Monday 1 August 2022

MYTHOLMROYD: Bell House Moor

Bell House Moor: The boardwalk build begins . . .

A stunning blue-skied South Pennine day saw Linda H, Ray, Ian V and Frank H start the tricky task of installing boardwalks.

Start of session:

Frank is kneeling on an old boardwalk onto which a long new section of boardwalk will be constructed.

There is an angle change here to direct the run of boardwalks across the least awkward ground.

A bearer (the support board for the boardwalk stringers) is being positioned and packed so it is lined-up with the bearer of the older structure. 

Alignment at this stage is critical!


Later (work in progress):

The old and the new are aligned. There are lots of variables here!

The new bearer (not visible) is flush with the old bearer and fixed to it with an overlap strip.

The stringers (the main beams of the boardwalk) run parallel and one has been cut so the far ends (out of picture but also supported on a packed bearer) will accept a cross-tread at 90 degrees. The stringers are level both lengthways and transversely, and have been screwed to the bearers.

The four new cross-treads have been angled to cope with the direction change. They will be trimmed later.




Even later!

Stobs (anchoring stakes) are being hammered-in. They are just under a metre in length and go through the softer upper layers to embed in firmer ground. 

There are three stobs on each side of every 3 m length of boardwalk and they stop any lateral movement as well as helping to support the weight of boardwalk.

To improve overall structural strength, adjoining boardwalk sections are secured by nailing overlap strips across the join where the ends of the stringers meet.




End of the session.

Mmm! This looks a neat enough job. It was possibly the trickiest section because of the angle and the bridging of a bog.

The next work party will add more 3 m sections of boardwalk on to this length . . . . so they won't be short of work!

Fortunately, some 3 m sections have already been pre-assembled but levels, alignment and structural integrity will need care.

More news on Wednesday, when we hope to have another fine day!