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View Article  More Manpower at Summit

Fixing with adhesive the waterproof rubber fabric at the northern end of the
service wing.


Two trains, each with a carriage, have become necessary to get the growing number of contractors to the top of Snowdon in the morning. At the summit, waterproofing Hafod Eryri using the Prelasti System is nearly complete. This is a fabricated rubber roofing membrane originally developed by Pirelli 30 years ago.


Getting going in the morning.

A platform lift has been installed to meet special access requirements and an anodised aluminium door frame is being fitted at the main entrance. Work on the stone facing of the service wing has started and at the southern end of the building a further inscription can be seen on the blocks. The shiny aluminium shell will eventually be hidden by granite making the building much less conspicuous from a distance than it has been of late. Lots of people have commented on its beacon-like appearance in the afternoon sun.


In case you were in any doubt which mountain you were on.


Fitting the door frame of the main entrance.
View Article  Building Momentum
The scene today facing contractors trying to finish Hafod Eryri, compared with that of two weeks ago, is a remarkable transformation. It took two days after the last blog posting for the digger to clear a passage through the snow so the train could reach Snowdon's summit. The train is essential for getting the men to work and ferrying supplies up the mountain. But now with the winter conditions dramatically replaced by sultry spring weather, work at the summit is steadily gathering momentum.


The Hafod Eryri construction site will be a hive of activity over the coming
weeks.


Forty-five contractors filled the carriage this morning. The contractor R.G. Owen had six stone masons heading up to the top of Yr Wyddfa: all tasked with cladding the shiny Kalzip skin with granite block-work. Soon they'll be fifteen men on that job to move it along quicker. The blocks require time-consuming dressing before being secured with mortar.


Rob Owen with a wooden template to help turn a difficult corner with
the stone-work.

The scaffolding is going back-up and the Heras fencing around the site has been reinstated. Inside Hafod Eryri, a three metre deep by two-and-a-half metre wide walk-in freezer has been fitted, the granite floor in the cafe area has been virtually finished and the shop-fitters are about to start panelling the walls.  A time capsule due to be opened in fifty years time has been placed under the cafe floor.


Inscription on cafe floor where the time capsule is buried.


Gareth Griffith, Site Engineer, surveying the summit plate to check the radius
grid lines for the building plan.