A gap in the programme

I've had to hold up the work on the shed, so I thought I'd use some of the sand and rather old cement and lime to deal with a different problem, the hole in the wall:



The wall that was here was knocked down by the previous owner to turn the rainwater cistern into what must have been a rather unsatisfactory garage for cars. When we bought the barn, all it contained was some large timbers and a freezer containing old paint pots. And a lot of spiders. The original foundations of the wall were still there except at the left hand end, where they had been cut through to pass the water and electricity into the barn.



So I mixed some concrete for the new foundations, instructed and assisted by the two older grandchildren:



I cut up one of those old timbers to make a doorway, probably the biggest and heaviest mortice joints I've ever cut, and got started building. The wood has been given a single coat of linseed oil, and it is a very tight fit (sledgehammer) under the concrete slab. I hope it doesn't move, as it won't really be held in by the wall.



Once I started, the weather got hotter and hotter, and today I started early and gave it a break in the middle of the day when it was much too hot. By this afternoon I'd got up to this level, and it is beginning to look like a real wall:



After beginning thinking that 10cm thick concrete blocks would do for the inside wall, I eventually decided that the 20cm ones would require less mortar, and put less stress on my back (all the mortar has been mixed by hand). Occasionally if the stone facing is a particularly large piece, I have to knock a hole in the concrete block to accommodate it. At this stage I am not sure if I actually have enough stone to finish it, but I am hopeful, particularly if I can get a few more of the bigger stones into the wall. The main problem is lifting them, and not dropping them so hard on the wall underneath that it damages what's already been built.

I've been using a lime mortar for the wall, more to use it up as it is getting a little old, but also because it should match the existing mortar. I've left wide gaps for pointing later, and with a bit of luck - although you will be able to see the joins - it should match up reasonably well. The bit on the right is likely to be a better match than the left, where the new wall meets a nicely squared corner of the barn.