WEEK 7 - Day 27 Loading Bay Floorboarding and Stove House 5 Roof

Today we completed the removal of floor boarding from the Loading Bay platform.
Many boards are in fair condition, but where rain and weather has been able to get at the timber ends you can see the outer ends have decayed.
To see a video of how this was carried out follow the link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJ6u3j67jg.


In the fantastic early September weather our A1 suffered in their protective suits to cut the sheeting clips, and remove the boarding. The underlying boards are in excellent condition having also been protected by a roofing felt. His is the view from outside our exhibition building. Come along and see the work as it progresses, Monday to Thursday until November.

WEEK 7 - Day 25 Loading Bay Roof Dismantling

Dismantling of the high Loading Bay roof was carried out today, whilst the scaffolding team erected the final tier of working floors inside Stove House 5.

There will be a short video posted here in the next few days showing this operation.

Concrete pads were prepared to take scaffold tower that wil support the salt pan when it is removed from the furnace. We jope to have a time lapse sequence showing this process, weater permitting.

Ground clearing was also completed around the perimeter of the site to enable access for the fencing team to erect the boundary fence.

A large section of the south west area, backing onto our neighbours' gardens is marked out as a 'butterfly' garden in partnership with Butterfly Conservation. This work helps us look forward to when the site ceases to be a building site, but is fully renovated and open for visitors. More on this in later entries. The exhibition was opened by volunteers during the Enabling Works - Monday to Thursday 1.30 to 4.30.

 Check for more recent updates to opening times.

WEEK 7 - Day 24 Asbestos Removal Begins

A1 Environmental Ltd started removal of the roofing cement asbestos sheeting this morning. The first target was the Loading Bay.
Using a cherry picker the operatives spray the sheets to prevent dust and cut the securing fastenings in order to remove the sheets in one piece, avoiding breakages.
Tomorrow work moves to the main roof of Stove House 5.
http://www.a1environmental.co.uk/

Manouvering the cherry picker beneath the Loading Bay roof.

Wearing protective suits, gloves and masks the sheets are sprayed before cutting through the fastenings.

WEEK 5 - Day 19 Ground Works, Scaffolding, Local News

To view how the site looked this morning link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4kHwgCSaVY
The preparations for erecting our temporary building store can be seen and there is a tour around and inside of Stove House 5. It is amazing that Henry Thompson only had this constructed in 1965, but it is to a much earlier design. Most of our work is targeted at recording and dismantling Stove House 5, so that it can be re-built on a new foundation. All materials will be stored and repaired for re-building in 2010. The revitalised building will house the Lion Salt Works Museum shop, cafe and interpretation centre. Much of the rest of this blog will detail how the dismantling will be carried out.

Site Manager, David Marsh gave a short tour to the editor of the Marston parish newsletter, Sarah Hubbard. Sarah has been passing on information about the start of our works to local residents through her monthly newsletter. To help her to understand the work she was given a close up view of the progress we have made. William Anelay Ltd are signed up to the Considerate Constructors Scheme - http://www.ccscheme.org.uk/ , so keeping our neighbours well informed is important to them, and helps to get feedback from locals who might have issues with aspects of the work. Our door is always open if anyone has any problems, or indeed if they want to tell us that we are exceeding their expectations.

WEEK 5 - Day 17 Timelapse record of works to Stove House 5

Julian Baum and Claire Duval of Take 27 have been helping set up a time lapse camera which will record work being carried out to Stove House 5. Over the coming weeks the whole of this building will be dismantled and stored ready for re-erection as part of the Phase 2 works.
The camera looks out of the upstairs window of the former Red Lion Inn, now the offices and exhibition area of the Lion Salt Works Project.

A sequence of the scaffolding being erected is now available, the work completed at the end of last week. Link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6PNR74aoMQ

For information about the work of Take 27 go to http://www.take27.co.uk/

Work being completed today, includes additional scaffolding to the north of Stove House 5, ground works to the general site surface and temporary car parking for visitors, asbestos removal and dismantling of the link bridge between Stove House 5 and the main salt works complex.

























The nails have corroded, all the salt eating into the iron work, making the structure very unstable. The scaffold provides a safe working platform to photograph, label and remove the structure.

Much of our loading bay is made up of re-used timbers. One second hand telegraph post has this inscription GPO 1908 R

WEEK 4 - Day 15 Continuing site preparations

We continued preparing the ground surfaces around the cabins and Stove House 5 and cleared the site boundaries, ready to erect a new fence.
The scaffolding below the bridge link between Stove House 5 and the main pan house complex is increasing every day, rising to the eaves on the west side of Stove House 5.
We have started to install a camera to record the dismantling of Stove House 5 using time lapse photography. Moe details will be posted on Monday, Day 17.

WEEK 3 - Day 12 Scaffolding Loading Bay and Preparing Pan No5

At the end of the third week preparations are well advanced to prepare the site and buildings for the main works schedule. The grounds have been cleared of vegetation and is ready to be 'stoned up' to give a stable working surface. The old security fence has been removed and scaffolding is starting to arrive on site.

Next week the ground surface will be surveyed, and a laserscan survey will be completed in the stove areas of Pan House 1, 3, 4 and 5 and around Pan No 5.

Scaffolding has started to be erected at the north end of the Loading Bay to allow working access to the overhead walkway between Stove House 5 and the main salt works complex. The scaffold will allow safe working for survey work prior to elements being labelled and dismantled.

Pan House 5 was the last pan house to be constructed and used at the Lion Salt Works. It was built in 1965. The roof structure over the pan collapsed some time ago and was removed, but the hurdles either side of the pan remained, collapsed beside the pan at 45 degrees.

The decayed planks were first removed to reveal the supporting joists. Excess brine would seep from the salt that had been raked from the salt pan to drip into the drainage gulley below the hurdles.

Holding the 2m ranging rod is Gareth Wilkes, pupil at The Grange School, Hartford who spent this week helping at the site as part of a work experience placement. The hurdle platform would have extended from the side of the salt pan (on the right) to the outside wall which sat on top of the dwarf wall to be seen on the left. The hurdle would have enabled salt blocks to be wheeled into the brick Stove House through the door that can be seen above Gareth's head.
You can see the roof line of the Pan House where it joined the Stove House. The SE corner of the stove house has collapsed but this enables you to see the warehouse floor where the salt blocks were stored after they had been dried in the stove house (also caled a hot house - or te 'otters)

Gareth helped catalogue some of the finds that are being made during these enabling works. A variety of artefacts have been found. On the left, a milk bottle was found in the Loading Bay area, possibly dating to the 1950's. It came from Horner's Creamery at Cuddington.

Heavier and more substantial are a group of railway 'chairs found around the Brine Pump. Probably lifted from the private railway siding they are cast with the letters LMSR.

WEEK 3 - Day 11 Scaffolding arrives

Scaffolding arrived this morning to begin supporting the outside of Stove House 5 and to provide a working platform from which to survey and dismantle the link walkway between Stove House 5 the main complex of Stove House 1 and 2. The first wagon of poles was waiting outside the site on Ollershaw Lane at 7am, ready for off loading. You can see the Salt Store on the opposite side of the road to the Lion Salt Works.

On site the first set of poles and planks are off loaded and moved to the Loading Bay area.

The first area to be scaffolded is this area at the north end of the Loading Bay to allow safe access to the overhead walkway which provides access from the warehouse floor of Stove House 5 to the main complex of earlier pan houses. This link walkway will be first building element to be dismantled, prior to the later dismantling of the whole of Stove House 5.

An asbestos survey is being undertaken to identify remaining asbestos on site and to prepare a method statement for safe removal.

Also being labelled is the collapsed headstock from over the first brine shaft of 1894.