Newcastle Waters Jones Store Repairs and Maintenance
Period 14.8.2018 – 22.8.2018.
Volunteer hours.100 hours.
Travel to Newcastle Waters 14th return Darwin 22nd.
A considerable amount of work was undertaken in this period as we are now in a position to work from room to room. Not all work will be undertaken but structurally the building is in much better shape with rotted major uprights being replaced on the western verandah and the central main block. The mud block walls have moved opening cracks and causing spalling of the mud plastering. A caulking gun was utilised to inject puddled termite mound into the holes, cracks and crevices. The plastering met with limited success in some areas as the wall has been repaired with a varying number of different materials over the years including cement and acrylic paint. These require a little more attention and wetting and bonding agents will be trialled on a small scale to see what works. However, in the main, the walls have been painted with lime based undercoat and are looking much better.
The floor on the freezer room was treated with the loose dust being removed and a layer of puddled ant bed of approximately 75mm depth was set in place. The doorways were hardened with grouted recycled concrete.
The kitchen stove recess was grouted and the broken corner of the floor slab repaired. The shelving was partially replaced, however, termites have eaten through the shelving and suitable materials will need to be sourced.
The northern apex of the kitchen breezeway was rewired back in place.
All materials ant bed, recycled concrete, timber and sand were sourced locally.
The roof of the main store building is an issue with a lot of the rafters unattached. The timber is extremely dry brittle 75mmx50mm Cypress pine previous repair attempts have resulted in splintering.
The internal ceiling is galvanised corrugated iron and has been painted with a lime-based paint. The lime is attacking the galvanising and will need to be removed and cleaned/treated or eventually replaced.
