Under pressure

The plasterboard's been removed in the pend below the function room and some acroprops have been inserted.
'scuse these pictures being the wrong size. I will sort that later.
The five big beams holding up the wall above are under colossal strain

This one has cracked right through, and the crack is not old.

So now we know where we stand (not under here anyway) we can get some remedial work done. The quick fix (which isn't really either of these things) involves inserting steel beams between the stone walls of the pend and building up brickwork beneath the wall. With the current supports in such an unsafe condition we are more than a wee bit nervous about this.

The better solution involves propping up the bedroom floors with more acroprops, removing the brick wall completely, and building a new lightweight steel structure. Since it's going to be messy and expensive anyway we may as well have the job done properly.

Skyhooks

The planning officer from Borders council was here yesterday with our architect. She was shown the precarious wall (postings passim/ad nauseum) and agreed that it would have to come down.

There's a temporary fix which involves inserting skewer beams (whatever the hell they are) beneath the wall and insterting packing between them and the old floorboards. A more permanent fix involves removing the wall completely and inserting structural steelwork to support the bedrooms above. We're pressing for the permanent solution since a lot of the money will be workmen's time. We also want a door between the two rooms to give a function suite.

This will be a big job.