Workshop – day 3

We spent two days measuring and cutting the joists, nailing in the joist hangers, mixing the concrete to keep the joists off the ground, and finally putting them all in place.

On Friday we spent the morning laying bricks to bring the floor up to meet the walls where there were gaps, nailing the joists into the hangers, and starting to measure and cut the celotex for the floor insulation.

img_3154

 

All the floor joists are now measured, cut and put in place, and about a third nailed into the hangers.

 

img_3155

The nails were hard to hammer in, so we drilled the holes a little to give them more room to go through, and that made it a little easier. It is still an awful lot of hammering, and we wear ear defenders while we do it.

img_3156

The pieces of wood in the middle give it more strength and keep it from moving. The celotex will sit in between these rectangles.

img_3157

 

Checking the strength of the joists – they definitely hold our weight.


img_3159

Mixing the mortar – 4 parts sand to 1 part cement by volume, mix thoroughly and then add water.


img_3161

 

We decided to cut the half bricks by hand.


img_3163

 

Wash the old bricks thoroughly, scrubbing them with a brush, so that the mortar has more surface to stick to.

 

img_3164

Using the trowel to put the mortar on the brick.

img_3165

 

Laying the bricks, and using the level to check it is more-or-less in a straight line. It doesn’t have to be exact because it is building up to the threshold of the door, which is already in place.

And then it was lunchtime!