WEEK 9 - Day 35 Removing Scaffolding, Racking and Other Works

Having removed the last roof trusses all the scaffolding erected inside the roof space can now be taken down. On Monday all the scaffold tubes above the warehouse floor will have been removed. The tubes and boards will now be used to build walkways and props within the main core of the salt works.
Looking from the north east the main salt works buildings can be seen through the scaffold tubes. The hatches allowing salt blocks to be 'lofted from the stove (hothouse or 'otters'- see below)' to the warehouse floor are covered with plyboard to avoid anyone falling though. The floorboards of the warehouse floor will be removed next week when we can show you the detailed construction of the flues within the stove area.

The scaffold racking is now being built to store the truss elements, roof boards and other structural pieces. As each timber is put into storage a condition report is made grading it with a recommendation as to whether it is OK to be re-used, if it needs a repair or if it should be used as a pattern for a new piece to be made.

Within the main complex 110volt festoon lighting allows the other stove ('otters') areas to be cleared of debris and supports to be inserted to the warehouse floor above. Compare these areas with the dismantled section of Stove House 5 over the coming weeks.
The Enabling Works will allow safe access to the architects to inspect these parts of the salt works so that we can prepare a schedule of works and go out to tender for repairs to costed in Phase 2. The Stove House has flues and ditches where the salt blocks were dried.
Within these areas the decades of salt build up in the ditches and ash in the flues will be cleaned out. The condition of the cast iron columns, which have deteriorated in the salt are of particular interest to the overall stability of the buildings.
A video has been placed on the Cheshire Museums YouTube channel where the timelapse camera installation can be seen. click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt9TkGwrohY . This is continuing to record work to dismantle Stove House 5 and will form a special video compressing the work ove the past weeks to a few minutes.

WEEK 9 - Day 34 Last Roof Truss of SH5 Dismantled

The last pieces of roof trusses were removed from Stove House 5 by lunch time today.
After a damp period yesterday our luck held and today was again dry and warm.
The large forklift took more pallets of timbers to the ground ready to be stored in our temporary building.

H&E scaffold team were hard at work along side Anelays removing unwanted sections of scaffold. The internal platforms are being removed and the upper sections of brickwork are to be taken down to the warehouse floor level. after which the floor boards themselves will be taken to the timber store.



A1 Environment Services came out into the daylight after long periods inside Warehouse 2 and 3 removing collapsed pieces of cement asbestos roofing sheets which have fallen onto the internal floors.

WEEK 9 - Day 33 Roof Trusses almost Down - Internal Works

Having had a couple of weeks of dry weather it was back to rain from lunch time, a soft drizzle with grey low cloud. Uncomfortable for those completing the dismantling of the roof, and dark for those within the pan houses and stove houses. But it dried up and stayed warm for the afternoon, so work continued quickly. Our working scaffold has itself started to be dismantled, working back from the east gable. The traget is to have all the roof timbers dismantled by end of work tomorrow, Wednesday.

WEEK 9 - Day 32 Continuing Works and Visit

A1 Environment continued removing asbestos roof sheets from the former Salt Pan 2.
H&E Scaffolding continued erecting a scaffolding walkway through and around Salt Pans 3 and 4. William Anelay Ltd continued to dismantle the roof trusses of Stove House 5, and with the weight removed from the east gable the upstanding brickwork above the warehouse floor was also dismantled.
A video recording the dismantling of the east gable has been posted on Youtube and a link placed in last weeks diary account. Editing of the video taken as roof truss No.6 was dismantled is also now uploaded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nizNmZ6RWA.
Carolyn Shepherd took away some more timbers which are not required in the rebuilding phase and these will be used in an art installation as part of her 3rd Year art degree exhibition.
Middlewich Town Clerk, Jonathan Williams and Kerry Fletcher, Heritage Development Officer visited to see the progress of the Enabling Works. The brine pump of Murgatroyds Salt Works still survives in Middlewich and was operated by Tom Lightfoot whose manuscript and pencil drawings were edited and published by Annelise Fielding as 'Open Pan Salt Making in Cheshire' (see publications link opposite).




Dismantling roof trusses (left view from north) (right view from south)


Details of ridge boards showing diferences in construction between the ridge above the main trusses (left) and the ridge over the roof ventitator.