Dismantling the workshop begins...

The wall covering and insulation is going first

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we are dismantling the workshop so we can take it with us to our new house. Now it is almost empty, the first job is to remove the wall covering. The walls are clad with 12mm MDF to provide a firm base to fix to without having to revert to special fixings. It was screwed to the wall studs using carcass screws, countersunk and filled to present a clean flat wall surface. At the time of building, I had no thoughts of ever removing the boards.

In order to remove the boards, each fixing hole has to be drilled out and the head of the screw 'picked' clean before the driver can get a grip. An old brad-point bit chucked into a cordless drill does the job and made it easier than I had expected.

Drilling out the filler to expose the screw heads

Once the boards have been removed it is time to had over to the 'insulation recovery officer' AKA Sue. The Insulation is recovered intact, three sheets at a time.

The insulation is in surprisingly good condition

The insulation is a 'fit' between the studs and comes away without any drama. Sue's gauntlets were purchase specifically for this job and prevent the fibres contacting with her skin. Personally, I don't find the fibres irritate my skin, but it is still wise to wear protection when handling this stuff, or better still, get the missus to do it instead!

Rolling the insulation, nice and tightly

As the insulation is perfectly serviceable, we decided to recover it for re-use in the new workshop. It is rolled tightly and then stuffed into a black bin-bag.This is not as easy as it looks and requires a qualified engineer with the appropriate experience; decades of stuffing bed quilts into covers.

Experience matters. Sue makes it look easy

Once tamed, the insulation is sealed in its bag ready for onward transportation. Each bag contains three strips, enough to insulate four feet of seven feet high wall. We will have a fair few bags of it by the time we have finished.

Another one sealed up

More of the same for the next couple of days and then we will be on to the windows, door and the roof. The only problem is going to be disposing of the roofing felt. I might roll it up and see if I can flog it on eBay... Wadaya reckon?

Ralph.