Heritage Style Restoration 32

Heritage Style Restoration is Dying in Tassie
T ’was 24/11/2019 and the ABC News on MSN 9 reported restoring heritage properties is a dying art based on information coming out of Tasmania Australia. The highlight was Mr Green who is a bushman, and one of only a handful of tradespeople left in Australia who know how to select the right timber and craft it into roof shingles to maintain the grandeur of Tasmania’s oldest buildings. Well, I’d say that’s true.

 

 

 

 

 

(Source- © Provided by Australian Broadcasting Corporation Graham Green is working on the restoration of the miller’s cottage in the historic Tasmanian town of Oatlands. (ABC News: Edith Bevin)
Mr Green is getting older, he wants to pass the skills on and do some training. One problem may be tradies don’t want to learn it. In fact, e.g., there are fewer and fewer bricklayer apprentices in this country.
Bricklaying mortar should include lime [which provides flexibility for growing bricks] but bricklayers stopped using lime a long time ago. There are serious concerns, by powers that be, replacing skirting boards or repairing skirting boards, making and applying lime mortar and washes, replacing the lower part of wall dado and applying heritage wallpaper are among the other skills identified as being in danger of dying out. I say when it comes to the crunch a good carpenter can learn how to and actually restore skirtings and dado, and I say this because I have.
In any case, there is a great initiative in the Tasmanian zone training young tradespeople the art of making wooden shingles to repair the roof of the old miller’s cottage in Oatlands expending long hours splitting shingles the old way with a wooden mallet and L-shaped, an axe-like tool called a froe.
At the end of the day, one thing that might happen, obviously is a shingle product will be machine manufactured to replace the handmade shingles. On 20 November 1992, there was a devastating fire at Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world and one of the official residences of Queen Elizabeth II. The castle suffered extensive damage and was fully repaired within the next few years at a cost of £36.5 million, in a project led by the conservation architects Donald Insall Associates. Tradespeople working on the project had to resurrect skills not used for 150 years. This shows anything can happen and be done.
I own two books from 1912, i.e. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION-….. COURSE by Charles F. Mitchell, LONDON, and yes apprentice’s textbooks, surely there must be others around. Perhaps Mr Green should write a book about his speciality work.
I have spent many years working on restoration carpentry and it’s all about passion. I have a fascinating collection of old planes from yesteryear but I haven’t used them. Maybe I’ll test them one day before I die.
Not all is lost!

References – ABC News Restoring heritage properties is a dying art but Graham is determined to pass on the tradition By Edith Bevin 24/11/2019; Wikipedia, T.V.

Como Building P/L, Michael Como provides in SYDNEY, an NSW Building Regulations Consultancy service that comprises, Interpretation of NSW legislation relevant to the construction of Class 1 and 10; Issuing: Complying Development Certificates (CDC), Construction Certificates (CC) [after a local council has approved a development], Occupation certificates (OC), Compliance Certificates, NCC Building Code Australia Reports. Engagement for the certification work is on a contract basis.

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