Is it really only three weeks?

We seem to have done so much in only three weeks; the roof is progressing slowly, thanks to the usual autumnal weather, but at least we have seen the first slates go back on.  Encouragingly, we don't seem to have lost as many slates as first thought, so just a few reclaimed ones will be needed to complete the job.  Also, the scaffolding has been extended (see the platform above the gutter level) to permit work on both central chimney stacks, which should start next week.

This week's drama was inside.  I decided to take up a few floorboards in the lounge (the rest of the downstairs is solid floor); we knew that there was some issue with the joists where they meet the wall which has the solid hall floor and stairs on the other side.  In fact, the twelve joists are in better condition than I had expected, thanks to a good-sized air space underneath, apart from three places where no air could circulate due to builders' rubbish.  The end of the joists do not rest on the solid foundation as I had expected; rather, there are four small brick walls which support the joists, each with a bit of four by two acting as the sill plate on top of which the joists rest.  After I had taken up the two floorboards closest to the solid wall, I could see that there was indeed some rot/woodworm etc in some of the joist ends and in a few floorboards. Also, the sill plate was rotten in a few places.  Well, that's still fixable. 

I think that the ends of the joists should not actually contact the solid wall but they do - someone had thought it a good idea to fill the gap with mortar, which then enabled the joist ends to become damp and hence rot.  Also, the plaster was too low behind the skirting boards and actually touched the floorboards, again helping dampness to spread and causing rot.  I could add some photos of really bad bits of rot but I'm sure you know what it's like - it looks OK but crumbles in your hand...

I was still thinking that I could fix this all myself when I cleared away some plaster and caused some mortar to fall off which revealed WOOD at the base of a brick wall.  It was with a sinking heart that I removed the plaster at the foot of the entire twelve foot wall to reveal that it was built of brick with a wooden foundation layer at floor level.  I went home both depressed and puzzled! 

The next day, further investigation revealed that this wood may be actually in quite good condition so I shall consider treating it and leaving well alone.  I then resolved to take some more floorboards off to discover the extent of the woodworm and rot on the joists, especially the joist beside the damp external wall (where someone has installed a raised concrete path outside).  Take my advice - be prepared if you do this, and know when to stop.  The first thing was that I found more wood in the external wall - this was a smaller piece which of course had rotted thanks to the damp external wall.  I think it was to help secure the skirting board, but it had long since ceased to serve any purpose except to act as a sponge.

Three hours later I had removed about half of the flooring in the lounge and, hopefully, I have found the end of the woodworm and rot.  I also had the joy of removing a twelve foot piece of skirting board complete without damage, only to see it split under its own weight as I picked it up - woodworm again!  More firewood.

So this time I went home via a well-known supplier of building materials to buy a load of new timbers with which I shall discover if I can fit a level floor, once I can find about twenty five feet of reclaimed 7"x1" pine floorboards which do NOT have woodworm and rotten bits!