Resetting some loose slabs using an innovative method - silicon!

Not a great deal of time for model making at the moment as WMD Towers under goes some maintenance work. I demolished the brickwork under the bay window a week or so ago and then discovered that the drain taking the roof downpipe water was blocked which explained the mossy lawn that has developed over the years as the water was not getting away and soaking into the ground. Time to call in help in the form of Phil the builder who originally was just going to replace some radiators. Radiators replaced, he turned his attention to the drain. Removing the first clay pipe revealed a mass of tree root from the adjacent conifer. Despite using a pressure washer with a drain clearing attachment the root would not shift. Two hours later and using a cork screw attachment on the end of drain rods we pulled about 5 foot of tree root mass out! No wonder the drain was blocked. 

Phil has dug out the roots around the drain, replaced the pipework and bedded it in concrete which should hopefully keep the tree roots from getting back in. He also strengthen the foundation for the wall with more concrete which should stop it moving again.

Whilst Phil was in the mood for dealing with concrete matters, he also reset some loose slabs using an innovative method - silicon! He has done this before successfully so I will wait to see how mine perform!

I did mention a money back guarantee but for some reason Phil put on his ear defenders! Must get a pair for when Mrs. Woody enquires on progress with her list of jobs for me!

Brickwork butchery!

Whilst waiting for the glue to dry on my ballasting job from yesterdays post, I needed something else to do so I commenced demolishing a wall! Not on Mrs. Woody's list but never the less a job that needs to be done. WMD Towers has a bow window. A bow window is different from a bay window in that whilst the bay window is constructed from the ground up the bow window is just a window frame that looks like a bay window but without the brickwork underneath, Back in 2004, to hide the ugly wooden supports and the less then perfect brickwork I constructed a false bay window brickwork as well as a porch (which is still fine as it had deep foundations!). It did the job until in 2016 with the draught, the clay that the foundation stands on dried out more than usual and the false wall started to lean forward. I had not tied the wall into the existing brickwork deliberately because I always suspected there may be an issue and I did not want the false wall pulling on the main structure. Now that was either good planning or just an excuse for not digging deep enough foundations. However when I say the WMD Towers foundations go down 5 feet you ay understand why I did not follow with the false wall! What started as a slight lean has progressed over the years so it is time to demolish and rebuild! You can see the gap in between the window sills and the brickwork showing just how much the wall was leaning.

A carful use of hammer and cold chisel has seen brickwork butchery progress!

Despite calling it brickwork butchery, I have only broken two bricks for which the WMD Stores have spares so most will be reused once I sort out the foundation!