The arrival of an impressively large crane in the past week means the 80 tonnes of steel that needs to be hoisted into the Hawke's Bay Opera House can go ahead from yesterday.
The process is tricky, with sections of the old roof needing to be removed each morning and replaced each evening, to ensure that the historic building is weather-protected.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said: "That protection is of critical importance, given the heritage value of the building and how dear it is to our community."
Hastings District Council programmes and facilities group manager Alison Banks said: "Over the next eight to 10 weeks, the steel will be bolted into place and then a new roof constructed over it. That roof would have a slightly altered profile from the side, however the profile from the front would remain unchanged."
Inside the Opera House the building of the sheer walls continued; designed to make safe the unreinforced three-storey brick walls around the theatre that were earthquake-prone. Each of the walls had been encased in steel rod mesh which was pinned into the brick.