The Pod is growing

The framework for The Pod and The Platform is up! The mezzanine has a floor and its great to stand up there close the roof - it seems higher than we expected. Tassie oak from Musketts in Hounville, and as we specified, not from Gunns. This company is hated by all the small mills in Tasmania as Gunns takes all the timber it can to feed the woodchip market. The small businessmen, tradesmen and carpenters that I meet might not agree with greens in every respect, but they have even less time for Gunns and their bullying tactics which leaves them with no regular supply of timbers for house building and fencing.

We are opening the church up on the 5th and 6th of April as part of a local event called Focus on Franklin. Pat will hang some prints and I will show some photographs so we can show visitors what we are intending to do with the church. But for now, its time for the electrician and plumber to do their stuff in the pod.

Watching paint dry

We were privileged to have a visit from Geof Tasker, the director of Murobond, who came down to see the church and then, back in Sydney, mixed a custom made traditional lime wash that would match the existing wall colour. We were somewhat alarmed on opening to see it was bright orange, and thicker than custard.

Surely this can't be our tin? When it dried however it was after all the right colour - except where there was still rising damp, as indicated by the orange patches. As it dried, I finally understood that watching paint dry can be exciting and not such an old joke after all !

South Bank completed!

Work completed on the south side of the Church shows several features: The enlarged subfloor ventilation, the new drainage system-including a cup drain, and the raised soil level with turf. All of the above works are to prevent water from reaching the base of the walls, anything that does that will minimise the effects of rising damp.

All the works so far undertaken by Keven McMullen are intended to combine practical measures to conserve the Church with aesthetically appropriate improvements to the use of space surrounding the buildings. Problem solving issues of heritage, sustainment( to borrow Tony Fry's word) aesthetics, and costs are always part of the day to day work, and make a complete change from teaching art theory.

The next task is use the limewash I ordered on the interior walls of the church. This will prove to be interesting as using the traditional limewash requires a particular set of skills. I hope the clour match will be close enough that I can blend the colour into the existing limewashed walls.

Time now to leave the blog and wet the walls in preparation for the paint mixed for me by the specialist paint company Murabond.

Alterations to the church - plans and 3D images

Here is a couple of images of the plans for the church. Jenny Wilson, on her visit here, referred to it as the "Pod". This new structure was designed by Giles Newstead to allow the Church to be used as a studio for artists in residence without impinging on the structure of the heritage listed building. Visiting artists/educators can have a bathroom, toilet, washup facilties -and a bedroom.

In the brief, we asked Giles for a contrapuntal response to the 1862 church, described in the heritage listing as " Victorian Romanesque". The reponse is a design that is edgy, geometric and functional. It is a distinctly modern design that adresses concerns for the conservation of energy and the continued conservation of the original building.

The Heritage council approved the plans without reservation, and they recognise that with modern facilities that do not change the integrity of the architectural forms, the building may live again to take on appropriate secular duties in the village of Franklin, Tasmania.

Franklin Jetty on the Huon River

Getting paint off the windows

Rosie helps out with brushing back the interior walls of the church and scraping paint off the windows to reveal more of the original,1862 leadlights. We are planning to brush back the walls to reveal brickwork, distemper and paint layers. Windows are to be cleaned and conserved in their current condition but protected from further deterioration by double glazing which will also help to insulate the church.

Rosie is a traveller from Scotland who has been spending time campaigning against old growth forest logging in the Florentine Valley. Rosie, and Nathan, heard we were offering casual work through the Huon Environment Centre, and the environmental centre is close to Franklin, and does an important job as focal point for the activists in Tasmania. They attempt to conserve the Trees whilst we try to conserve the beautiful church for generations to come.

Keeping the walls dry

Work begins with the builder: The Church must breathe again, and Keven, the builder, says the church has lost its musty smell. The question is, is this because I left the manholes (in the floor) open for six months so the airflow improved, or is it because it has been unseasonally dry here in Franklin? This begs the next question: Is this because of global warming or just a dry winter and spring?

Last thing, on this first day of Keven's work on the building, he tells me there is a pool of water just sitting there under the floor of the Church between the piers. I must crawl under and see for myself soon.....what to be done?? Move the Church across the road I suggested helpfully.....

Regardless, the floors are better ventilated now than they have ever been, and as I blog, we are also building better drainage on the southern wall to keep water flowing away from the walls of the Church. Out Damp Spot! get thee gone saturation!

Dr.Z.