was trained as a joiner to help get all the joists nailed down and cross braces bolted in place. Will is young and very strong, just missing out on a trial for the England under 16 rugby squad as he fell ill before the trials. He seems able to manage 5metres of joist without undue effort, but drilling 18mm holes through the hardwood beams seems hard work even for him.
I continue to chase Walcon for a solution to the ramp that doesn't float high enough. They decide that we should move both floats to the bottom section of the ramp and will send stand off's to lower the float relative to the ramp so the float gets immersed earlier. Just hope the stand offs arrive before Tam and Cyril finish for Christmas.
I continue to chase Walcon for a solution to the ramp that doesn't float high enough. They decide that we should move both floats to the bottom section of the ramp and will send stand off's to lower the float relative to the ramp so the float gets immersed earlier. Just hope the stand offs arrive before Tam and Cyril finish for Christmas.
9th December 2009
Today the south end of the existing deck was dismantled so the only way to do any work out is to walk on the beams, they look quite wide until you start walking then they seem quite narrow really. This feels like a milestone as the main beams are ready for the joists to be nailed down. To get an idea of how hard the timber in the main beams is I try to hammer a nail into an offcut - no chance. The nails are 6mm diameter so I try a 4mm pilot hole, still no chance; they need a 5mm pilot hole so I go and buy two 5mm twist drills, they need to be 200mm long as the nails are 150mm (6 inch) long.
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