A team of Fownhope residents, with an average age over 75 years, have just completed a two year project to automate their hall’s unique variable false ceiling. The whole ceiling, or just part of it, can now be raised and lowered rapidly at the touch of a button.

It is just ten years since the Fownhope team installed their hall’s variable ceiling.

This allows the headroom in the hall to be changed from about four metres, which is ideal for social events, to the original nine metre height required for sports such as badminton or children’s parties with bouncy castle. The ceiling, designed by retired civil engineer, Derek Colley, is made up of eight large panels, two rows of four, each about 4.5 metres square. These are hinged at the wall and each may be raised in the manner of a drawbridge.

It had always been Derek’s intention that the ceiling panels should be motorised but the cost of this at the time was prohibitive, so hand operated chain hoists were fitted.

Early in 2017 the team discussed the idea again, as the amount of sheer physical effort required to raise and lower the eight panels manually was daunting and it didn’t seem reasonable to expect anyone to this work for evermore.

Now the reconstituted team have replaced the original manual lifting system with microcomputer controlled electric hoists that can raise and lower the whole ceiling in less than two minutes.See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here