7th UPDATE: 21st September

The last few weeks have all been about glazing. The roof is now 80% complete in terms of replacement and repair of glass and 60% in terms of putty filleting. As there has not been a sufficient quantity of narrow reeded glass, the glaziers have had to intersperse plain glass randomly – not as simple as it sounds! The overall effect of the new roof is one of pale, dappled glass colours. It is very attractive; in another context it would be described as installation art. Regarding putty, the fillet has to be “carved” around each pane and kept narrow. It then needs 2 weeks to dry before the decorators can start to apply the final two coats of paint. All the above is done by craftsmen sitting/lying on suspended ladders.

With regard to the back or north wall of the greenhouse, the ugly electrical work has been taken out and the wiring taken through the potting shed. What little remained of the lime plaster has been removed from the east side, where the brick will be left exposed and painted. On the west side the plaster was almost all in place but some lime plaster had been replaced by cement. The cement has now been hacked off and a new lime plaster will be applied. Lime is of course a breathable surface, but not easy to apply. This will be discussed in the next update.

The metal restorers are working on the 5 ventilators which will be restored to working order using the cantilever weights that have survived from the original building.

The partition wall between the two sides has also been repaired. As an internal wall it has been the most protected and contained the earliest glass that EH discovered. But early glass is very thin and hence fragile. These repairs are delicate indeed.