Portal Frame is up

Grant painted the hardwood with an oil based primer that will form part of the portal frame. Although the wood will be completely surrounded by hempcrete the reason for painting it was to reduce the risk that tannins would leech on to the concrete and stain it. Any steel surrounded by hempcrete has also been painted to avoid the steel being corroded by the lime. Nick our builder (Caedman Construction) recommended a double paint treatment to protect the steel, Dulux Weathermax and Durebild.

Builders have covered the concrete with some plastic to avoid any (...further) damage.

Nice to see the scaffolding being used. We bought this a number of
months ago and it has been stored under our house until now. We
figure it was better to buy it and then sell it later rather than rent one
as we will need scaffolding for an extended period.

The portal frame was put up today. After a number of weeks of very little happening it has been great to see action happening at the back of our property. I'm a little stunned by the size of the frame. More things are to come tomorrow as the wall frames and trusses are to be delivered.

The footings that will form part of the link between the old house and
the new space.

Cripes....it looks huge!