New Turrets for Old

From the 30th of May to the 4th of June this year, 44 staff and students from Weber State University descended upon Balintore Castle to construct 3 small Scottish Baronial turrets from scratch.

When I purchased Balintore,  most of turrets were salvageable but all 4 on top of the Great Tower (3 small and 1 big) were too far gone. Weber State got in touch suggesting a working visit, so we discussed a range of possible construction projects that would fit into their time window, and Weber favoured the 3 smaller turrets.

I was delighted, as apart from de-slating the Great Tower turrets about 12 years ago from a safety point of view, I simply had not considered how I was going to move them forwards. These turrets are cosmetic features with stone floors, so even in a derelict condition they do not let rain into the building, so unlike the main roof, they have not been a priority for me. On the other hand, the sight of the turrets listing drunkenly at the top of the tower with sky clearly visible through them, has been the cause of great stress and shame - the result of which has caused me to avoid looking square on at the castle.

My friends Chris and Sarah came up from Norfolk to cater for the multitude for free. I am deeply grateful for their kindness.  Sarah had a grand plan for the Servants' Hall in the basement, and in cahoots with my carpenter Gregor, they kept me out of the room until it was ready for the "big reveal" at the end of the day.

Sarah preparing 44 beetroot mousse starters

Basically, by using long tongue-and-groove floor boards sitting across my small bistro tables, they had concocted refectory seating for 44! It was an inspired idea, and I was delighted by the outcome.

The Servants' Hall made-over for 44 covers.

The visit was huge fun but pretty full-on, as I tried to troubleshoot problems and oversee operations, basically making sure that the staff and students were not blocked and could continue with their construction work unimpeded. The power went down, the Internet went down, and toilets galore broke. Thankfully, we were able solve these problems fairly quickly.

Twenty-nine pages of detailed and beautiful plans had been drawn up by Weber, which I showed with great delight to Gregor. Gregor is this quintessential "no plans" builder: he holds things in place, and then cuts them to fit. In fact, I would go so far as to say he is anti-plan. :-) When I have drawn plans for him, eyeballs are rolled, and the plans are dismissed as useless, and then ignored. Obviously, I have drawn plans to communicate my vision without ambiguity.

A sample Weber plan

The extensive Weber plans caused Gregor's eyeballs to roll with an greater amplitude than usual. I did my best to explain that plans are needed when a large group of people are involved as here, but I could tell he was not convinced. I went through the plans more thoroughly than Gregor, trying to identify any issues in advance. The Weber plans were based on the original Victorian construction (I had sent sketches, photos and measurements), but they had adapted them to make construction easier with fewer intricacies.

Gregor did save the day by pre-fabricating a core "octagonal prism" that the 8 roof struts of each turret connected with, and by providing advice connected with tools and timber even though he felt way out of his comfort zone with the very different construction techniques and social dynamic of the American group. 

Negotiations over timber sizes before and during construction were rather fraught. The Americans had asked for "two-by-four" timber (i.e. lengths with 2" x 4" cross-section) . We had supplied 45mm x 95mm which we call "two-by-four" but obviously in a modern metric country this is the closest common equivalent. There was some concern that the plans would have to be redrawn, but the Americans improvised on the hoof, and instead used some 1 1/2" by 3 1/2" timber which I had also supplied. Ironically the Americans call this "two-by-four", as in wall construction with the addition of drywall/plasterboard, the dimensions get taken up to 2" x 4".

turrets under construction

Every evening after dinner, there was a "reflection" on the day with around 6 individuals standing up and giving their individual reflections on the day, generally on particular theme such as "flexibility" and this was indeed much needed in the turrets' construction where things did not always go to plan. I enjoyed the "reflections" a great deal, and I think the British could learn something from these in bringing disparate individuals together.

I was somewhat doubtful that three turrets could be built in two days, but after the first morning of everyone trying to find their feet, I was left impressed by how the 4 teams self-organised, with more experienced team members passing on their skills and indeed being assisted by the less experienced. It also helped that the Americans stayed one more day than that I had been told about. :-) And on the evening of the third day, the turrets had been built and clad in green roofing membrane - hurrah!

the completed turrets

The students departed on the 4th day (a Sunday) at 2PM, but were still able to build a garden bench for the castle's inner courtyard in the morning: so three turrets with a garden bench thrown in for free. :-) Other tasks undertaken included gardening and painting - if only I had more tasks primed for the visit as then many more things could have undoubtedly been achieved.

and a garden bench thrown-in for free!

I had been planning to make a little video about the visit using my mobile phone, as I have a great interest in film and documentary, and this was definitely a special occasion for the castle. However, any embarrassment I was harbouring at the prospect of sticking my lens into other people's business, fell by the wayside, as it turns out Weber had brought a full film crew to do exactly this. I couldn't have been more delighted. A 3D "Matterport" VR scan of the castle's interior was also undertaken - something I had wanted for a long time. And there was even a historian who researched the history of the building during these 3 days. Watch this space for further updates on the outcomes of the filming, scanning and archive research.

And finally, a big thank you to everyone involved! I am particularly indebted to the staff and students of Weber State University who gave their time and labour for free - to help save and celebrate an A-listed building. Assuredly, the 3-day construction project showcases the very best side of the human condition.