2 Days to go:
Dust Factor: Gobi
Tradesmen attending: High
Ratio of Vans to men: Very High
Vague Factor: High
Hopeometer -through the floor
Plenty going on but still plenty to do too. The AV desk has arrived - enormous. Truly the AV team will be kings of all they survey.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
April 29th post 3
Carpet fitter is really cracking on (see Webcam)- Hopeometer rises to 'some'.
New doors from the hallway outside the church hall in to the main space are installed and look great.
Toddlers have gone so no dange rof them getting stuck, but Band A are coming in tonight for a rehearsal....
Still loads to do though.
New doors from the hallway outside the church hall in to the main space are installed and look great.
Toddlers have gone so no dange rof them getting stuck, but Band A are coming in tonight for a rehearsal....
Still loads to do though.
April 29th - post 2
The first carpet tiles go down. No toddlers stuck...yet, though Sarah Jane Creighton made a determined effort (it took 4 adults to restrain her) - well done Sarah Jane, though Arun Hodgson still retains the 'nearly' crown.
Carpet tiles go down, hopeometer goes up.
Carpet tiles go down, hopeometer goes up.
Weds 29th April
If ever there was a morning for a toddler to finally breach the security cordon this would be it.
The carpet fitters are in the process of covering the floor in glue which dries to a very tacky finish - perfect for acting like a giant flypaper and marooning many toddlers. Look out for small bumps under the tiles.
Dust quotient - Kalahari
Vague look factor - high
Hopeometer - low - still look like plenty to do at T-3.
The carpet fitters are in the process of covering the floor in glue which dries to a very tacky finish - perfect for acting like a giant flypaper and marooning many toddlers. Look out for small bumps under the tiles.
Dust quotient - Kalahari
Vague look factor - high
Hopeometer - low - still look like plenty to do at T-3.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April 28th
Welcome to T-3
9am - Dust Factor very high, lots of men in the place but all looking a little vague. Hopeometer falls away.
10.45am - Carpet fitters arrive - hopeometer rises slightly.
11.30am - Carpet fitters begin actual work - hopeometer rises further.
Incidentally,hearing them speak carpet fitters are very definitely from West Country. Consider putting them and the Boys from the Black Country into a room together to discuss the project and stand back to watch.
9am - Dust Factor very high, lots of men in the place but all looking a little vague. Hopeometer falls away.
10.45am - Carpet fitters arrive - hopeometer rises slightly.
11.30am - Carpet fitters begin actual work - hopeometer rises further.
Incidentally,hearing them speak carpet fitters are very definitely from West Country. Consider putting them and the Boys from the Black Country into a room together to discuss the project and stand back to watch.
Monday, April 27, 2009
27th April - 2.30pm
Recieve email suggesting quite strongly that the carpet fitters will be in on Thursday. HOPE-O-METER rises from 'no hope' to 'faint hope'
April 27th
Welcome to the dustbowl. Finishing off means a lot of rubbing down of paint, various carpentry jobs etc etc and so dust is everywhere, and carpets are all covered in bootprints made up of small parts of every building substance known to man - the CSI computers would blow up - they could'nt handle the number of traces. If you look carefully all the boot prints have a little logo and the words
'proudly made in Brum by Brummies' visible - Clear clue to the owner.
Its going to be a rollercoater ride to get finished this week and we'll monitor that with Wycliffe Refurb Blogs very own 'Hope-O-Meter'
MONDAYS READING, with 4.5 working days to go: No hope whatosever
'proudly made in Brum by Brummies' visible - Clear clue to the owner.
Its going to be a rollercoater ride to get finished this week and we'll monitor that with Wycliffe Refurb Blogs very own 'Hope-O-Meter'
MONDAYS READING, with 4.5 working days to go: No hope whatosever
Thursday, April 23, 2009
April 23rd post 2
Wycliffe Refurb Blog went in to the sanctuary and it really really is like changing rooms now - there were 10 men all doing different things very quickly in slightly stressy way (but clearly no more than one task at a time - right ladies?) - it was good to see a nail gun getting used - always a staple tool in Handy Andy's toolbox and essential weapon in creating MDF sculptures - with us its just laying down the ply skim on which the carpet tiles will be laid.
April 23rd
Ah, Sunny April Days and all those distinctive sounds and smells.
The sound of revving diesel engines as yet another builders van squeezes in to the car park (the finishing of our project seems to demand numerous single occupancy vans)
The scrape of chairs as they are brought out for al fresco tea breaks. Tea Breaks?! Get back in there and get working!
The happy clink of scaffolding pole on collecting lorry. Collecting lorry? Scaffolding poles? THE SCAFFOLDING IS GONE! ALL GONE!
This is probably the biggest pointer yet that things are looking good for May 1st handover and very, very encouraging.
Meanwhile, in the background chairgate rumbles on as we pursue our agressive strategy of acquiring 240 different sample chairs from different suppliers so we don't have to actually pay for any. More news later.......
The sound of revving diesel engines as yet another builders van squeezes in to the car park (the finishing of our project seems to demand numerous single occupancy vans)
The scrape of chairs as they are brought out for al fresco tea breaks. Tea Breaks?! Get back in there and get working!
The happy clink of scaffolding pole on collecting lorry. Collecting lorry? Scaffolding poles? THE SCAFFOLDING IS GONE! ALL GONE!
This is probably the biggest pointer yet that things are looking good for May 1st handover and very, very encouraging.
Meanwhile, in the background chairgate rumbles on as we pursue our agressive strategy of acquiring 240 different sample chairs from different suppliers so we don't have to actually pay for any. More news later.......
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
April 22nd
Things are going full pelt this morning. The floor is fully laid and the plyboard 'top' is being laid down ready for the carpet tiles to go down. There is still plenty to do but you can sense a project entering its final phase. We have'nt quite yet reached that stage in 'Changing Rooms' where they play the stressy music and everyone runs around daft throwing scatter cushions right left and centre but its coming...........
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday 17th April - breaking news
One significant event follows another - as I type, the marroon railings round the balcony and the yellow 'eggs' are being sprayed over. The 'Changing rooms era' is laid to rest!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
April 16th
Work carries on - there a lot of vans turning up every morning now and we are definitely benefitting from our builders flexibility in supplying resource as and when it is needed.
Turning back to the pulpit for a second when it was removed it became clear that a false floor had been fitted in the pulpit at some point - basically a minister needed a 'boost' at some point to enable him to see his flock over the lectern. The builders hypothesised about the Victorians being small of stature and doing the work but Wycliffe refurbblog points the finger at a more recent occupant of the pulpit..........
Significant event today: The floor is complete again - all boarded out - which is great - no more wobbling over the joists.
The platform is nearly complete and it looks great! The builders have taken a lot of trouble with this and the increased space will serve any number of Nativity Angels well for the coming years - it is exciting to wonder at all the use that will be made of it. It should make baptisms a lot less stressful - no more feeling that small frisson of excitement....' if that bloke at the microphone takes one step back........'
Turning back to the pulpit for a second when it was removed it became clear that a false floor had been fitted in the pulpit at some point - basically a minister needed a 'boost' at some point to enable him to see his flock over the lectern. The builders hypothesised about the Victorians being small of stature and doing the work but Wycliffe refurbblog points the finger at a more recent occupant of the pulpit..........
Significant event today: The floor is complete again - all boarded out - which is great - no more wobbling over the joists.
The platform is nearly complete and it looks great! The builders have taken a lot of trouble with this and the increased space will serve any number of Nativity Angels well for the coming years - it is exciting to wonder at all the use that will be made of it. It should make baptisms a lot less stressful - no more feeling that small frisson of excitement....' if that bloke at the microphone takes one step back........'
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Were Back! Day 66 April 14th
Don't fall over backwards - we are back and blogging!
Well first off apologies for the long,long absence. This was due to a number of factors:
i) I was on holiday last week
ii)Its been fairly busy and Blog got pushed to the bottom of the pile
iii) I have learned that if one is blogging regularly then if momentum is lost then it can be hard to get it moving again
iv) At the point in March where we stopped there were issues with the Blog and photos being somewhat turned against us (in a minor way) by forces outside the church and we took the foot off the pedal marked 'blog' at that point then see (iii).
Anyhow, so much has happened in this last 4 weeks that WycliffeRefurbBlog feels a little like its creeping in to the start of a party after all the hard work has been done.
I did say 'start' of a party - we are not quite there yet, but at the last meeting an exit date of 1st May was given by the builders and it looked like they meant it so that is very exciting as that date looms large now.
But what of progress:
Well firstly, the pulpit. That sucker is well and truly fixed in place via a substantial steel beam - it is going nowhere fast for many a long year and we can rest assured that generations coming after us won't have a leaning pulpit to worry about. Having in completed this project so throughly, this is the point that we discover the rampant woodworm........only joking.
The good news is that as the pulpit was fixed, so the platform grew up round about it. The builders put a lot of skill and effort in to building it. It is substantially higher (and wider) than the old platform and so it has taken the edge off the pulpits height. Still the same but it does'nt feel like it. As and when things shake down we can look at screening (WITHOUT fixing them to the pulpit - yes you, you know who you are - no need to worry on that score) the pulpit to bring it more in to line with the rest of the room.
There was a lot of subterranean work carried out to fix the pulpit and sort out the electrics and a lot of conversations carried out, to the uninitiated, with the pulpit itself as various electricians etc asked questions from the depths. In certain cultures the pulpit would certainly have been a candidate for excorcism. The voices........
Back later. Though we probably said that on March 13th.
Well first off apologies for the long,long absence. This was due to a number of factors:
i) I was on holiday last week
ii)Its been fairly busy and Blog got pushed to the bottom of the pile
iii) I have learned that if one is blogging regularly then if momentum is lost then it can be hard to get it moving again
iv) At the point in March where we stopped there were issues with the Blog and photos being somewhat turned against us (in a minor way) by forces outside the church and we took the foot off the pedal marked 'blog' at that point then see (iii).
Anyhow, so much has happened in this last 4 weeks that WycliffeRefurbBlog feels a little like its creeping in to the start of a party after all the hard work has been done.
I did say 'start' of a party - we are not quite there yet, but at the last meeting an exit date of 1st May was given by the builders and it looked like they meant it so that is very exciting as that date looms large now.
But what of progress:
Well firstly, the pulpit. That sucker is well and truly fixed in place via a substantial steel beam - it is going nowhere fast for many a long year and we can rest assured that generations coming after us won't have a leaning pulpit to worry about. Having in completed this project so throughly, this is the point that we discover the rampant woodworm........only joking.
The good news is that as the pulpit was fixed, so the platform grew up round about it. The builders put a lot of skill and effort in to building it. It is substantially higher (and wider) than the old platform and so it has taken the edge off the pulpits height. Still the same but it does'nt feel like it. As and when things shake down we can look at screening (WITHOUT fixing them to the pulpit - yes you, you know who you are - no need to worry on that score) the pulpit to bring it more in to line with the rest of the room.
There was a lot of subterranean work carried out to fix the pulpit and sort out the electrics and a lot of conversations carried out, to the uninitiated, with the pulpit itself as various electricians etc asked questions from the depths. In certain cultures the pulpit would certainly have been a candidate for excorcism. The voices........
Back later. Though we probably said that on March 13th.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Day 40 Friday 13th March
PULPITGATE - we can carry on!
Thank you for all your prayers - we recived confirmation this afternoon that work can re-commence on Monday. No changes whatosever to what we were doing in the first place, but we can all be really happy that all the paperwork is properly in place. Because thats really important. And well worth holding up the project for.
HEATINGGATE!
Ah, heatingate.....more details on Monday! Nothing is ever simple.
Thank you for all your prayers - we recived confirmation this afternoon that work can re-commence on Monday. No changes whatosever to what we were doing in the first place, but we can all be really happy that all the paperwork is properly in place. Because thats really important. And well worth holding up the project for.
HEATINGGATE!
Ah, heatingate.....more details on Monday! Nothing is ever simple.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Day 39 - Thursday March 12th
PULPITGATE - explodes!
There are many developments to report pulpit wise. The pulpit was strapped and lifted out of its siting without too many problems (see Andrews photo library via the discussion pages) and hoisted clear. One of the builders on examining it closely pronounced it as 'mass produced machine shop Victorian' so we enjoyed that bubble bursting moment a la Antiques roadshow. Essentially our pulpit came from the Victorian equivalent of IKEA and this was confirmed as the builders neatly dismantled it in to two bits. I looked for confirmatory IKEA like markings like 'Knurl' or 'Stigley' or to hear the the builders were held up because a couple of crucial screws were missing. It was odd to see something so central to our place so quickly sidelined, like Sampson losing his hair I suppose.
Anyway, the hole it was removed from is huge - if any latter day Gideon wants to find a wine-press like hole to hide in then look no further. If nothing else it will do very well to incarcerate any errant children on a Sunday, beneath the floor of the re-installed pulpit - we will have to sing loudly to drown out the insistent tapping.
Pursuing our still unfulfilled desire to kick 'WHATLIESBENEATHGATE' in to life we peered down in to the hole. Absolutely nothing. Not a sausage. Not even a solitary lost top hat or bonnet.
So, all going well, the builders whistling a merry tune as they carried out the works to the pulpit then suddenly our happy little world was shattered by........
..........ATTACK OF THE BOX TICKERS............ (preferably said in a big spooky voice)
Yes, it was true, there was some paperwork pertaining to the pulpit work outstanding. It would not have made one iota of difference to the job in hand - we had been asked to restore the pulpit exactly to where it came from and that is what would be done - no question. But because the paperwork was outstanding everything had to stop. Yes, really, all work on the pulpit has been suspended today pending paperwork. It did'nt need to be stopped, common sense could have prevailed but oh no - boxes must be ticked. All the channels that can be worked are being worked but depsite our light tone its an intensely frustrating situation. Please pray that we can start again tomorrow.
There are many developments to report pulpit wise. The pulpit was strapped and lifted out of its siting without too many problems (see Andrews photo library via the discussion pages) and hoisted clear. One of the builders on examining it closely pronounced it as 'mass produced machine shop Victorian' so we enjoyed that bubble bursting moment a la Antiques roadshow. Essentially our pulpit came from the Victorian equivalent of IKEA and this was confirmed as the builders neatly dismantled it in to two bits. I looked for confirmatory IKEA like markings like 'Knurl' or 'Stigley' or to hear the the builders were held up because a couple of crucial screws were missing. It was odd to see something so central to our place so quickly sidelined, like Sampson losing his hair I suppose.
Anyway, the hole it was removed from is huge - if any latter day Gideon wants to find a wine-press like hole to hide in then look no further. If nothing else it will do very well to incarcerate any errant children on a Sunday, beneath the floor of the re-installed pulpit - we will have to sing loudly to drown out the insistent tapping.
Pursuing our still unfulfilled desire to kick 'WHATLIESBENEATHGATE' in to life we peered down in to the hole. Absolutely nothing. Not a sausage. Not even a solitary lost top hat or bonnet.
So, all going well, the builders whistling a merry tune as they carried out the works to the pulpit then suddenly our happy little world was shattered by........
..........ATTACK OF THE BOX TICKERS............ (preferably said in a big spooky voice)
Yes, it was true, there was some paperwork pertaining to the pulpit work outstanding. It would not have made one iota of difference to the job in hand - we had been asked to restore the pulpit exactly to where it came from and that is what would be done - no question. But because the paperwork was outstanding everything had to stop. Yes, really, all work on the pulpit has been suspended today pending paperwork. It did'nt need to be stopped, common sense could have prevailed but oh no - boxes must be ticked. All the channels that can be worked are being worked but depsite our light tone its an intensely frustrating situation. Please pray that we can start again tomorrow.
Monday, March 9, 2009
DAY 36 - March 9th
Hello Bloggers -
Well, things move rapidly and as I write, the beam and winch have been installed and the straps have been attached to the pulpit ready for lift off! Andrew has already been in with his camera so expect photos soon. There is a major push on to get the pulpit sorted because it needs the scaffolding as part of the project and overall the builders are desperate to get rid of the scaffold
It opens up a whole new, entirely unexpected, chapter in 'whatliesbeneathgate' as the pulpit foundations are revelaed for the first time in 125+ years.
What could there be? - we long for an aged overhead or two - 'would the owner of Austin 7 registration number.......', 'would gentlemen please remove their top hats to avoid obstructing others view....'
Possibly loads of sermon notes, accumulated shepherds crooks from nativities, other suggestions most welcome.
Beyond that the work continues in its ploddy way. There are a number of teams here today and it amusing to see everyone wobbling around over the joists - like middle aged weebles - but to date no one has fallen down yet!
On a more serious note, please continue to pray as we work to iron out one or two issues on the project regarding what we expected from some contractors and what was delivered. It would be in-appropriate to discuss further here but these things are going on and your prayers for grace,fairness and wisdom would be appreciated.
Despite this the work goes on - and it is exciting - when we get the heating commissioned then the back will be broken of the work and it will be the downhill slope to the finish.
We continue to get a lot of encouragement with donations coming in from unexpected sources and really nice letters of support which helps to ameliorate the not so nice parts!
Well, things move rapidly and as I write, the beam and winch have been installed and the straps have been attached to the pulpit ready for lift off! Andrew has already been in with his camera so expect photos soon. There is a major push on to get the pulpit sorted because it needs the scaffolding as part of the project and overall the builders are desperate to get rid of the scaffold
It opens up a whole new, entirely unexpected, chapter in 'whatliesbeneathgate' as the pulpit foundations are revelaed for the first time in 125+ years.
What could there be? - we long for an aged overhead or two - 'would the owner of Austin 7 registration number.......', 'would gentlemen please remove their top hats to avoid obstructing others view....'
Possibly loads of sermon notes, accumulated shepherds crooks from nativities, other suggestions most welcome.
Beyond that the work continues in its ploddy way. There are a number of teams here today and it amusing to see everyone wobbling around over the joists - like middle aged weebles - but to date no one has fallen down yet!
On a more serious note, please continue to pray as we work to iron out one or two issues on the project regarding what we expected from some contractors and what was delivered. It would be in-appropriate to discuss further here but these things are going on and your prayers for grace,fairness and wisdom would be appreciated.
Despite this the work goes on - and it is exciting - when we get the heating commissioned then the back will be broken of the work and it will be the downhill slope to the finish.
We continue to get a lot of encouragement with donations coming in from unexpected sources and really nice letters of support which helps to ameliorate the not so nice parts!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Day34 Thursday 4th March
Hello to you all - my apologies for lack of blog related activity this week, but here is a quick update now.
Firstly, Pulpitgate!
Long story short, it stays. No changes, no lightening up, no nothing - it stays as is.
The bad news is that in round numbers it will be a £6,000 fix.
The good news is (photographically at least) is that in order to achieve the fix it will have to be winched completely clear of its position up in to the air. A camera will be there!
Secondly, Heatingate. It's like drawing teeth but slowly the heating system is taking shape, and the builders are starting to fill in the spaces between the joists with insulation so that the heat does not flow away in to the floor void. The floor is starting to look a little bit more like a floor which is encouraging.
The lighting people plod on, but we would value your prayers for this aspect of the work as there is real conflict over particular parts of it. Pray also for the speedy availability of the lights we need.
We had a site meeting today (Brummy accents to the fore here, a translator was in the room for the benefit of the rest of us) with all the parties involved in the work and, regretably, the builders have applied for a 5 week delay on the works due to a combination of factors. This 5 week delay is not set in stone yet, it is subject to an arbitration process and an assessment of its reasonableness but nonetheless there it is.
More to follow....
Firstly, Pulpitgate!
Long story short, it stays. No changes, no lightening up, no nothing - it stays as is.
The bad news is that in round numbers it will be a £6,000 fix.
The good news is (photographically at least) is that in order to achieve the fix it will have to be winched completely clear of its position up in to the air. A camera will be there!
Secondly, Heatingate. It's like drawing teeth but slowly the heating system is taking shape, and the builders are starting to fill in the spaces between the joists with insulation so that the heat does not flow away in to the floor void. The floor is starting to look a little bit more like a floor which is encouraging.
The lighting people plod on, but we would value your prayers for this aspect of the work as there is real conflict over particular parts of it. Pray also for the speedy availability of the lights we need.
We had a site meeting today (Brummy accents to the fore here, a translator was in the room for the benefit of the rest of us) with all the parties involved in the work and, regretably, the builders have applied for a 5 week delay on the works due to a combination of factors. This 5 week delay is not set in stone yet, it is subject to an arbitration process and an assessment of its reasonableness but nonetheless there it is.
More to follow....
Friday, February 27, 2009
Day 30 February 27th
Well, one month in and things are feeling pretty positive today. It helps that its Friday and that its a nice day but any which way there is certainly a lot of tuneless whistling going on in our Narnia today, recognisable only to builders I think. They probably have a special book or induction ceremony before they pass out as fully fledged. 'Your brick laying is fantastic but that whistling leaves a lot to be desired.......'
Anyway, a good week. The Asbestos people have gone!!!!! Asbestosgate is over. Interestingly work went on round about the asbestos removal which surprised me but that was a bonus. The removers were typical of those people who work in dangerous situations - very professional, but masked with a 'don't care' casualness - 'I laugh in the face of danger' sort of thing. We now know far more about asbestos than we ever wanted to know but at least its sorted and we await removal of the sealed container out the front.
Heatinggate seems to be coming to its end but some fairly big decisions had to be made. The biggest was a switch away from re-using the floorboards and flooring with chipboard which is a better conductor of heat. It raises all sorts of issues but to be honest the effectiveness of the heating system is paramount so we go with what is offered as the best solution. The floorboards have some monetary value and we will look to sell as salvage.
As progress is made on the heating so it guides the team on what to do and you sense a happier sense of purpose in the place as there are specific tasks to be completed. The builders do seem to drop in more labour as and when it is required which is good and the renewal of the joists is completed (all level!) and wooden trays are laid between them to rest the heating pipes on them (the pipes are very close to the surface of the floor). The renewal of the dry-rotted joists has taken time and this was not allowed for in the schedule so we'll see where that leaves us.
Deciding where to install the workings for the platform lift (installed as and when it can be afforded)becomes rather farcical. We are offered 3 choices, 1,2 or 3 and, for Simpsons movie Afficionados, it is rather like that scene where the President is offered the chance to make the decision on what happens to Springfield but is guided all the way by the receiver of the decision - 'I choose 1' - 'higher' '4?' 'lower' '2?' 'higher' '3?' - 'as you wish Sir'.
Long story short choices 1 and 2 for the platform lift are not choices at all so 3 it is!
PULPITGATE! Goes ON!
The gentleman from the listed buildings committee came on Thursday as promised. He went out of his way to visit and for that we are grateful.
He arrived immaculately suited,tied and shiny shoed and as he wobbled over the joists I would lieing if a tiny part of me did'nt hope for a little slip! However he made it, took photos and will make his report to the committee on Monday so we wait with bated breath!
The day ends, the men all go home and we wait to see what next week brings.
Anyway, a good week. The Asbestos people have gone!!!!! Asbestosgate is over. Interestingly work went on round about the asbestos removal which surprised me but that was a bonus. The removers were typical of those people who work in dangerous situations - very professional, but masked with a 'don't care' casualness - 'I laugh in the face of danger' sort of thing. We now know far more about asbestos than we ever wanted to know but at least its sorted and we await removal of the sealed container out the front.
Heatinggate seems to be coming to its end but some fairly big decisions had to be made. The biggest was a switch away from re-using the floorboards and flooring with chipboard which is a better conductor of heat. It raises all sorts of issues but to be honest the effectiveness of the heating system is paramount so we go with what is offered as the best solution. The floorboards have some monetary value and we will look to sell as salvage.
As progress is made on the heating so it guides the team on what to do and you sense a happier sense of purpose in the place as there are specific tasks to be completed. The builders do seem to drop in more labour as and when it is required which is good and the renewal of the joists is completed (all level!) and wooden trays are laid between them to rest the heating pipes on them (the pipes are very close to the surface of the floor). The renewal of the dry-rotted joists has taken time and this was not allowed for in the schedule so we'll see where that leaves us.
Deciding where to install the workings for the platform lift (installed as and when it can be afforded)becomes rather farcical. We are offered 3 choices, 1,2 or 3 and, for Simpsons movie Afficionados, it is rather like that scene where the President is offered the chance to make the decision on what happens to Springfield but is guided all the way by the receiver of the decision - 'I choose 1' - 'higher' '4?' 'lower' '2?' 'higher' '3?' - 'as you wish Sir'.
Long story short choices 1 and 2 for the platform lift are not choices at all so 3 it is!
PULPITGATE! Goes ON!
The gentleman from the listed buildings committee came on Thursday as promised. He went out of his way to visit and for that we are grateful.
He arrived immaculately suited,tied and shiny shoed and as he wobbled over the joists I would lieing if a tiny part of me did'nt hope for a little slip! However he made it, took photos and will make his report to the committee on Monday so we wait with bated breath!
The day ends, the men all go home and we wait to see what next week brings.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Day 26 - Afternoon
A considerable amount of headscratching is going on down in the floorspace. The Old floorboards,dwarf walls and joists had 125 years to form the perfect partnership together. The fact that some of the joists have to be replaced with lovely new dead straight ones is not going down well.
If the new joists were simply laid down on the old dwarf walls then we would have a floor like a shallow roller coaster - those in buggies would get a thrill on a Sunday morning on the way out to creche but it would get a little wearing for the rest of us trying to balance chairs on the top or bottom of the curves.
Out comes the string and crucial chunks are taken out of the joists to try and balance everything up and emulate 125 years of settlement,wear,winters,movement,occasional mini earthquakes etc, etc ,etc. Good luck lads.
If the new joists were simply laid down on the old dwarf walls then we would have a floor like a shallow roller coaster - those in buggies would get a thrill on a Sunday morning on the way out to creche but it would get a little wearing for the rest of us trying to balance chairs on the top or bottom of the curves.
Out comes the string and crucial chunks are taken out of the joists to try and balance everything up and emulate 125 years of settlement,wear,winters,movement,occasional mini earthquakes etc, etc ,etc. Good luck lads.
Day 26, Monday 23rd February
Happily,Neil the foreman appears unaware that a few hundred people walked through his site yesterday. We covered our tracks well, collecting 25 bibles, 8 coffee cups, 3 umbrellas and 2 toddlers that had been left behind after the walk through and moving on 4 people patiently waiting for the service to start.
Everything cranks up in to life. The asbestos people worked Saturday (morning only- something that is being queried!) and that means they will be away from us tomorrow. Longer than they thought initially, but shorter than they then forecast it would take. It will be a relief to all to see them go.
The specialist plasterer is working away on some repairs to cornicing, team boiler are back, the electricican and his mate are carrying on with the cabling and the chippies are busy replacing some of the joists that have a little dry rot in them.
Team boiler and the electrician are all from West Midlands so they communicate happily together in an impenetrable series of tuneful grunts, with all sound coming out of the nose, nothing whatsoever coming out of the mouth.
Overall the floor joists have done very well for being 125 years old with only 7 or 8 needing replaced.
I bump in to the Building Contractors big boss in the toilet (as you do) and he says that he will be putting pen to paper this week to officially flag up a 2 week delay.
This is disappointing news but not really unexepected. Where we are now and finishing on the 27th March are not compatible situations and to be honest if its only 2 weeks we'll be happy. The delay is down to a combination of factors,including asbestos, we'll see what shakes out when the official letter is written.
HEATINGATE - ITS FINALLY,FINALLY SORTED, YES,REALLY,IT IS
The whole heating thing has been a protracted process, but finally, finally a solution appears to have been arrived at. We won't now be laying down the original floorboards (which is a shame) but instead laying down a chipboard floor instead. This will allow heat to flow more easily through the floor and in to the space. There will be 4 radiators upstairs and the cinema seats will need to be rejigged to accomodate them. The good news is that ground floor and balcony will be seperately controllable so we won't need to heat the whole space without reason. The original floorboards have value and can be sold.
All of a sudden 3 decisions pertaining to different aspects of the work need to be made very quickly and I'm grateful to Will and Rupert who are always quick to respond with thoughts and advice. 3 heads are definitely better than one.
Everything cranks up in to life. The asbestos people worked Saturday (morning only- something that is being queried!) and that means they will be away from us tomorrow. Longer than they thought initially, but shorter than they then forecast it would take. It will be a relief to all to see them go.
The specialist plasterer is working away on some repairs to cornicing, team boiler are back, the electricican and his mate are carrying on with the cabling and the chippies are busy replacing some of the joists that have a little dry rot in them.
Team boiler and the electrician are all from West Midlands so they communicate happily together in an impenetrable series of tuneful grunts, with all sound coming out of the nose, nothing whatsoever coming out of the mouth.
Overall the floor joists have done very well for being 125 years old with only 7 or 8 needing replaced.
I bump in to the Building Contractors big boss in the toilet (as you do) and he says that he will be putting pen to paper this week to officially flag up a 2 week delay.
This is disappointing news but not really unexepected. Where we are now and finishing on the 27th March are not compatible situations and to be honest if its only 2 weeks we'll be happy. The delay is down to a combination of factors,including asbestos, we'll see what shakes out when the official letter is written.
HEATINGATE - ITS FINALLY,FINALLY SORTED, YES,REALLY,IT IS
The whole heating thing has been a protracted process, but finally, finally a solution appears to have been arrived at. We won't now be laying down the original floorboards (which is a shame) but instead laying down a chipboard floor instead. This will allow heat to flow more easily through the floor and in to the space. There will be 4 radiators upstairs and the cinema seats will need to be rejigged to accomodate them. The good news is that ground floor and balcony will be seperately controllable so we won't need to heat the whole space without reason. The original floorboards have value and can be sold.
All of a sudden 3 decisions pertaining to different aspects of the work need to be made very quickly and I'm grateful to Will and Rupert who are always quick to respond with thoughts and advice. 3 heads are definitely better than one.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Day 25 - Feb 20th
Friday
A fair bit of activity this morning as everyone prepares for the traditional early finish on Friday. The Asbestos men set the pace by leaving at midday and its a steady trickle from there on in.
The asbestos men have started the removal, working inside a huge sealed bubble that they have constructed. They'll be back tomorrow (Saturday) to keep working which is great and we are grateful that Neil the foreman has agreed to be there too (the builders need a presence for insurance purposes). He is going to bring his son with him so he can visit the model railway exhibition in the Warehouse organised by Richard, so every cloud has a silver lining...........
PULPITGATE - The saga goes on
Some possibly encouraging news about the pulpit. We wrote to the Listed Buildings Committee, pleading that they re-consider their decision due to the large amount of money it might cost. Out of the blue they got in touch on Wednesday saying could one of their committee visit today, Friday. This would have been possible, but viewing the pulpit today would have necessitated entering the asbestos bubble and after leaving it the LBAC committee member would have died which in some way would negate the value of the visit!
So instead, a visit is arranged for next Thursday - please pray for a fair hearing. We are encouraged, because you don't need to visit if you are only going to say 'we are sticking to our original decision' so perhaps there is a little wriggle room.
Hopefully by Monday we can get our feet clear of the Asbestos problem and move ahead.
The heating meeting took place yesterday and a reasonable consensus appears to have been reached so progress can be made. Thank you for praying.
A fair bit of activity this morning as everyone prepares for the traditional early finish on Friday. The Asbestos men set the pace by leaving at midday and its a steady trickle from there on in.
The asbestos men have started the removal, working inside a huge sealed bubble that they have constructed. They'll be back tomorrow (Saturday) to keep working which is great and we are grateful that Neil the foreman has agreed to be there too (the builders need a presence for insurance purposes). He is going to bring his son with him so he can visit the model railway exhibition in the Warehouse organised by Richard, so every cloud has a silver lining...........
PULPITGATE - The saga goes on
Some possibly encouraging news about the pulpit. We wrote to the Listed Buildings Committee, pleading that they re-consider their decision due to the large amount of money it might cost. Out of the blue they got in touch on Wednesday saying could one of their committee visit today, Friday. This would have been possible, but viewing the pulpit today would have necessitated entering the asbestos bubble and after leaving it the LBAC committee member would have died which in some way would negate the value of the visit!
So instead, a visit is arranged for next Thursday - please pray for a fair hearing. We are encouraged, because you don't need to visit if you are only going to say 'we are sticking to our original decision' so perhaps there is a little wriggle room.
Hopefully by Monday we can get our feet clear of the Asbestos problem and move ahead.
The heating meeting took place yesterday and a reasonable consensus appears to have been reached so progress can be made. Thank you for praying.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Day 22 - Tuesday Feb 17th
Morning -
Arrive after a days holiday for half term. A hive of industry/pandemonium greets me whichever way you want to cut it.
Team boiler is out in full force as they look to complete the boiler installation this week, the electricians plod on with the cable laying, and in the car park the asbestos removal people are sorting out their shower unit. They don't do subtle when it comes to notices - 'danger of immediate death if you go near this wagon' - that sort of thing. The shower unit is parked up next to Furryfoot the Clowns (for those of you who know)taxi.Furryfoot is here to lead a 4 day training session for health professionals in the upper back hall.Obviously.
There is a significant amount of breath sucking by the asbestos people and they are coming back tomorrow threatening all sorts of extra time needed so we'll see where that goes.
Speak to Neil the site foreman and there is a significant amount of breath sucking from him as well as he worries about finishing on time.
The heating engineer and the architect are coming in tomorrow for a meeting to finally nail down the heating system design once and for all. Please pray for this as there is a great deal of pressure to reach some sort of solution, any sort of solution, and in fact we want it to be the right sort of solution as we have to work with it.
Neil approaches, wants a quick word, and in so doing ticks off another situation on the 'these situations must happen during any building project list' - he wants to have opened 'THE DOOR THAT CANNOT BE OPENED........'
.......because we do not have the key.
The very sharp eyed among you will have noticed an outside door adjacent to the entrance to the lower back hall. This is the original rear door of the church, it is locked, and we have never had a key for it. We go through the pointless but necessary ritual of checking our big box of random keys but no joy. This one will run and run.
Arrive after a days holiday for half term. A hive of industry/pandemonium greets me whichever way you want to cut it.
Team boiler is out in full force as they look to complete the boiler installation this week, the electricians plod on with the cable laying, and in the car park the asbestos removal people are sorting out their shower unit. They don't do subtle when it comes to notices - 'danger of immediate death if you go near this wagon' - that sort of thing. The shower unit is parked up next to Furryfoot the Clowns (for those of you who know)taxi.Furryfoot is here to lead a 4 day training session for health professionals in the upper back hall.Obviously.
There is a significant amount of breath sucking by the asbestos people and they are coming back tomorrow threatening all sorts of extra time needed so we'll see where that goes.
Speak to Neil the site foreman and there is a significant amount of breath sucking from him as well as he worries about finishing on time.
The heating engineer and the architect are coming in tomorrow for a meeting to finally nail down the heating system design once and for all. Please pray for this as there is a great deal of pressure to reach some sort of solution, any sort of solution, and in fact we want it to be the right sort of solution as we have to work with it.
Neil approaches, wants a quick word, and in so doing ticks off another situation on the 'these situations must happen during any building project list' - he wants to have opened 'THE DOOR THAT CANNOT BE OPENED........'
.......because we do not have the key.
The very sharp eyed among you will have noticed an outside door adjacent to the entrance to the lower back hall. This is the original rear door of the church, it is locked, and we have never had a key for it. We go through the pointless but necessary ritual of checking our big box of random keys but no joy. This one will run and run.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Day 19-Thursday 12th Feb
The big event today is the arrival of the new boiler, of which a lot is expected. In the manner of the modern boiler its quite small and the two heat engineers get cracking on getting it plumbed in.
In the meantime the cabling carries on and the builders prepare for the heating pipes to go down - whenever they arrive.......
In the meantime the cabling carries on and the builders prepare for the heating pipes to go down - whenever they arrive.......
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Day 18 February 11th
Welcome back blogfans - a couple of days off and we are raring to go again.
So, whats been happening while we have been away?
Well as of today there will be no floorboards left - all levered up,denailed, numbered and stored away in the metal box ready for putting back down again. This is half of the biggest job done.
The prospect of some interesting finds underneath the boards has disappointingly faded. Every building project of note needs to be halted by the finding of a newts nest/rare butterfly breed/burial site/site of significant historical interest but not for us it seems. At the very least WycliffeRefurbBlog hoped for a yellowing visitors slip from a Mr Palmer, asking us to 'pray for my new biscuit making venture' but it is not to be.
The team can now start laying down cabling as per Andrew Hearns instructions and I steel myself for a conversation with the boys from the black country. Its not too bad - perhaps a few weeks of Reading life has softened the accent and we are able to communicate fairly well and they understand that the cables are in the Warehouse loft. We walk down to get them and in to Wednesday toddlers. Its clear that the electricians don't 'do' toddlers - its like oil and water, and the whole situation feels like Narnia in reverse - the lads have come back out of our Wardrobe(the church), which is their reality, into their wardrobe (Wednesday toddlers),which is our reality.
Anyway we safely gather the cables (they are impressed that we have them all ready for them - thanks Andrew H), leave the Warehouse, and the men start to feel a bit more comfortable. Getting the cables to where they want them to be is challenging because there is no floor, only joists, and we are all fully laden. It feels like one of those extreme Japanese game shows - 'AV Sensei in Church', 'Banzai Cable!Historical Building' as we balance/wobble across the joists trying not to be the one to fall down.
Toddlers are here today, but the prospect of Cordon Breaching is completely snuffed out today due to a funeral taking place in the church hall and a toddler proof ring of steel being throw up to discourage any escapees from the sports hall (well,ok, a couple of room dividers count as our ring of steel, but its the thought that counts).
Had a toddler actually managed to breach the cordon it would be rather like one of those humane traps - they would have fallen between the joists but not hurt themselves as it is'nt far to fall, but they would'nt have been able to climb out so could just run up and down between the joists until discovery.
The funeral directors were with us last Friday for a large funeral in the sports hall and they brought the coffin in via the fire doors at the bottom of the sports hall. They are organising another funeral here today in the church hall and called on Monday to inform us that if it was OK they would like to enter via the same route as Friday. They would arrive at 11.45. Toddlers finish at 12 noon. You work it out. So while the overwhelming desire was to say 'Yes, you do that' and stand back and watch, pragmatism cut in and the funeral cortege squeezed in to the front of the church.
Our thanks to Toddlers who very graciously give up their buggy parking space in the hall and squeezed everyone in to the Warehouse to accomodate the funeral.
So, whats been happening while we have been away?
Well as of today there will be no floorboards left - all levered up,denailed, numbered and stored away in the metal box ready for putting back down again. This is half of the biggest job done.
The prospect of some interesting finds underneath the boards has disappointingly faded. Every building project of note needs to be halted by the finding of a newts nest/rare butterfly breed/burial site/site of significant historical interest but not for us it seems. At the very least WycliffeRefurbBlog hoped for a yellowing visitors slip from a Mr Palmer, asking us to 'pray for my new biscuit making venture' but it is not to be.
The team can now start laying down cabling as per Andrew Hearns instructions and I steel myself for a conversation with the boys from the black country. Its not too bad - perhaps a few weeks of Reading life has softened the accent and we are able to communicate fairly well and they understand that the cables are in the Warehouse loft. We walk down to get them and in to Wednesday toddlers. Its clear that the electricians don't 'do' toddlers - its like oil and water, and the whole situation feels like Narnia in reverse - the lads have come back out of our Wardrobe(the church), which is their reality, into their wardrobe (Wednesday toddlers),which is our reality.
Anyway we safely gather the cables (they are impressed that we have them all ready for them - thanks Andrew H), leave the Warehouse, and the men start to feel a bit more comfortable. Getting the cables to where they want them to be is challenging because there is no floor, only joists, and we are all fully laden. It feels like one of those extreme Japanese game shows - 'AV Sensei in Church', 'Banzai Cable!Historical Building' as we balance/wobble across the joists trying not to be the one to fall down.
Toddlers are here today, but the prospect of Cordon Breaching is completely snuffed out today due to a funeral taking place in the church hall and a toddler proof ring of steel being throw up to discourage any escapees from the sports hall (well,ok, a couple of room dividers count as our ring of steel, but its the thought that counts).
Had a toddler actually managed to breach the cordon it would be rather like one of those humane traps - they would have fallen between the joists but not hurt themselves as it is'nt far to fall, but they would'nt have been able to climb out so could just run up and down between the joists until discovery.
The funeral directors were with us last Friday for a large funeral in the sports hall and they brought the coffin in via the fire doors at the bottom of the sports hall. They are organising another funeral here today in the church hall and called on Monday to inform us that if it was OK they would like to enter via the same route as Friday. They would arrive at 11.45. Toddlers finish at 12 noon. You work it out. So while the overwhelming desire was to say 'Yes, you do that' and stand back and watch, pragmatism cut in and the funeral cortege squeezed in to the front of the church.
Our thanks to Toddlers who very graciously give up their buggy parking space in the hall and squeezed everyone in to the Warehouse to accomodate the funeral.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Day 15 - February 6th
Friday, and an early finish spurs on floorboard removal,marking and storage. Thus far, WhatLiesBeneathGate has not really developed with the only item of note found under the floor being a large rats nest, made mostly of chewed paper towels taken from the recycling bin so at least they are reusing material.
Encouragingly a man turns up in the afternoon to measure for the electric sun blinds to be sited on the windows which previously were covered by the organ. Our project is made up of innumerable small parts and its good to see small but important details like the blinds being pushed forward.
There was a large funeral (from another church) in the Warehouse sports hall today and while they wait the men from AB Walker take a look at the work and we get a chance to explain why we are doing it. Within 30 minutes of the funeral ending a game of basketball was underway in the same hall. While we don't anticipate playing basketball in the new auditorium (!) its that ability to change the use that will be so good when its all done.
A selfishly parked car keeps the builders in the car park until the funeral finishes but they take it in good part - truly they have been officially 'Wycliffed'.
The day ends.
God is good - another safe week completed.
Encouragingly a man turns up in the afternoon to measure for the electric sun blinds to be sited on the windows which previously were covered by the organ. Our project is made up of innumerable small parts and its good to see small but important details like the blinds being pushed forward.
There was a large funeral (from another church) in the Warehouse sports hall today and while they wait the men from AB Walker take a look at the work and we get a chance to explain why we are doing it. Within 30 minutes of the funeral ending a game of basketball was underway in the same hall. While we don't anticipate playing basketball in the new auditorium (!) its that ability to change the use that will be so good when its all done.
A selfishly parked car keeps the builders in the car park until the funeral finishes but they take it in good part - truly they have been officially 'Wycliffed'.
The day ends.
God is good - another safe week completed.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Day 14 - Feb 5th
Thank you to all who prayed for the site meeting - it went well, and the fact that it happened at all given the weather was a positive thing. The long and the short of it is that there is a way forward and they are getting on with lifting up the floorboards. Carefully, as they all have to go back down again in the same order as they came up.
The pulpit is causing some concern and it will have to be completely removed, to be safely reinstalled. Quite how that happens is a matter for some conjecture but rest assured cameras will be there. If the builders are to be believed its something of a surprise that the pulpit has survived this long with out crashing in through the floor. I;m sure they are right but its all put in a sort of secret builder code thats hard to understand. It looks like our victorian builders perhaps had to rush off and build a new poorhouse or somesuch (nothing like going for the cliches) and somewhat bodged the fixing in of the pulpit.
Anyhow, there is still much work to be done on the heating system but today gave a great opportunity to talk it over and check measurements etc and there is a new impetus to the work. The prayer now is that the heating system catches up with the floor coming off and momentum can be maintained. The asbestos thing has cost us 3 days thus far and will do so again but the time might yet be made up.
The other item happening today was some repairs to the glazing. This was referenced in an earlier post and we were awaiting a quote for the work. It was with some surprise that we saw the glaziers hard at it today - no quote had been received. there had been some miscommmunication at some level to the builders and you could see the big boss pale as he realised what was going on - his pale skin was nicely reflected by his fluorescent jacket. However, alls well that ends well, the glaziers, it turned out, were working to an instruction that limited their work to the amount set out in the tender so all was well and we were able to reconsider again what should be done.
The day ended with the electricicans still working away up in the roof space.
The pulpit is causing some concern and it will have to be completely removed, to be safely reinstalled. Quite how that happens is a matter for some conjecture but rest assured cameras will be there. If the builders are to be believed its something of a surprise that the pulpit has survived this long with out crashing in through the floor. I;m sure they are right but its all put in a sort of secret builder code thats hard to understand. It looks like our victorian builders perhaps had to rush off and build a new poorhouse or somesuch (nothing like going for the cliches) and somewhat bodged the fixing in of the pulpit.
Anyhow, there is still much work to be done on the heating system but today gave a great opportunity to talk it over and check measurements etc and there is a new impetus to the work. The prayer now is that the heating system catches up with the floor coming off and momentum can be maintained. The asbestos thing has cost us 3 days thus far and will do so again but the time might yet be made up.
The other item happening today was some repairs to the glazing. This was referenced in an earlier post and we were awaiting a quote for the work. It was with some surprise that we saw the glaziers hard at it today - no quote had been received. there had been some miscommmunication at some level to the builders and you could see the big boss pale as he realised what was going on - his pale skin was nicely reflected by his fluorescent jacket. However, alls well that ends well, the glaziers, it turned out, were working to an instruction that limited their work to the amount set out in the tender so all was well and we were able to reconsider again what should be done.
The day ended with the electricicans still working away up in the roof space.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Day13 - 4th Feb
Like yesterday a very quiet feel to the place. However,the floorboards have started to come up, at long last.What lies beneath.........
The electricians are working away and the glazier came today albeit briefly. There is still a lot of worry ('mithering' would be a good Northern way of describing it for those who understand these things) about the asbestos, and justified or not this is holding things up. Was able to chat briefly to Neil today and that is progress as we try to build up a relationship.
The weather is depressing things generally - for example it was toddlers today, but no serious attempt at cordon breaching were made. Come on people - we expect better.
One feature that is starting to rear is head is those traditional builder noises the buzz saw and the hammer. The crucial thing from the users (builders) point of view is not to maintain a rythmn. The listener (us) can cope of if the noise is a regular beat and start to tune it out, so random sporadic bursts of noise are the order of the day, just to keep everyone on their toes.
Neils last visit of the day brings the enquiry 'did the pulpit go in in pieces or one single piece - can I see the original plans' from this we deduce that the pulpit is definitely coming out, if only to put it back again better. As per previous requests for historical data, there is more chance of the Kennet freezing over and 20elephants dancing on it than there is of producing that plan so he goes off to think again.
We prepare for the site meeting tomorrow (please pray) and the day ends.
The electricians are working away and the glazier came today albeit briefly. There is still a lot of worry ('mithering' would be a good Northern way of describing it for those who understand these things) about the asbestos, and justified or not this is holding things up. Was able to chat briefly to Neil today and that is progress as we try to build up a relationship.
The weather is depressing things generally - for example it was toddlers today, but no serious attempt at cordon breaching were made. Come on people - we expect better.
One feature that is starting to rear is head is those traditional builder noises the buzz saw and the hammer. The crucial thing from the users (builders) point of view is not to maintain a rythmn. The listener (us) can cope of if the noise is a regular beat and start to tune it out, so random sporadic bursts of noise are the order of the day, just to keep everyone on their toes.
Neils last visit of the day brings the enquiry 'did the pulpit go in in pieces or one single piece - can I see the original plans' from this we deduce that the pulpit is definitely coming out, if only to put it back again better. As per previous requests for historical data, there is more chance of the Kennet freezing over and 20elephants dancing on it than there is of producing that plan so he goes off to think again.
We prepare for the site meeting tomorrow (please pray) and the day ends.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Day 12 - February 3rd
WycliffeRefurbBlog does'nt want to miss a day, but if a day was to be missed then this would be the one! Extremely quiet today, a couple of electricians are working on, and, perhaps, there was some small progress on the platform, but no feeling of momentum at all. The floorboards remain resolutely on the floor and this is not what is needed.
On the positive side, there is a contract meeting on Thursday at 11am. Please pray for this as we will discuss a number of key items, including the heating and....the asbestos (cue scary music), and we trust that the path forward will be clearly marked.
The day ends.
On the positive side, there is a contract meeting on Thursday at 11am. Please pray for this as we will discuss a number of key items, including the heating and....the asbestos (cue scary music), and we trust that the path forward will be clearly marked.
The day ends.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Day 11 - February 2nd
Well, a slightly difficult day for a number of reasons, but it looks like we make some progress in the end.
The weather did not help - Only one of the electricians made it and he has been working away all day on the top of the scaffolding. All Stan Randells men made it which is commendable. They work in teams so Neil has brought his own two colleagues.
I have'nt sorted out their names yet but trust that they conform to that great builder tradition of being single syllable.Tom.Neil.Joe.Baz. it would'nt do to welcome Cornelius and Sebastian (as suggested by our Treasurer).
However, the day is disrupted by a guy who has come in to price up removing the asbestos. He voices some completely unfounded concerns to me and Neil and this in turn causes a problem with what work can be done ongoing until the asbestos is removed. Its not appropriate to record all the goings on here but suffice it to say that we were well supported by JBKS (our architects and project manager) and meaningful work will start again tomorrow.
We have accepted a (large) quote for the removal of the asbestos from another contractor and this process will take 3 days during which no work can take place. Its likely to be towards the end of the month when this happens.
The day ends - a little disappointing, but this little blip with the asbestos probably had to happen and I think were over that hump now.
The prayer for this week is that the floorboards come up. That really has to happen, even tomorrow, if we are to keep any sort of momentum going.
The weather did not help - Only one of the electricians made it and he has been working away all day on the top of the scaffolding. All Stan Randells men made it which is commendable. They work in teams so Neil has brought his own two colleagues.
I have'nt sorted out their names yet but trust that they conform to that great builder tradition of being single syllable.Tom.Neil.Joe.Baz. it would'nt do to welcome Cornelius and Sebastian (as suggested by our Treasurer).
However, the day is disrupted by a guy who has come in to price up removing the asbestos. He voices some completely unfounded concerns to me and Neil and this in turn causes a problem with what work can be done ongoing until the asbestos is removed. Its not appropriate to record all the goings on here but suffice it to say that we were well supported by JBKS (our architects and project manager) and meaningful work will start again tomorrow.
We have accepted a (large) quote for the removal of the asbestos from another contractor and this process will take 3 days during which no work can take place. Its likely to be towards the end of the month when this happens.
The day ends - a little disappointing, but this little blip with the asbestos probably had to happen and I think were over that hump now.
The prayer for this week is that the floorboards come up. That really has to happen, even tomorrow, if we are to keep any sort of momentum going.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Day 10 - January 30th
Well, a very quiet day - you can sense everyone winding down for the weekend. Tom packs up to leave - he'll be in Colchester next week, and working away from his family. A pity, but Neil will take over on Monday with his team.
Have a catch up with Tom and while all is well, there is so much going on behind the scenes of our project - all quite frantic - pray again that what needs to happen will happen and for Gods continuing hand on our work - our little ship is on stormy seas, but we trust in a good God!
God is good - all safe at the end of week 2.
The day ends.
Have a catch up with Tom and while all is well, there is so much going on behind the scenes of our project - all quite frantic - pray again that what needs to happen will happen and for Gods continuing hand on our work - our little ship is on stormy seas, but we trust in a good God!
God is good - all safe at the end of week 2.
The day ends.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
January 29th - Day 9 - Afternoon
A quieter feel to today, though was pleased to see our Architect contact on the premises checking up on things so we'll see what comes of that.
CABLEGATE - Continues
In a shock development the BT engineer arrived and after a lot of tracing back the fault WAS down to the builders - the electricians (see previous post)had done well but not quite repaired the damage. However, the guy was very nice about it and all is wel now.
The day ends.
CABLEGATE - Continues
In a shock development the BT engineer arrived and after a lot of tracing back the fault WAS down to the builders - the electricians (see previous post)had done well but not quite repaired the damage. However, the guy was very nice about it and all is wel now.
The day ends.
Day 9 - 29th January - Morning
Tom passed the alarm test again this morning but he's handing the baton over to Neil, the new foreman, on Monday -can Neil hack it? We wait with bated breath (ok, not THAT bated, but a little bated, surely)
Business as usual - Baz and Joe are working away on the platform, the electricians are carrying on, I think their boss is coming down today.
2 quick updates:
CABLEGATE: BT seem to have taken responsibility for the flat phone being down (see post on 27th) - phew! The builders can rest easy and I put the church whip away in the cupboard.
ALARMGATE:
The fire alarm has been teasing us this morning by periodically making the noise it makes before it goes off, then not going off. This menas that for the first couple of times there was a mad dash to the panel (time for desk to panel 3.8 seconds and 6.3 seconds (got tangled in Branstons lead hence slow response) respectively) then an equally tense period waiting by the panel - 'dontgo off/dontgo off/dontgo off/' - to see what would happen. But so far so good.
Business as usual - Baz and Joe are working away on the platform, the electricians are carrying on, I think their boss is coming down today.
2 quick updates:
CABLEGATE: BT seem to have taken responsibility for the flat phone being down (see post on 27th) - phew! The builders can rest easy and I put the church whip away in the cupboard.
ALARMGATE:
The fire alarm has been teasing us this morning by periodically making the noise it makes before it goes off, then not going off. This menas that for the first couple of times there was a mad dash to the panel (time for desk to panel 3.8 seconds and 6.3 seconds (got tangled in Branstons lead hence slow response) respectively) then an equally tense period waiting by the panel - 'dontgo off/dontgo off/dontgo off/' - to see what would happen. But so far so good.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Day 8 January 28th Afternoon
Work carries on. I'm pleased (on one hand) but sad (on the other) to report that no serious attempt was made by any of the toddlers to breach the cordon. I will need to encourage their inner Steve McQueen.
The container positioning opens up interesting possibilities for publicising what we are up to to those walking along the pavement. Suggestions welcomed please!
Lastly, WycliffeRefurbBlog has struggled to communicate the oddness of extensive works essentially taking place in one room and life carrying on as normal (or for what passes as normal)in the rest of the place, but today Vasie put her finger on it - 'like opening the door to Narnia' - and that, indeed, is exactly what it is like.
The container positioning opens up interesting possibilities for publicising what we are up to to those walking along the pavement. Suggestions welcomed please!
Lastly, WycliffeRefurbBlog has struggled to communicate the oddness of extensive works essentially taking place in one room and life carrying on as normal (or for what passes as normal)in the rest of the place, but today Vasie put her finger on it - 'like opening the door to Narnia' - and that, indeed, is exactly what it is like.
Day 8 - January 28th - Morning
The day starts - Tom passed the alarm test this morning - well done! The fire engineer called yesterday and talked us through disconnecting the troublesome panel so we are feeling more relaxed today. Meerkats no more!
One of the pipefitters (remember, pipefitter, not plumber) comes up to me and asks where the nearest free cash machine is. Free cash machine? Cemetery Junction? right. I fill him in on the local cash drill. Co-Op, pack of chewing gum, £50 cashback, sorted. You are one of us now my son.
In its way it was an encouraging conversation as my comprehension of West Midlands speak is increasing and I manage to pick out the key words easily enough.
The boiler has come out and they are busy chopping out a lot of the old metal pipes so work progresses. The electricians are back and preparing the wiring for the lighting and Joe is moving on with the new platform.
FIREALARMGATE - Continues
The fire alarm goes off. Yes, the fire alarm goes off. Again. Time from desk to panel 8 seconds - too slow. Aaaaarggh. The building is packed with people doing different things. Long story short the engineer did'nt quite finish the job yesterday and after a quick call to Westronics we get it sorted so it won't go off again. No, it won't. Really. It won't. We believe.
Chat to Tom and deal with one or two outstanding matters. They are still undecided on the heating system and the lights still do not have a delivery date. Also there is a potential issue on whether out current gas main can carry the volume of gas needed to heat the new space - a new main may be needed and that will cost money. They are doing their sums at the moment -pray that the existing main will do the job.
It comes out that Tom,Baz and Joe are being taken off the job to go somewhere else for 5 weeks. Thats the builders perogative I suppose but we are disappointed and express that to the project manager at the Architects.
One of the pipefitters (remember, pipefitter, not plumber) comes up to me and asks where the nearest free cash machine is. Free cash machine? Cemetery Junction? right. I fill him in on the local cash drill. Co-Op, pack of chewing gum, £50 cashback, sorted. You are one of us now my son.
In its way it was an encouraging conversation as my comprehension of West Midlands speak is increasing and I manage to pick out the key words easily enough.
The boiler has come out and they are busy chopping out a lot of the old metal pipes so work progresses. The electricians are back and preparing the wiring for the lighting and Joe is moving on with the new platform.
FIREALARMGATE - Continues
The fire alarm goes off. Yes, the fire alarm goes off. Again. Time from desk to panel 8 seconds - too slow. Aaaaarggh. The building is packed with people doing different things. Long story short the engineer did'nt quite finish the job yesterday and after a quick call to Westronics we get it sorted so it won't go off again. No, it won't. Really. It won't. We believe.
Chat to Tom and deal with one or two outstanding matters. They are still undecided on the heating system and the lights still do not have a delivery date. Also there is a potential issue on whether out current gas main can carry the volume of gas needed to heat the new space - a new main may be needed and that will cost money. They are doing their sums at the moment -pray that the existing main will do the job.
It comes out that Tom,Baz and Joe are being taken off the job to go somewhere else for 5 weeks. Thats the builders perogative I suppose but we are disappointed and express that to the project manager at the Architects.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
January 27th Morning
Day seven dawns. Tom failed the alarm test again this morning, but got a stage further than yesterday. Oh well, always tomorrow.
He let Baz and Joe in then left for the builders merchants.They set to work on constructing the new platform.
Fire Alarm goes off again. Time from desk to fire panel 5.2 seconds.
The electricians are back and cracking on as are the pipefitters (we are NOT plumbers, we are specialised pipe fitters - Wooahh, ok I was only saying).
The picture below shows some old (and I do mean old) friends hitting the skip.
Fire Alarm set off again. Time from desk to fire panel 4.8 seconds.
Tom arrives back bringing with him Dave the specialist glazier. Dave is here to price up work on the windows in the refurb space. A certain amount has been allowed in the tender price but as our windows have'nt been touched for many a long year its a bottomless pit of money that could be spent.
We have one of those tricky discussions you tend to have with tradesmen - 'what do you want us to do' - honest answer (not verbalised) 'I want you to do the whole lot for £1260 as per budget'. Answer given: 'price up the worst of it and see where that leaves us'. Dave comes across as fairly pragmatic so hopefully all will turn out well.
This situation is going to be a regular feature I think. 'We allowed for X in the tender but actually you could spend Y if you wanted to (or have to)'. However it all seems quite controlled and with Rupert,Will and Stuarts help we just have to keep a track on costs and know where we are.
Fire alarm goes off again. Time from desk to fire panel 2.8 seconds. A record. Mark and I are now like coiled springs waiting for the next alarm. Rather like those meerkats you keep seeing in nature programmes. The fire engineer is called.
CABLEGATE - The continuing saga.
Rachel comes down from the flat. Her phone line has gone dead. Resist temptation to say 'well mine has'nt' and go and trace it back. All seems well and under intense questioning (using the arc lights mentioned yesterday) the builders deny any cutting so we call BT to report the fault. This one will run and run.
Lunchtime -
The storage container arrives - it's the 40ft shipping type commonly seen and will be used to store the floorboards and other materials relevant to the project. Truth be told I think Tom could have managed with the smaller 20ft size but nevertheless there it is.
The driver readies his crane and chains to lift it over the bus stop. Find myself hoping that he might somehow squash the environmental air tester monstrous carbunkle thingy that sprung up on the pavement on the way over, but regretfully that does not happen. For the second time in this project pedestrians weave around, seemingly oblivious to impending doom (I have to shoo back some of the lads who sit on the wall who really are getting too close) and blessedly the container is sited safely.
I noticed Tom putting considerable effort in to securing his external perimeter security cordon by the container - was he rattled last Wednesday?
4pm - THE CORDON IS NEARLY BREACHED!
Step forward Arron Hodgson! You came so close to winning one of the WycliffeRefurbBlog exclusive 'I breached the cordon' badges. Arun loses points for lack of deliberate intent (he was just going to where his sister usually has her piano lessons)but his hand was a fraction of a centimentre from the crucial door handle when Mum cut in and a history making moment was lost. Tough luck Arun - try again next week.
5.30pm - Speak to Baz who is doing the contemplative double - cup of tea AND cigarette before heading home. He's made good progress on the new platform steps.
7pm - The electricians are still hard it, for some reason one is working inside the baptistry, possibly the last place you would put an electric cable. Decide to forget I saw what I saw,close the door and leave.
The day ends.
He let Baz and Joe in then left for the builders merchants.They set to work on constructing the new platform.
Fire Alarm goes off again. Time from desk to fire panel 5.2 seconds.
The electricians are back and cracking on as are the pipefitters (we are NOT plumbers, we are specialised pipe fitters - Wooahh, ok I was only saying).
The picture below shows some old (and I do mean old) friends hitting the skip.
Fire Alarm set off again. Time from desk to fire panel 4.8 seconds.
Tom arrives back bringing with him Dave the specialist glazier. Dave is here to price up work on the windows in the refurb space. A certain amount has been allowed in the tender price but as our windows have'nt been touched for many a long year its a bottomless pit of money that could be spent.
We have one of those tricky discussions you tend to have with tradesmen - 'what do you want us to do' - honest answer (not verbalised) 'I want you to do the whole lot for £1260 as per budget'. Answer given: 'price up the worst of it and see where that leaves us'. Dave comes across as fairly pragmatic so hopefully all will turn out well.
This situation is going to be a regular feature I think. 'We allowed for X in the tender but actually you could spend Y if you wanted to (or have to)'. However it all seems quite controlled and with Rupert,Will and Stuarts help we just have to keep a track on costs and know where we are.
Fire alarm goes off again. Time from desk to fire panel 2.8 seconds. A record. Mark and I are now like coiled springs waiting for the next alarm. Rather like those meerkats you keep seeing in nature programmes. The fire engineer is called.
CABLEGATE - The continuing saga.
Rachel comes down from the flat. Her phone line has gone dead. Resist temptation to say 'well mine has'nt' and go and trace it back. All seems well and under intense questioning (using the arc lights mentioned yesterday) the builders deny any cutting so we call BT to report the fault. This one will run and run.
Lunchtime -
The storage container arrives - it's the 40ft shipping type commonly seen and will be used to store the floorboards and other materials relevant to the project. Truth be told I think Tom could have managed with the smaller 20ft size but nevertheless there it is.
The driver readies his crane and chains to lift it over the bus stop. Find myself hoping that he might somehow squash the environmental air tester monstrous carbunkle thingy that sprung up on the pavement on the way over, but regretfully that does not happen. For the second time in this project pedestrians weave around, seemingly oblivious to impending doom (I have to shoo back some of the lads who sit on the wall who really are getting too close) and blessedly the container is sited safely.
I noticed Tom putting considerable effort in to securing his external perimeter security cordon by the container - was he rattled last Wednesday?
4pm - THE CORDON IS NEARLY BREACHED!
Step forward Arron Hodgson! You came so close to winning one of the WycliffeRefurbBlog exclusive 'I breached the cordon' badges. Arun loses points for lack of deliberate intent (he was just going to where his sister usually has her piano lessons)but his hand was a fraction of a centimentre from the crucial door handle when Mum cut in and a history making moment was lost. Tough luck Arun - try again next week.
5.30pm - Speak to Baz who is doing the contemplative double - cup of tea AND cigarette before heading home. He's made good progress on the new platform steps.
7pm - The electricians are still hard it, for some reason one is working inside the baptistry, possibly the last place you would put an electric cable. Decide to forget I saw what I saw,close the door and leave.
The day ends.
Monday, January 26, 2009
26th January Evening
Baz and Joe head home, leaving the electricians working away. There is now no power at all in the church space and they work by large arclights on into the early evening. They are ripping out all the old (and some is very old indeed!) wiring and you get a sense they are happy as pigs in muck!
I wish them goodnight, they say something indecipherable in 'black country' speak and I leave. The day ends.
I wish them goodnight, they say something indecipherable in 'black country' speak and I leave. The day ends.
Monday 26th January - Morning
Monday Morning starts
Tom fails the ‘alarm test’ (he wanted in early at 7am so we issued him with keys and instructions) and is treated to the sight of Mark in his towel coming down from the shower (why is someone always in the shower when these things happen?). Mark sorts him out – thanks Mark!- and the day starts.
Just Baz & Joe today - Tom leaves for the day by 8am to go somewhere else, but not before getting a team of electricians started. They have come down from the West Midlands so a long drive (and potential communication issues – see previous posts), but they are staying in Reading during the week so clearly a serious effort at our project which is encouraging. Their job is to sort all the new wiring that will be needed for heating, lighting etc.
In addition, persons unknown are working their way along the balcony and filing down the bolts used to hold on the flip down chairs normally at the back. The place stinks of burnt metal.
Fire alarm goes off again, fortunately before Music and Movement. It’s the same sensor again so we’ll maybe need to rethink leaving it live. The alarm going off does not affect the activity in the church at all. Work takes precedence over personal safety clearly.
Meanwhile Joe has been busy with his crowbar and the platform/stage as we know it does not exist any more. Again, slightly painful to see it go with all the memories.
CABLEGATE – continues!
Malcolm, the night caretaker, calls – Our alarm company report a fault on the telephone line. Go to investigate and yes, Joe has, for some reason, disconnected a live set of telephone lines – not really sure why. This has taken down the alarm and all internet connections.
Very blessedly the Electricians are happy to help out and put it back together – what could have been a very big problem is made in to a tiny one – thanks men! It was encouraging to talk to someone at church on Sunday who confirmed that ‘wrong cable cutting’ was not limited to our project and in his office all the magnetic doors were locked shut by a bit of errant snipping.
Tom fails the ‘alarm test’ (he wanted in early at 7am so we issued him with keys and instructions) and is treated to the sight of Mark in his towel coming down from the shower (why is someone always in the shower when these things happen?). Mark sorts him out – thanks Mark!- and the day starts.
Just Baz & Joe today - Tom leaves for the day by 8am to go somewhere else, but not before getting a team of electricians started. They have come down from the West Midlands so a long drive (and potential communication issues – see previous posts), but they are staying in Reading during the week so clearly a serious effort at our project which is encouraging. Their job is to sort all the new wiring that will be needed for heating, lighting etc.
In addition, persons unknown are working their way along the balcony and filing down the bolts used to hold on the flip down chairs normally at the back. The place stinks of burnt metal.
Fire alarm goes off again, fortunately before Music and Movement. It’s the same sensor again so we’ll maybe need to rethink leaving it live. The alarm going off does not affect the activity in the church at all. Work takes precedence over personal safety clearly.
Meanwhile Joe has been busy with his crowbar and the platform/stage as we know it does not exist any more. Again, slightly painful to see it go with all the memories.
CABLEGATE – continues!
Malcolm, the night caretaker, calls – Our alarm company report a fault on the telephone line. Go to investigate and yes, Joe has, for some reason, disconnected a live set of telephone lines – not really sure why. This has taken down the alarm and all internet connections.
Very blessedly the Electricians are happy to help out and put it back together – what could have been a very big problem is made in to a tiny one – thanks men! It was encouraging to talk to someone at church on Sunday who confirmed that ‘wrong cable cutting’ was not limited to our project and in his office all the magnetic doors were locked shut by a bit of errant snipping.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Day 5 Afternoon
2.30pm, early finish on a Friday and Tom, Joe and Baz are off for the weekend. Have a good chat about church - they want to know if we are 'one of those churches where everyone jumps up and down'! - I say we are somewhere in the middle.
Pray for Lower Earley Baptist church as they are currently building their first permanent home from the ground up using the same builders as we are. We understand that they are experiencing some quite large (and expensive) initial problems with the build.
Week one over! God is good - reasonable progress, no injuries.
Pray for Lower Earley Baptist church as they are currently building their first permanent home from the ground up using the same builders as we are. We understand that they are experiencing some quite large (and expensive) initial problems with the build.
Week one over! God is good - reasonable progress, no injuries.
Day 5 - Jan 23rd - Lunchtime
A 'soft start' again with just Tom,Baz and Joe on site. They busy themselves with the intricate job of cutting out pieces of wood to fit the holes left in the wall by the removal of the pews.
CABLEGATE - CONTINUES
Regular readers will recall the decisions made yesterday about cables. Well, of course, It turns out one of the cables cut was the wrong one - the alarm system. Malcolm the night caretaker found that out late last night and the alarm people came promptly today and sorted it.
More good conversations with various visitors about what we are doing - once Tom has established how it will be at the front of the building with fencing etc we need to put up some signs and pictures, as people are interested in what is happening.
Encouragingly Tom wants to start at 7am next week so it sounds like the pace will pick up.
CABLEGATE - CONTINUES
Regular readers will recall the decisions made yesterday about cables. Well, of course, It turns out one of the cables cut was the wrong one - the alarm system. Malcolm the night caretaker found that out late last night and the alarm people came promptly today and sorted it.
More good conversations with various visitors about what we are doing - once Tom has established how it will be at the front of the building with fencing etc we need to put up some signs and pictures, as people are interested in what is happening.
Encouragingly Tom wants to start at 7am next week so it sounds like the pace will pick up.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Day 4 Afternoon
A quieter day today, Tom calls it a 'soft start' which is a nice official way of saying that things are quiet. For a soft start they have achieved a lot really - Andrew comments a proper 'soft start' means the builders phoning to say sorry, they have'nt finished the last job yet and they'll come 2 weeks on Monday!
Baz and Joe, another colleague who has come today walk backwards and forwards with bits of the quiet room and soon its gone (see photo) and the church has been returned to its original state down below. Even with the scaffolding in place it looks great - much bigger feel and more open to the street.
We offer the builders lunch, leftovers from a Borough Council conference we catered for today and this is gratefully accepted - every little helps to build a good relationship.
Later Tom comes through wanting to know about a few cables that are in the sanctuary - can he pull them out in preparation for taking out the radiators? It's typical of Tom that he would ask first rather than just do it and say sorry after which many would do. Quickly Andrew identifies one cable as the hearing loop, which can come out, one as the internet connection to the AV desk which we roll up and tape out of the way. This leaves one, a scraggy moth eaten looking thing, covered with what looks like 10 coats of paint. It ends at a very tatty junction box in the wall. It would be so easy just to say 'get rid' but Andrew wisely tests the wire to see if it is carrying current and it is - we follow it back and through a very circuitous route it becomes clear that yes, it is the phone line enabling all our communication. Best leave it alone then.
Andrew and Tom chat over previous refurbs and Tom is impressed that last time out church members painted the roof themselves. Its clear that Tom has an eye for detail and wanting the place to look its very best, for example hes going to price up a set of matching mouldings to go with those lost when the partition wall went up.
What is also clear is that below a relatively calm surface a lot of people are paddling hard to keep the project on track for completion in 10 weeks. A lot of thing need to fall in to place if all is to be completed on time (e.g. lighting equipment could take 8 weeks to come but the scaffolding can't go until it has and if the scaffolding is in place then the prayer rooms can't be built and so on) and it would be good to pray that what needs to happen, will happen, when it needs to happen!
Tom clears up and the day ends.
Day 4 Morning
No scaffolding lorry today! Hooray! Tom & Baz are hard at it ripping down the partition wall and it makes a huge difference to the feel of the place, even in its building site state.
Paul from the architects is here and thats good because they are responsible for the formal management and guidance of the project so he is checking that all is going to plan.
He's also here to meet with Stuart our Treasurer to talk about complex VAT issues - in short, please pray that the VAT people accept our project as mostly reconstruction as opposed to maintenance - this will mean a much reduced VAT bill.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Day 3 - ends
Tom pops in for a debrief and we have a good chat - he like trucks too! Excellent!
We discuss Ice Road Truckers for a bit before running through all that happened. Scaffolding done now which is great, no more trucks out the front, heating drained, and demolition of the partition wall will probably start tomorrow. He seems on top of things at this stage and comfortable with the task in front of him, which is good.
Baz enjoys his becoming regular contemplative cigarette after shutting up and they leave. The day ends.
We discuss Ice Road Truckers for a bit before running through all that happened. Scaffolding done now which is great, no more trucks out the front, heating drained, and demolition of the partition wall will probably start tomorrow. He seems on top of things at this stage and comfortable with the task in front of him, which is good.
Baz enjoys his becoming regular contemplative cigarette after shutting up and they leave. The day ends.
day 3 - fire alarm
Off goes the fire alarm. Everybody out except the scaffolders who plod on regardless as they clearly feel they are immortal. As it happens it was their dust that tripped it off so no real problem. We could disconnect that particular alarm but we feel that there is actually more chance of a fire in that space while the work is going no than not so it'll stay for the time being.
Day 3 - mid morning
Tom pops in and updates - plumbers are draining down our old heating system today,ready to take it out, and heating engineers are trying to work out the best underfloor system for us to install - it all passes through numerous hands before being signed off. The new system will need to be fed directly from the mains water supply and that is going to mean a new pipe going down which is'nt in the costings - wait and see how much this will be.
They'll start to rip up the floorboards soon and a container will appear at the front to store them in ready for them going back down again.
Tom attempts to leave but is blocked in by a toddler and buggy - the toddlers may not have breached his security cordon (this time) but he can't breach theirs either.
2 More Brummies appear (see day 2) - There is a brief language barrier, but they start to speak more slowly and we understand that they can't find the water tanks.
Pass them to the expert (Mark) and the tanks are eventually located.
They'll start to rip up the floorboards soon and a container will appear at the front to store them in ready for them going back down again.
Tom attempts to leave but is blocked in by a toddler and buggy - the toddlers may not have breached his security cordon (this time) but he can't breach theirs either.
2 More Brummies appear (see day 2) - There is a brief language barrier, but they start to speak more slowly and we understand that they can't find the water tanks.
Pass them to the expert (Mark) and the tanks are eventually located.
Day 3 - 21st Jan 2009
The scaffolders arrive, cause momentary traffic chaos on the Kings Road as they manouver the truck in and day 3 starts as day 2 left off - endless hefting in of scaffold poles and planks accompanied to whistling to 2-Ten FM, the scaffolders radio station of choice.
Toddlers today, in the sports hall so well away from the action, but will any toddler make it through Tom's security cordon and on to site..........?
Toddlers today, in the sports hall so well away from the action, but will any toddler make it through Tom's security cordon and on to site..........?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Day 2 - end of
4.18pm Tom reports in at the end of the day. He's happy enough with progress but the real work can't really start until the scaffolders finish which will be tomorrow. In the meantime he wants squeeze a skip on to the front as well as the scaffolding lorry tomorrow and we get that sorted - City Car Club get the elbow to the rear car park. Baz enjoys a reflective cigarette and they leave.
The day ends.
The day ends.
Day 2 Lunchtime
A quiet start to the day did'nt last long. Bang! suddenly the place is swarming with different people - Electricians, Heating specialists the lot.
There are a number of different strands to our project and many of these will be followed at the same time by different teams so these folks were all doing preparatory work. Again, there is no messing about, things that were of utmost importance to us not 2 days ago, the boiler, the main fuse box and so on are relegated to nothing status in an instant.
One novelty is a Brummie bloke turning up in a suit to look at the heating pipes. Just to clear up any mis-understanding, it's not the fact he's a Brummie and wearing a suit ( for all you Brummie's reading) its the fact that he was wearing a suit at all in that environment which struck me as being on the ambitious side. 'Rags chic' rules at the moment in the midst of the dirt.
One man come through to get some help finding out where a particular water pipe leads to. He shows me and my immediate thought, which I don't verbalise, is that it was probably easier for Captain Cook to find Australia than it will be for us to trace this pipe back. 'Unique' would be a kind description of our water piping. We call the expert and Mark identifies it as a gas pipe, not water, probably installed when British Gas discovered that part of the church was getting its gas for free (but thats another story).
Out of the blue a man arrives looking for the organ pipes. This is good news, if a little random, as we were unsure how we were going to dispose of these, so we load them on - a lot more than he expected! He leaves and it turns out that he came from a business connected to Yeldall manor and the pipes will be used to make furniture rather than scrapped - good.
Incidentally a reasonable amount of the items that had to be removed have found new homes. All the pews were sold to people from church, large chunks of the organ went to various organ building projects across the country and some of the fancy woodwork round the organ went down Cumberland road where it is being turned in to a four poster bed!
Some of the smaller pieces were turned in to chopping boards and a lot of the 'scrap' wood went to Yeldall again to be turned in to patio tables.
We only used one skip in total and that is pretty good.
There are a number of different strands to our project and many of these will be followed at the same time by different teams so these folks were all doing preparatory work. Again, there is no messing about, things that were of utmost importance to us not 2 days ago, the boiler, the main fuse box and so on are relegated to nothing status in an instant.
One novelty is a Brummie bloke turning up in a suit to look at the heating pipes. Just to clear up any mis-understanding, it's not the fact he's a Brummie and wearing a suit ( for all you Brummie's reading) its the fact that he was wearing a suit at all in that environment which struck me as being on the ambitious side. 'Rags chic' rules at the moment in the midst of the dirt.
One man come through to get some help finding out where a particular water pipe leads to. He shows me and my immediate thought, which I don't verbalise, is that it was probably easier for Captain Cook to find Australia than it will be for us to trace this pipe back. 'Unique' would be a kind description of our water piping. We call the expert and Mark identifies it as a gas pipe, not water, probably installed when British Gas discovered that part of the church was getting its gas for free (but thats another story).
Out of the blue a man arrives looking for the organ pipes. This is good news, if a little random, as we were unsure how we were going to dispose of these, so we load them on - a lot more than he expected! He leaves and it turns out that he came from a business connected to Yeldall manor and the pipes will be used to make furniture rather than scrapped - good.
Incidentally a reasonable amount of the items that had to be removed have found new homes. All the pews were sold to people from church, large chunks of the organ went to various organ building projects across the country and some of the fancy woodwork round the organ went down Cumberland road where it is being turned in to a four poster bed!
Some of the smaller pieces were turned in to chopping boards and a lot of the 'scrap' wood went to Yeldall again to be turned in to patio tables.
We only used one skip in total and that is pretty good.
Day 2 - 20th January
Day 2 dawns. The scaffolders return...... but all is relatively quiet. Still feeling a bit gloomy about the the asbestos, but Tom seems OK with it, so work carries on.
Monday, January 19, 2009
INTRODUCTION TO WycliffeRefurbBlog
Our church is undergoing a major refurb over the next 10 weeks and given that it is being brilliantly documented in pictures on our web site (http://www.wycliffe-church.org.uk/) I thought it would be good to try and blog it in words as well. I have'nt blogged before but will do my best. It goes without saying that each and every view expressed here entirely my own and not the churches corporately or anyone elses. Any problems with what is written please let me know.
We met the man on who's shoulders the delivery of our hopes and dreams (no pressure) rests on Friday. He is called Tom and he works for Stan Randell and Co, our builders. He will be here 5 days a week at least for the next 10 weeks and will be the site agent. It's his job to organise and manage the teams of workers who will do what needs to be done. He spent Friday planning with his boss and he's in the thick of it today getting the scaffolding sorted. Its early days, but first impressions are positive - they clearly want to do the job right.
He comes up from Watford every day (lucky man) and we managed to get off on a good footing by supplying the secret back street directions to the church car park so he can avoid the huge loop round by the Royal Berks.
Monday 19th January - 8am
Well, its started! As I write a gang of men are transporting large sections of scaffolding inside the church (presumably as part of the repainting and relighting in the roof), and another man is going hammer and tongs at the platform with a crowbar. To be perfectly honest it makes fairly painful watching as we have a thousand memories tied up in the platform and they have none -and it shows (thats not a complaint, just an observation).
Fair play to the builders - they always said it would start today, and start it certainly has. At this point I need to say a heartfelt thanks to every person who helped to clear the church ready for this day. You worked hard and long and what you did meant that the builders had no impedement to starting today at all - they just got cracking which they clearly wanted to do. It also meant that the clearing was done as sympathetically as it could be and with love. The builders would have cleared the space for us but would have charged a lot for the work and done it all with a sledge hammer................
09:29
First little wrinkle. The side path of the church is Cemetery Junctions equivalent to the M25 in terms of pedestrian traffic. At the present time we are seeing men removing very large heavy pieces of scaffolding with mothers and children and other assorted pedestrians weaving in and out round their lorry and underneath the scaffolding. Not the best. Quick call to our long suffering neighbours in Crown House gets us the use of their car park spaces - they say yes, as ever, and some semblance of safety is resumed.
11am - silence falls. Tea break time is sacrosanct. The postman comes as usual and its good to tell him our plans. This will be an oft repeated conversation but we need to keep hammering away at peoples preconceptions about 'church' and the organised chaos outside means there is plenty to ask about.
Music and movement are in the Wycliffe Room today (as there is also a smaller electrical job happening in the sports hall) and we are keeping an eye open for junior escapees who fancy inspecting the refurb more than they want to sing 'the wheels on the bus'.
11.30am - Enquin environmental turn up - they are here to look for asbestos. We have to have a full survey done before the builders will proceed with certain aspects of the work. Just one part of a fairly long list of statutory duties we have to comply with, all of which cost money. God is good though. We only found out about the need to check for asbestos last week and contacted this company who are based in South Wales. They 'just happened' to be working at the Hexagon on a much bigger job and so could fit us in almost immediately, causing no delay to the works.
I adopt the standard greeting - 'you won't find any asbestos here'. He in turn adopts the standard reply 'If I had a pound.........'. Fair comment. As you would expect with people who's job it is to work every day with potentially deadly materials they are good humoured and extremely relaxed.
11.35am - We pause to pray for the builders. We aim to try and do this every day, but we'll see. We pray for their safety, for wisdom and especially that they might understand that the place is much more than bricks and mortar. I would imagine that builders approach a property in a very un-emotional manner so if we can communicate the true purpose of the place to them then so much the better. Tom has already noted the numbers of people around the place. In his mind I think he expected the church to be deserted during the week!
12.40pm
Second wrinkle - Tom asks us to have a look at the pulpit. Despite the Baptist Union saying the pupit must be kept, it appears to be making its own bid for freedom from the wall. It has been leaning for a while and its getting worse. I look at the bulk of the burly scaffolder standing in the pulpit as we talk and consider making a clever comment. Decide against it.
Tempting as it is to say 'take the pulpit away - its unsafe' and to replace it with another design, that would'nt wash with the BU - we would need to replace like for like so we'll need to look at jacking the existing one up and pinning it back against the wall. Personally I blame the choir of angels at the Nativity.
1pm - An unscheduled visit by our stationery sales rep leads to a good conversation about what we are doing and why. Turns out he used to go to church. He's more keen to talk about whether we are 'high church' or 'more evangelical' - We tell him that we just want to let people know that Jesus loves them and why. As we leave he passes a group of Nepali lads playing football in the sports hall - I don' t think he can quite believe what he is seeing (on 'church' premises), but his pre-conceptions are being challenged and thats great. These sort of conversations happen a lot.
1.45pm - The glass doors at the front now have a large set of wooden protective covers made for them by Baz the carpenter, who I learn will also be on the job full time. They'll be taken off at night and put on in the morning. The builders plan to do most of their movement of materials and equipment through the front entrance.
We make a double check on the doors through to the lower back hall that they are securely locked so that no Japanese toddlers can escape through to a new and very large 'climbing frame' . The scaffold reaches the ceiling now so we put away mental images of determined Japanese children being rescued from the very top.
2.30pm
Well, it did'nt take long - Day 1 and the first major challenge presented. You will note my comment to the asbestos surveyor earlier that 'he would'nt find any asbestos here'............... well, of course, head bangingly inevitably, he has. There are old, capped pipes running under the pulpit that have asbestos cladding on them. Nowhere else in the building, just there, but that causes potentially major financial and operational problems. I should say that as they are, they are no health risk to anyone, and never ever were. Its the incorrect removal,manufacture and installation of asbestos that causes the health problems that have been so well publicised.
The surveyor is currently ripping up the floor in the small vestibule outside the communion cupboard to see how far these cladded pipes extend. The position of these pipes is directly under the pulpit - it may well have to come out fully after all!
Incidentally, the surveyor also passed comment that he had found a piece of asbestos rope under the floor boards as well. Asbestos rope? whatever next.
However, as previously stated earlier, God is good - its quite by 'chance' that these pipes were found as the surveyor would not have chosen to take the floor up by the pulpit steps, he was concentrating on the main floor area as would be expected. However the other workmen had already taken some of the floor up there in order to site the scaffolding and so the surveyor shone his torch down.......... We would far rather know about them now than later on when all the work would have ground to a halt because of it - at least we can plan a strategy now.
4pm
The surveyor proudly announces that he has found some more asbestos, 'fire proof boxing' round the base of the metal pillars that were in what was the vestibule. I give a fixed smile in return.
4.37pm
Finally, he leaves with some samples to analyse. In simple terms there is potential for delay at some stage as the stuff is removed and to remove it will not be cheap. Day 1 comes to an end.
Our church is undergoing a major refurb over the next 10 weeks and given that it is being brilliantly documented in pictures on our web site (http://www.wycliffe-church.org.uk/) I thought it would be good to try and blog it in words as well. I have'nt blogged before but will do my best. It goes without saying that each and every view expressed here entirely my own and not the churches corporately or anyone elses. Any problems with what is written please let me know.
We met the man on who's shoulders the delivery of our hopes and dreams (no pressure) rests on Friday. He is called Tom and he works for Stan Randell and Co, our builders. He will be here 5 days a week at least for the next 10 weeks and will be the site agent. It's his job to organise and manage the teams of workers who will do what needs to be done. He spent Friday planning with his boss and he's in the thick of it today getting the scaffolding sorted. Its early days, but first impressions are positive - they clearly want to do the job right.
He comes up from Watford every day (lucky man) and we managed to get off on a good footing by supplying the secret back street directions to the church car park so he can avoid the huge loop round by the Royal Berks.
Monday 19th January - 8am
Well, its started! As I write a gang of men are transporting large sections of scaffolding inside the church (presumably as part of the repainting and relighting in the roof), and another man is going hammer and tongs at the platform with a crowbar. To be perfectly honest it makes fairly painful watching as we have a thousand memories tied up in the platform and they have none -and it shows (thats not a complaint, just an observation).
Fair play to the builders - they always said it would start today, and start it certainly has. At this point I need to say a heartfelt thanks to every person who helped to clear the church ready for this day. You worked hard and long and what you did meant that the builders had no impedement to starting today at all - they just got cracking which they clearly wanted to do. It also meant that the clearing was done as sympathetically as it could be and with love. The builders would have cleared the space for us but would have charged a lot for the work and done it all with a sledge hammer................
09:29
First little wrinkle. The side path of the church is Cemetery Junctions equivalent to the M25 in terms of pedestrian traffic. At the present time we are seeing men removing very large heavy pieces of scaffolding with mothers and children and other assorted pedestrians weaving in and out round their lorry and underneath the scaffolding. Not the best. Quick call to our long suffering neighbours in Crown House gets us the use of their car park spaces - they say yes, as ever, and some semblance of safety is resumed.
11am - silence falls. Tea break time is sacrosanct. The postman comes as usual and its good to tell him our plans. This will be an oft repeated conversation but we need to keep hammering away at peoples preconceptions about 'church' and the organised chaos outside means there is plenty to ask about.
Music and movement are in the Wycliffe Room today (as there is also a smaller electrical job happening in the sports hall) and we are keeping an eye open for junior escapees who fancy inspecting the refurb more than they want to sing 'the wheels on the bus'.
11.30am - Enquin environmental turn up - they are here to look for asbestos. We have to have a full survey done before the builders will proceed with certain aspects of the work. Just one part of a fairly long list of statutory duties we have to comply with, all of which cost money. God is good though. We only found out about the need to check for asbestos last week and contacted this company who are based in South Wales. They 'just happened' to be working at the Hexagon on a much bigger job and so could fit us in almost immediately, causing no delay to the works.
I adopt the standard greeting - 'you won't find any asbestos here'. He in turn adopts the standard reply 'If I had a pound.........'. Fair comment. As you would expect with people who's job it is to work every day with potentially deadly materials they are good humoured and extremely relaxed.
11.35am - We pause to pray for the builders. We aim to try and do this every day, but we'll see. We pray for their safety, for wisdom and especially that they might understand that the place is much more than bricks and mortar. I would imagine that builders approach a property in a very un-emotional manner so if we can communicate the true purpose of the place to them then so much the better. Tom has already noted the numbers of people around the place. In his mind I think he expected the church to be deserted during the week!
12.40pm
Second wrinkle - Tom asks us to have a look at the pulpit. Despite the Baptist Union saying the pupit must be kept, it appears to be making its own bid for freedom from the wall. It has been leaning for a while and its getting worse. I look at the bulk of the burly scaffolder standing in the pulpit as we talk and consider making a clever comment. Decide against it.
Tempting as it is to say 'take the pulpit away - its unsafe' and to replace it with another design, that would'nt wash with the BU - we would need to replace like for like so we'll need to look at jacking the existing one up and pinning it back against the wall. Personally I blame the choir of angels at the Nativity.
1pm - An unscheduled visit by our stationery sales rep leads to a good conversation about what we are doing and why. Turns out he used to go to church. He's more keen to talk about whether we are 'high church' or 'more evangelical' - We tell him that we just want to let people know that Jesus loves them and why. As we leave he passes a group of Nepali lads playing football in the sports hall - I don' t think he can quite believe what he is seeing (on 'church' premises), but his pre-conceptions are being challenged and thats great. These sort of conversations happen a lot.
1.45pm - The glass doors at the front now have a large set of wooden protective covers made for them by Baz the carpenter, who I learn will also be on the job full time. They'll be taken off at night and put on in the morning. The builders plan to do most of their movement of materials and equipment through the front entrance.
We make a double check on the doors through to the lower back hall that they are securely locked so that no Japanese toddlers can escape through to a new and very large 'climbing frame' . The scaffold reaches the ceiling now so we put away mental images of determined Japanese children being rescued from the very top.
2.30pm
Well, it did'nt take long - Day 1 and the first major challenge presented. You will note my comment to the asbestos surveyor earlier that 'he would'nt find any asbestos here'............... well, of course, head bangingly inevitably, he has. There are old, capped pipes running under the pulpit that have asbestos cladding on them. Nowhere else in the building, just there, but that causes potentially major financial and operational problems. I should say that as they are, they are no health risk to anyone, and never ever were. Its the incorrect removal,manufacture and installation of asbestos that causes the health problems that have been so well publicised.
The surveyor is currently ripping up the floor in the small vestibule outside the communion cupboard to see how far these cladded pipes extend. The position of these pipes is directly under the pulpit - it may well have to come out fully after all!
Incidentally, the surveyor also passed comment that he had found a piece of asbestos rope under the floor boards as well. Asbestos rope? whatever next.
However, as previously stated earlier, God is good - its quite by 'chance' that these pipes were found as the surveyor would not have chosen to take the floor up by the pulpit steps, he was concentrating on the main floor area as would be expected. However the other workmen had already taken some of the floor up there in order to site the scaffolding and so the surveyor shone his torch down.......... We would far rather know about them now than later on when all the work would have ground to a halt because of it - at least we can plan a strategy now.
4pm
The surveyor proudly announces that he has found some more asbestos, 'fire proof boxing' round the base of the metal pillars that were in what was the vestibule. I give a fixed smile in return.
4.37pm
Finally, he leaves with some samples to analyse. In simple terms there is potential for delay at some stage as the stuff is removed and to remove it will not be cheap. Day 1 comes to an end.
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