[Loch-Ruadh] The Gate Trip

Loch Ruadh Seneschal seneschal at lochruadh.org
Wed Jun 2 11:44:46 PDT 2010


I know that this is a couple of days overdue, but I've been trying to catch up on things both at home and at work, so I ask for your indulgence.

As Terrence has already said in another email, our gate is done!  There are still things we need to improve on, but the structure is whole, and can no longer be called "Mangehenge".  Getting enough scaffolding to go all the way around made an incredible difference in the amount of work we were able to complete, and setting up a tarp to provide both sun shade and rain shelter was also a great help.

The work completed includes:
    - The top of the cross-beam "stone" was sealed in the seams with weatherproof caulk and coated with several layers (4, I think) of waterproof sealant.
    - Every area on the cross-beam and the uprights that was still open or had become exposed due to the burlap disintegrating from the weather was covered in fine mesh screen, attached with heavy duty staples, screws and fender washers, then mortared with cement slurry.  This includes the gaps where the uprights join the cross-beam.
    - The doors, which were becoming non-functional, were removed and replaced with plywood fastened to the framework with screws and painted cement gray.  Redesigned doors will be put on at a future date.
    - The plywood "ceiling" of the cross-beam was seam-sealed with caulk, all loose edges of screen not covered by cement were stapled and screwed down tightly, and the whole "ceiling" painted cement gray.
    - Much of the uprights were given an additional coating of cement slurry, concentrating on flaked/chipped areas and those areas where the original coating was somewhat thin.
    - Both corner posts that mark the edge of our land at the front had suffered some minor damage, so we repaired those as well.

AND - we did it all for a lot less than we had originally estimated!  (Come to Populace tonight for details on how much money we saved.)  I'm also glad to say that despite sore muscles and aching backs all around, there were no serious injuries.

To be completed later this year:  the wing walls and posts to support the sheet walls.  More on that at a later date.

Kudos and many many many thanks to Alric, Marion, Gruffydd, Kaz and Terrence, who spent their Memorial Day weekend, gas, traveling and lodging money, and a truly massive amount of physical effort to make sure the job got done.  We now have a gate that we can be proud of; it is the culmination of the labors of everyone who has made any of the gate work trips and/or worked on the gate during Gulf Wars, and the Shire owes all of them a debt of thanks.

In Service,
Padraig
Seneschal


      


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