Crafts / Craftsmen / craftswomen (craftspeople, I suppose)

About 2 weeks ago I started working on the building, and was at it for a week and a half;

Step #1 I had to number all the parts of the building so that I could put it back together again once it had been dismantled.
Step #2 Dismantle it.
Step # 3 Stand back and scratch my head in amazement at the ineptitude of the person who was paid to put the building up when it was relocated to the museum 10 years ago.

I found a number of problems with the building, most stem from one fundamental mistake that was made when the building was initially erected. Normally when you put a piece of timber on top of brickwork or masonry you bed it on; that is to say you build up a mound of lime mortar that runs along the length of the masonry then place the timber on top of this, once this is done you knock the timber into level. Whoever put the sill on did it totally wrong, they levelled the sill using shims then pointed the gap using cement bricking mortar, this caused a cavity between the masonry and the timber that water was able to enter, but not escape. As a result the sill has extensive rot and insect damage and will need to be entirely replaced, also any piece of timber that is connected to or touching the sill is either rotten or starting to rot. So every stud will need a new piece of timber scarfing onto it towards the bottom, and the windows will also need repairs carrying out on them.

Any way my next step is to write a report that contains my method statement for carrying out repairs as well as my estimate. Once that is complete I will probably spend about a week and a half sanding the individual components to check for any further water damage before starting work on the joinery.

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