Tuesday 14 January 2014

Adeilad o Goed o Ddau Oes/ A Wooden Building from Two Ages

Ffwrdd a Ni! 
Chocks Away!

Hwre! Mae'r gem yn dechrau go iawn erbyn hyn, oherwydd mae'r cynlluniau i gyd wedi eu derbyn ac mae Rhys wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed iawn gydag adeilad gallwn ddim ond ei ddisgrifio fel lletchwith ar y gorau! Ond, mae popeth yn dechrau symud rŵan a'r gwahanol weithwyr wedi trefnu yn barod i ddechrau mor fuan â phosib. Felly, beth sydd angen i wneud? Wel, lot!

At last! We can begin the real work now that the planning permission is through and Rhys (the architect) has worked tirelessly on a building which I can only describe at best as awkward and interesting - and no, I don't appreciate the application of the same phrase when in reference to me husband dear! So, a variety of builders have now received instructions. So what's to do? A shedload of work, that's what!


Rhys Llwyd Davies, Pensaer/Architect - Bala



Y Coed/The Wood

Wrth chwilota, chwalu, thyllu a thaflu daeth yn amlwg bod yr adeilad yn lawer hyn nac yr oeddem wedi sylweddoli. Wrth dynnu plaster rhydd, roedd yn amlwg fod yr hen waliau pren yn ymestyn i fyny yn ogystal â thuag at flaen yr adeilad. Roedd rhaid yn gyntaf cael triniaeth i'r coed felly dyma alw ar Preservation Ltd a wnaeth job andros o dda yn socian y lle o dop i waelod i gael gwared â phry ayyb. 

Whilst smashing things up and digging it became apparent that the building is much older than we first supposed. Removing the loose plaster revealed more old wooden walls that date back to possibly Elizabethan or older. These extend upwards to the first floor and towards the front of the shop, about halfway. We needed to treat all of this wood quite urgently so we called in Preservation Ltd, who did a thorough job of the building.


Oedd angen paratoi trwy dynnu rhai o'r estyll iddo allu mynd at y distiau, felly dyma roi Dylan wrthi i wneud hyn (mae o'n andros o handi tu allan o'r gegin hefyd wyddoch chi!). Wrth godi'r coed yng nghefn yr adeilad, sylweddolodd na ddim distiau oedd o dan ond set arall o estyll. Dyma od! 


Beth oedd wedi digwydd? Yn syml iawn, roedd y gweithwyr 19eg ganrif wedi penderfynu peidio â thrafferthu i godi'r hen estyll a oedd yn dirywio ond rhoi'r estyll newydd ar ben yr hen rai. Cowboi bildars go iawn!

Preparation was needed for the treatment and floorboards had to be lifted to gain access to the joists so I set my trusty workman (he has uses that extend beyond the kitchen) to task. It was surprising to find underneath the floorboards, not joists, but another set of floorboards that looked pretty rotten. 

What had happened was that the 19th century builders decided to lay the new boards on top of the old crumbling ones. Cowboy builders or increasing the insulation of the property?

Coed llawn pry o dan yr estyll mwy diweddar/Woodworm infested wood under the newer floorboards

Hen hoelion yn yr astell wreiddiol/Old nails in the original floorboards.

Golyga hyn ein bod yn edrych ar adeilad mwy diddorol a hyn nac oeddent wedi dychmygu a gyda chymorth y Parc Cenedlaethol, cawsom archeolegydd i'r adeilad i ymchwilio ymhellach.



Daeth wedyn mwy o waith coed i'r golwg, sef y plank & muntin enwog erbyn hyn sy'n dyddio cefn yr adeilad ymhell yn ôl i 17eg neu'r 16eg ganrif. Felly, mae'n edrych yn debyg bod y tu blaen yn dyddio o gwmpas 1820 a'r cefn efallai 200 mlynedd gynt. Waw! Dwi'n ecseited!

This meant that we have a more interesting building than we originally anticipated and with the help of the National Park, we enlisted the help of an archaeologist to investigate further. More woodwork was exposed that showed the plank and muntin walling extending up to the top floor. This leads us to conclude that the front half of the building dates to somewhere around the 1820s and the back to the 17th or possibly 16th century. We await the full report with excitement!



Gobeithiwn allu cadw gymaint â phosib o'r hen waliau yn olwg ond mae'n fater o gydbwysedd o sawl peth. Yn gyntaf, mae diogelwch a rheolau tan, ond hefyd rhaid ystyried mae ei orchuddio gyda phlastr calch mae'n debyg fyddai wedi digwydd. Hmmm! Ond, mae'r diddordeb hanesyddol yn caniatáu i ni adael rhywfaint ohono i arddangos.

Hopefully, we can keep some of the old walls exposed but this is going to have to be balanced with fire regulations and what would have been done during that period: i.e. if the wooden walls were covered in lime plaster, then to restore the building, that is what we should do. However, we can compromise a bit in order to allow a glimpse of history to be on display to the public.