Lancashire Mountaineering Club

Proposal To Exchange Cae Du For Cae Ysgubor At Bedgellert

There are now two sub committees which have been formed. Nigel Lyle is the chair of the Development & Richard Toon is the chair of the fund raising committee.

You can contact Nigel at : walesdevelopmentlancsmc.org and Richard Toon at : fundraisinglancsmc.org

Work started on the site in March 2010 - the site has been cleared and the foundations (piling and ground beams) have been laid so the planning permission is now well and truly secured. Thanks to LMC SAGA Construction Ltd! Plans are in hand to install the ground floor (beam and pot slab) soon before the winter and then start the building envelope in the spring. All offers of help welcome.

At the EGM on the 18/11/2006 it was decided that the club would proceed with the proposal to exchange Cae Du for Cae Ysgubor at Bedgellert. More information will be placed on the website when it becomes available.

The following links show more information about the hut. Please note that plans may be subject to further amendment as teh detailed design develops:

Hut News

22nd - 24th March - Jim Cunningham

Last week we completed the studding upstairs and lined the side of the stairway with plasterboard ready for the stairs to be put in. We also completed about half the slate floor and put in pipes for underfloor heating, which we plan to connect to an air source heat pump subject to our Sport England bid being successful. We also laid ducting for the electric cable which will provide our electricity. Thanks to the workers who toiled in freezing conditions - Edgar, Chris, Dave Fisher, Kev M, Jim, Dave Sudell, Dave Thistlethwaite, Nigel. Thanks also to Dave Medcalf and Kathy who not only slaved away but again provided accommodation for the workers. Our next meet will probably be May 7 to 10, though this is to be confirmed.

Floor Laying - Jim Cunningham

I attach 4 photos - the IMG 1544 was taken by Kathy Woodhead - she and a friend went round the day after we left to do some pointing. It was too wet when we left. We just had one day laying slate on our last meet and got about a sixth of it done, so it should be cracked on our next visit. The wall round the bathroom for disabled and the studding for the upstairs loo was also completed.

We need to mix about 6 tonnes of cement on our next visit (21 to 24th March), so if anybody is available and needs some exercise, particularly on Saturday, then they will be very welcome.

Lancashire Mountaineering Club - Hut in Wales

Beddgelert Hut Ready for Winter - Jim Cunningham

It is now sealed ready for Winter. In the last 3 day work session we:

Fitted all windows
Fit underground rainwater drainage at the back
Completed all gutters and downspouts
Completed the upstairs floor
Started to build the wall which will enclose the bathroom for disabled.

And lots of minor jobs.

The building is now watertight and all rainwater from the roof is safely delivered away under the road. We plan to have a rest now and return when the days are longer, in mid - February.

Thanks to Dave and Kathy, Dave F, Bernard and Josie, John Ratcliffe and Kev for efforts on site.

Also to Dave and Kathy for their hospitality.

Progress report Cae Du - October 11th - 14th 2012

Earlier in the year we reported that we aimed to have a roof and windows in by October/ November. Well we are going to achieve that with a bit of luck by the end of October!

Despite some very wet weather at the end of last week the roofers achieved a great deal. Dave F and Kev spent 2 days installing 3 roof windows (though they had some problems with the IKEA style instruction sheet!!)

Slating went on apace and one of the 4 roof areas is finished, another is 3/4 done.

Slits in mid eave blockwork were cut and lead work installed. The President finished up looking like Mr Pastry (perhaps younger members will be puzzling - who?? - just Google it!!) and Brian refused to transport him until he had been dusted down!

In a fortnight we hope for a big turn out to finish the roof and also start/complete fitting windows. These are on site but all need painting before fitting (3 coats) so even if you don't have a penchant for roof work there will be plenty of painting to do - possibly up to 36 person hours in total spread over the weekend.

Thanks to all the members who helped this weekend and we hope to see lots of new faces 25th - 28th October.

Hut progress at Cae Ysgubor up to end of September 2012

Since March of this year the hut has arisen a bit like the proverbial "Phoenix" from the foundation slab laid a year earlier.

In early August enough blocking had been done for us to arrange the first of two deliveries of steel beams and soon we had the recognisable outline of a building.

By the end of that month floor joists and roof rafters had been fitted at one end and then this week the rest of the roof rafters have been fitted, together with roof felting and battening ready for slating to commence on our next visit.

Windows are already on site plus the slates for the roof - so fingers crossed we are still on target to have the building watertight and weatherproof by the end of October.

The LMC wouldn't have got this far without the support of so many of its' members - those who have offered financial support, those who have given generously of their time both on and off site and those who have provided us with a dry roof and hot shower at the end of what has been sometimes a very wet day at Cae Ysgubor.

In the next update we hope to be able to show you a building with slated roof and windows.

A Step Further for the Beddgelert Hut - Jim Cunningham

We now have a roof! Well rafters on one end and both steel ridge beams in place. Chris, Dave F, Richards Toon and Ramsden, Graham, John and Jim spent three days fitting the rafters and building up the high gable walls, sometimes in heavy rain. Thanks to all and to Dave and Cathy for again providing accommodation and helping on site. The high end is now ready for the slates fitting. The next step is to hire scaffolding so that the rafters to the lower roof can be fitted and the roof slated. As usual many members are away for most of September, so it looks like the roof will have to wait.

We are on track to seal the building in October or November however. We will have spent a total of about £22000 for materials to reach this stage, plus the cost of the foundation. Fund raising is very necessary, so please make sure you sell (or buy) your tickets for the Balloon Race.

Building Meet, Beddgelert Meet, 24th to 27th May - Richard Toon

Brilliant weather meant much progress over last Thursday to Sunday. The first steel beams are now in place; the internal walls are partly built; the ditch for the main drain and the trench for the water pipe are partially completed; the campsite is ready for grass seed. Next time, the wooden rafters for the first floor can be installed and temporary flooring laid to enable the final walls to be completed, ready for two more steel girders. Then the roof can be constructed. We are on target to complete a water-tight building this year. We did have a fun BBQ on Saturday night at Borth y Gest also!!

Building Meet, Beddgelert Meet, 26th to 29th April

Again excellent progress was made on the hut. We have laid over half the blocks and are at lintel height in the single storey part of the building. All the materials were moved onto the site (about 20 tonnes) and a camp site was prepared with steps and a winding path leading to it! Despite the forecast the weather was reasonable. Thanks to everyone who helped and to Dave and Cathy (Medcalf) for letting us stay at their house despite being away. About 13 people slept there one night.

Helpers were: Nigel and Jane Lyle, Bernard and Josie, Mark and Janette, John, Kate and Dave, Jason and Joanne, Sarah, Graham, Dave and Julie, Richards Toon and Ramsden, Pete (from Red Rope), Roger Finn, Dave Fisher and Jim.

The photos show the inside of the hut and the view from our newly laid campsite.

Building Meet, Beddgelert - March 22nd to 25th - Jim Cunningham

The hut at Beddgelert has finally started to take shape after a year's delay due to planning problems. About 800 blocks were laid, a quarter of the total needed. The weather was perfect and despite a slow start due to rusty skills and complex radon protection measures our target of four courses was achieved.

We had over 30 tonnes of supplies delivered, but unfortunately the delivery lorries were not able to reach our site, due to a narrow exit from the campsite. This meant all materials had to be unloaded on the campsite, about 50 metres from our site and then transported by wheelbarrow. We had sufficient labour to transport the materials used, but there is still a lot on the campsite.

Labour was largely provided by retired members - Jim, Dave F, Chris, Nigel, Ian, Edgar, Richard, John, Graham and Cathy. Mark and Janette and Robert Smith and Katie joined us at the weekend. In total about 30 person days of hard labour were put in - thanks to everyone. Thanks also to Dave and Cathy who provided accommodation.

Our next Meet is from Thursday, 24th to Sunday 27th of May and volunteers are needed. If you can find time, even if it is for one day only, then please contact Jim Cunningham. We do need younger members, especially with trowel skills, who can turn up at weekend. This is terrific training for climbing!

Foundation Construction - Getting the Blocks In - 11th Feb 2011

Further progress has been made on the foundations at the hut. These are now practically done after a day of hard graft by the none SAGA members of the LMC! Thanks to everyone who helped at the weekend. Special thanks for Cathy & Sarah for feeding us, and putting up with us!

The next phase of work is to start building the walls!

Please remember that this build can't happen without your generous support; with both time on site - helping the building & money!

Beddgelert Hut News - 17th - 18th November

Foundation Construction - 20th to 22nd October 2010

Report on Beddgelert - 29th to 30th Sept 2010

Thursday

Nigel and Tony Lyle(Tony was specially imported from New Zealand), Mark B, Chris W, Bernard, Dave Fisher, Jim C

Plywood for shuttering supplied and cut to size and by a specialist firm in Darwen at a good price - Bernard towed this down.
20 tonnes of quarry waste delivered to site.
Trench hand dug to bedrock at back RHS - about 8 metres.
About 24 metres of trench hand dug around the piles. This more or less completes the excavation needed for the ground beam.

Weather was warm and dry until about 4.00, when rain started. It rained heavily all night.

Friday

Chris, Bernard, Dave and Jim

Four of us bailed for about 40 min to expose the bedrock at the bottom of the trench.
Building inspector arrived and agreed that concrete could be poured on the bedrock to build it up to ground beam level. He was also helpful on the next steps needed.
Met concrete lorry on the main road. He tried to reach the site from the Copper mine end but could not negotiate a bend about 150 m from the site, so back and through the campsite.
1.5 cubic metres of concrete delivered. His chute would only reach the trench closest to the road, so it was dumped there.
Four of us spent about 2 hours moving the concrete to the back and side trench where it was needed. There was lots left and some was used on the car park.
We practiced placing the shuttering in the trench closest to the road. It looks like we can do this relatively quickly.
Dave measured to work out how much steel we now need for the shorter ground beam.

The weather got better as the day went on - it was sunny in the afternoon.

Conclusion: A very successful 2 days. It looks like we can complete the ground beam on the 21th and 22 nd of October if we can get a big enough team on site. Thanks to everyone, especially Tony, who was our champion big boulder remover.

Lessons:

We probably won't have water problems now unless the rain is torrential.
We need power on site next visit. Chris is researching a generator to buy and also a cement mixer.
We need at least 8 people on site when the concrete is poured, probably on Friday, 22nd Oct. We shifted about 4 tonnes in 2 hours. Next time there will be about 25 tonnes. With steel in the beam it won't flow easily along, so much will have to be shifted by hand.
The building inspector suggested it might be easier to put the digester next to the stream on the building side of the road, with discharge straight into the stream. We need to research this and reach a decision on where we put the drains before the beam floor is put in.

Jim Cunningham

Progress at Cae Ysgubor - September 2010

Further progress has been made over the summer months, after the previous update in May. The piles (foundations) have now been inserted in to the ground. These are awaiting the concrete slab to be poured.

Progress at Cae Ysgubor - May 2010

Nigel, Cathy and I have had a very successful couple of days working on the Cae Ysgubor site. We hired a digger/breaker [with driver] and a dumper from John Roberts & Co of Ffestiniog, and Nigel borrowed a laser level from his neighbour.

Work done:

ALL the old foundations have been removed and trenches have been dug for the new foundations on three sides. The fourth side is left in place to allow access by the pile equipment, but will be [relatively] easy to dig out as it's on the peaty end of the site.
The locations for the piles have been marked and the depth of the trenches has been levelled for the positioning of the beams between piles.
The site area has been levelled ready for the floor to be laid on the beams.
The old foundation rubble [masses of it!] has been used to bring the car park area [across the road] up to road level, and smoothed enough to allow cars to be parked now, though a surface will be required to finish the work. There is probably space for five cars now, and there will be more when we move the pile of 'facing stones' from the old walls of the barn/cottage. Plus the spaces on the 'hut side' of the road, of course.
Thanks to Cathy, the vegetation from the area on the other side of the 'car park' stream has been cleared. When we dig the hole for the bio-digestor, the material can be used for levelling this area which could make a small camp site.
The site has been 'secured' to stop passers from falling into the foundation trench alongside the road.

Overall we were very impressed with the skill and hard work of the John Roberts' driver [Gwynne] and would recommend using the firm [and asking for Gwynne] for any future digging/clearing work. The final result certainly exceeded my expectations and, thanks to Nigel's professional surveying and direction, the site is now ready for the pile and beam installation. It now looks like a 'proper site' on which progress is being made.

David [Qualified and experienced Dumper Driver]

20th - 21st March 2010 - Working Weekend - Cae Ysgubor

Work started on the site over the weekend of 20th - 21st March.

The existing structure was knocked down, and old foundations have started to be removed from the site. These where not adequate for the proposed building. The weekend also saw several drainage ditches created, cleared and improved upon. Other general clean up of the site was undertaken.

A big thank you to everyone that attended and gave a helping hand.