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| Before - the hide before re-furbishment. |
Anyone visiting the Reserve during September will have been aware of the re-furbishment work taking place on the Bird Hide. The Hide was originally built by children from Castle Rushen High School under the supervision of their Design & Technology teacher, James Nolan. The years have passed and time and weather have taken their toll. The roof has been leaking, causing the roof timber to rot and at precisely the moment when re-roofing was under discussion, James got back in touch with a generous offer to remove the old roof and build a spanking new one, complete with turf roof. He needed some help and our regular volunteer, Ian Costain, stepped up to the mark. James' sister, Clare, also helped in the early stages and Southern Group Committee members dropped in and out to generally fetch and carry and provide occasional meals and snacks for the workers.
The Hide was funded originally by Mrs. Anne Kaye in memory of her father and sister and she has also now generously funded the materials for the re-furbishment, for which we are most grateful.
The original turf roof was somewhat improvised, whereas this one with its butyl liner should last for many, many years to come. As well as blending in more with the landscape, the idea behind a Turf Roof is to replace the habitat lost to the footprint of the building. Although it must be said, the area beneath the hide floor has become a rather different habitat in its own right! Various invertebrates are to be found there, living in the darkness, and during the work we saw a small frog taking shelter there too.
Here are the photos taken on September 2nd when James was taking out & replacing the rotten timber.
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| James assessing the situation once old turf removed |
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| roof stripped to bare wood |
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| the view from the top of the ladder |
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| some new timber in place |
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| a couple of sections left to go |
The plan had been for the most interesting aspects of the job to be done during the general work party planned for the next day. This would have allowed people to see how the work was progressing and lend a hand , if necessary. Unfortunately, the Work Party had to be postponed because of wet weather but the following day was perfect once more and James and Ian worked hard all day to get the job finished, bar the turf.
Here are the photos from Sunday, 4th September.
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| adding timber battens |
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| Ian lending a welcome hand |
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| more carpentry |
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| first layer of old carpet nearly done |
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| next layer - the butyl liner |
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| securing the butyl with timber battens |
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| more old carpet on top of the butyl |
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| carpet laying |
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| the view from the roof |
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| carpet laying |
When the Work Party finally went ahead on 10th September James and Ian continued with final adjustments and also some strengthening work inside the hide. It is hoped that the turf will be delivered shortly so that the final work can be done.
James has kindly supplied this diagram showing how the roof has been constructed, which he hopes may be of use to anyone contemplating adding a turf roof to their own garden shed etc.
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| click to enlarge |
I shall try to post when the turf is to be added so anyone wishing to watch may go along, or indeed lend James a hand.
In the meantime, thanks to Stan Clucas at Ballachurry Farm for allowing the materials to be stored there prior to installation, to Magic Carpets of Foxdale for allowing us to raid their skip, and all the people already mentioned above for their help and funding. Not least to Janet, our Secretary, for organising/synchronising delivery of the various components.
And, of course, a round of applause for James, please!
