With the site establish, the next challenge was transporting the 3t excavator and 1t dumper to the summit. The morning train had a flat bed that we could load the plant onto at the base of the mountain, but could only transport them 90% of the way to the summit. The remaining 10% we had to unload the tracked plant off the flat bed with ramps and track up the steep mountain to the summit. This was risk assessed and planned by our in-house health and safety manager, and a team of 10 experienced operatives were tasked with the tasked with the move. We used over 100 sandbags to place on the mountain to even out the terrain, provide traction and protect the mountain for the damage of the tracks. We also had two people ensuing the public were controlled and diverted away from the high risk work area. Both excavator and dumper was successfully delivered up and down the mountain without incident. With the plant on the summit, we were now able to lift two flat pack containers as storage and welfare to the site. These were anchored down to the roof with shot fired fixings into the concrete structural frame. These containers provided shelter and welfare for the site team and storage for all the material required for the days work and tools on the summit. An 11KvA generator was also transported to offer 110v and 240v power at the workface. 

Now work could begin, we exposed the first 10m2 of the roof to investigate the true build-up of the roof. What had been installed was a EPDM membrane adhered directly to the concrete beam and block infill, filer fleece layer, inverted roof XPS insulation and finally 100-250mm of screed laid to falls. We found many issues that were causing water ingress into the building, including failed welded joint between the EPDM membrane, loose upstand details, punctured membrane at change in height or upstands. Shrinkage of the membrane cause the EPDM to tent between detail, insufficient upstand height, no cavity trays within the upstand walls. 

Our conclusion was that although issues were present within the main area membrane, the main issue was a badly designed upstand and structural parapet wall. As part of our project we decided to remove the outer layer of the wall and dress our membrane up to the top of the parapet wall. This was 1.5m high, but with snow drift reaching this height during the winter months, it was imperative to ensure a robust solution. We also installed cavity trays and weep holes throughout the new outer skin of the parapet, that would catch and discard any water ingress into the wall. A continuous problem the client have on the summit is the stone cladding points failing each winter, with the mortar beds blowing and leaving big holes for driving rain to enter the structural wall. By laying our membrane up to the capping height of the parapet, we negated this issue. 

The roof area was designed as a warm roof to allow installation of a tapered insulation board system to encourage water to fall to the internal gutter system and the 6 outlets throughout the roof. 

To the end of the first phase, we now had a clear picture of what was required to complete the work and the scope. We has also experienced the brutality of the weather on the summit, with November brining in 80-100mph winds, constant rain and freezing conditions.

Phase two started May 2024 and the site was re-established, and work could start in earnest. Working in the 30m2 sections, we exposed the roof be moving the ballast and spreading among the rest of the 350m2 roof to equally distribute the load, we demolished the screed and removed the insulation and EPDM membrane. All waste and surplus material was transported down to the mountain base by tippable skips installed onto the flat bed of the train. Telehandlers would unload the material down in Llanberis and segregate the waste into the appropriate waste streams. We managed to reduce our waste by donating the insulation to a local scheme that enquired about its final destination. 
At the summit, the first layer was torch applied to the concrete structure to ensure the initial waterproofing layer was on as quickly as possible. The temporary joint between the new felt membrane and old EPDM was sealed using a self adhesive strip and Sika Liquid applied membrane. 
As one area was completed, the ballast was moved from the next 30m2 area back onto the newly roof area and the next section could start, repeating the same process. The stonemasons and bricklayers worked tirelessly taking down and rebuilding the parapet wall, allowing the more weather dependent roofing works to progress any time the weather permitted.

We had originally projected the programme completion on June 2024, but due to adverse weather this was pushed all the way to end of September 2024. The train was unable to reach the summit in winds exceeding 50mph, and the train operators later confirmed that 2024 was the worst summer on their record, with the most cancellations in their business history. But thanks to our dedicated project team and local operatives who took great pride and pleasure in working on the iconic Welsh mountain, we completed the work with 2 weeks remaining on the season and avoided having to return to the summit in 2025 to complete the work.