Aaron, after the scaffolding was put up right close to the first floor supports, saw that he would want to propose changing the plan for reconstructing the first floor supports that will be much more in keeping with the original layout. We will have removed three layers of flooring on the first floor, carefully removing what we can save and re-using the good stuff for the underlayment of the floor so it will look as it does today from within the foundation.
By the end of May the deck was built to provide access for building the northern wall. Rod and his two sons have rigged up a pulley from steel I-beams stretched across scaffolding outside the building. They move stone onto the deck with the skidder, then drill a hole in the stone, insert a threaded sleeve, then screw in an eye-bolt. Then they just hoist the stone or granite block and lower it into the hold. Down there, Rod’s nephew sets the stone in place on wet cement laid on top of the footing.
By the end of May the deck was built to provide access for building the northern wall. Rod and his two sons have rigged up a pulley from steel I-beams stretched across scaffolding outside the building. They move stone onto the deck with the skidder, then drill a hole in the stone, insert a threaded sleeve, then screw in an eye-bolt. Then they just hoist the stone or granite block and lower it into the hold. Down there, Rod’s nephew sets the stone in place on wet cement laid on top of the footing.
After drilling granite with holes, these threaded sleeves are inserted, and into them goes an eye-bolt to which the hoist is attached for lowering the stone into the basement.
Hoist ready to lower the granite down.
A zip line runs from a locust on the Luhn property through the open west wall, through a northern window and then attaches to a maple down our property toward Pleasant Street. The zip line lifts the huge hemlock beams and slides them over to the Mill to be set in place.
Another cool thing we saw was an “Archimedes” rig for determining the level of the floor. Not yet using lasers, so they used a water tube on the second floor to figure out how much each part of the floor needs to be adjusted to have everything level so as to counter sagging of as much as 10 inches.
"Archimedes" at work. This is the system for determining how much each part of the building needs to be raised to obtain a level floor. No laser technology being used here!
The western wall has steel plates on all the posts, with jacks rigged to the plates. This is how they lift the whole west wall to slide in new sills.
West end of original mill building supported by jacks so rotted sill can be removed and replaced.
The next design focus has to be on getting the details set precisely for the turbine installation. The discovery here is that most of the floor is large stone and rubble, rather than ledge, so placing the penstock has become easier and may not require chipping away at ledge. This team will have to try to save as much of the old wheelhouse as possible; we will probably be able to save about half of the hole where the old penstock entered as well as the remains of the old turbine to the west of the penstock entry point.
You can see why it’s exciting to be here every step of the way!
You can see why it’s exciting to be here every step of the way!
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