[BITList] Our pyramid is collapsing - send for the Welsh! - Africa, World - The Independent

[HUGH]

Mike,

Our church has a hyperbolic paraboloid roof, self supporting and covers a 
big area.  For reasons of neglect I won't go into here, the thrust corners 
at the buttresses failed, letting one of the corners move out by about two 
inches, allowing the parabolic arch area to sag - I estimated by no more 
than half an inch.  I was on the group that investigated the problem. The 
roof movement, small as it was, caused damage to the top of the walls here 
and there, indeed it was that very damage Janet and a friend noticed that 
drew attention to the problem.  So the consulting engineers were brought in 
at great expense and I coordinated with them.  Reports were produced and 
studied, and many were the meetings, but not a sausage was produced in the 
way of, er, fixing it.  Edinburgh sent across an emissary to gaze around at 
it and tell me it was the walls to blame (actually, it was poor drainage 
from the roof).  At a late stage I proposed getting hold of a lot of keel 
blocks and some air bags, jack the roof middle up half an inch, repair the 
walls and the faulty corners, remove the air bags. Little did I know that 
was how they repair step pyramids in Egypt.  Unlike the Welsh proposal for 
the step pyramid, mine was dismissed without consideration, in favour of 
demolishing the church.  It's nine months since I was last at church.

Hugh.