Jostling for position

Today's blip are the old floor joists that have now been exposed at the old wall is pared back. As you can see here the two middle joists are now floating in free space as the wall around them has been removed... As I type this blip up the carpenter is actually in the process of removing them, as they have now become an impediment to the work the masons are doing.

This picture shows the old method of joist work, when you get to the right level you put the joists directly into the wall and then carry on building the wall on top. The more modern practice is to use a hanger, so a galvanised metal bracket goes into the wall, and the joist hangs in that. If you put the wood directly into the wall, it can draw moisture in from the wall, and rot, eventually failing at the wall end. It's not 100% clear, but you can see water has penetrated the wood from wall in these joists, but given that the building has been open to the elements for nearly 50 years, they have actually survived pretty well!