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As you all are aware we are now about to start work on the extension to the clubhouse and I want to use the website to keep you all up to date with the work programme and to let you know what activities are planned for the coming week(s). In this way you will know what is going on, what type of labour is currently needed and what particular skills are required. I have been asked to be the Project Manager and in turn I have asked Brian Barrow to help me. Brian has produced a work plan which clearly shows what has to be done to achieve the targets set by our Chairman and this will be explained more fully at the EGM on the 26th September. However with a largely volunteer workforce the plan will only work with your help. We can plan to our heart’s content but the action comes from the membership. I am a relatively new member of GMES but I can see that you can deliver these projects as you have a proven track record which is evidenced all around the site.
The photo gallery now includes an album of project photos. Photo of the working drawing as of 26 December 2007.
Work has been progressing at a good pace these last few weeks and we have now reached the stage where we are watertight, with the wall between the old and the new removed so that we can start to envisage the final appearance.
Weather permitting, we will be fitting the windows on Friday 15th with the roof practically finished this week end. This will enable the scaffolding to come down very soon. During the next week we need to fit the door linings and the rest of the plasterboard ceiling together with finishing off the borrowed lights in the corridor.
We had a very successful meeting with the building inspector today and he was very happy with our work to date and complemented us. He even told us that the pit for the soak away was deep enough and that Frank Perriman could stop digging.
This still leaves a lot of work to be done before the first public running day on the 20th April. The plastering will commence on the 25th and it will take about 10 days to complete which will leave us with the fitting out of the toilets and the refreshment bar as the major tasks.
Martyn Harrold
We have, despite the bad weather, made excellent progress with the roof this week and we want to carry on with the work this Sunday the 20th. Our intention is to finish the roof construction in the next few days so that we can start to make the building weatherproof which of course will then enable a lot of other activities to begin. If you are able to come along on Sunday you will be very welcome and if we can get 6 or 7 of us there, then that would be ideal.
Martyn Harrold
The weather prevented us from finishing the internal walls today and that was the first time that the weather has caused us any delays. Nevertheless work continues apace.
On Thursday the prefabricated roof trusses will be delivered and we hope to get them up on the scaffolding and to start their erection. Having said that the weather forecast is not good for Thursday but it is improving for the weekend. Depending on how the work progresses we may be working on the roof on Saturday so for those of you that can only help at the weekends this could be your chance. Watch this space as I will keep you updated about this weekend via our website.
Also Thursday will see the delivery of the two beams that will hold up the existing roof when we knock the wall down to join the old with the new, again more help needed for that. Work will also continue outside the building with the soak away being started. This will require some of the 7¼ track to be removed.
Our aim is to get the roof watertight by the end of January at the very latest so that work on the finishes in the various rooms can start.
Martyn Harrold
We are working to a tight deadline this week as we intend to pour the over site concrete next Friday the 23rd November. There is quite a lot left to do to get to that point. Today we started laying the drains and backfilling the site with hardcore. The laying of the drains will continue tomorrow and hopefully that will be finished by the end of the day. There is a lot of hardcore that needs to be broken up and put in place and I would ask those of you that can only make Saturdays to come along and help do that.
We have marked the site in the following way. Where there are yellow lines on the ground no hardcore should be put as there will be drains or wall footings to go there. The remainder of the areas need to be filled with broken hardcore up to the chalk marks which are 4” below the top of the bricks. All hardcore should be no more than 4”x4”x4” i.e. half a brick in size. The hardcore that is down by the level crossing may prove to be the easiest to use as it is nearly all breeze blocks, although this will need to be brought back on the trolley.
If we have more labour than is necessary to backfill the site then there in another very important job to do. We need to move the concrete blocks at the front of the site on to the old kitchen slab. This is needed as once the brickwork rises out of the ground it will be difficult to move them into position for laying as there are no openings on that side of the extension.
Martyn Harrold
Last week we had a very productive time and had the footings dug in two days which the Building Inspector approved so that we were able to pour the footings on Thursday, which we did just before the rain started.
All of the spoil that we didn’t want was removed from site so that we were able to receive all of the building materials that we need for the next few weeks.
The jobs for this week will be:
Lay out and fit the drainage components in the ground both inside and outside the building. I have asked Geoff More to take charge of this activity and he will need some help in digging and backfilling. We will also need to dig a trench and lay in some blue water pipe as the new main from the stop cock to the new kitchen area. There is a plastic pipe under the new footing for this and also a pipe through the internal brickwork.
We need to remove the tiles (both ceramic and thermo plastic) from the old kitchen and also to cut/grind away the metal fixings in the slab. After this is complete we can transfer the concrete blocks from the old 7¼” track to the kitchen slab.
Dig the over site for the footings for the internal walls. Harold will give details of this on Thursday. This is not such a huge task as the main footings.
Start filling the site with hardcore (maximum 100x100x100 mm). This can initially be done in areas where there are no drains or internal wall footings.
Martyn
After many weeks of planning and destroying the clubhouse I am glad to be able to report that this week will see the outline of the new clubhouse appear. We will be digging the footings on Tuesday and Wednesday and pouring them on Thursday subject to Building Inspector approval. All of the bricks and blocks will be arriving on Thursday and the bricklaying starts on Monday 12th.
So, our tasks this week are to break up the rubble into suitable sizes to go back into the over site. We are required to use only rubble of a maximum size of 100 mm x 100mm x 100mm. There is a lot of rubble to break up so the more volunteers we have the better. Can you please bring with you a suitable hammer if you have one. Those of you who can only work at the weekend can now really get stuck in.
Next Monday and Tuesday we will need 2 people for each day to share the load of supporting the bricklaying of the footings. I have the list of volunteers that put their names down for these tasks and I hope you will come forward for these two days. Later on we will need help for each day for a three week period but that will start in a couple of weeks time.
Martyn Harrold
At the time of writing we still do not have Building Regulation approval which means that we cannot start the digging of the footings so in order not to lose time we need to transfer our efforts to other activities.
One remaining unknown at the moment is the incoming water main and efforts are continuing to locate it (them).
However what we need to do now is to move the library out from its present position into either plastic boxes to be put into the shed at the bottom of the site or to move the cupboard into the clubhouse or most probably a bit of both. Mike Sparrow as the Librarian will be looking for help on Thursday to do this. At the same time we need to move the essential kitchen equipment out into the clubhouse and to salvage the cupboards etc for possible reuse. When this is completed we can disconnect all of the electrics in the Kitchen-Library in preparation for its demolition.
When this is ready we will erect a temporary wall across the serving hatch and doorway to provide security. This is a change from our previous thoughts of providing a temporary wall inside the existing kitchen but the new arrangement will allow work to proceed a bit quicker and easier.
The fitting of a new drive belt to the cement mixer is still outstanding.
Martyn Harrold
I am trying to find a way of keeping the kitchen operational for as long as possible and to make the process of building the new front kitchen wall a bit easier. Subject to the Building Inspectors agreement on the reuse of the existing kitchen floor I want to build a stud partition wall a couple of feet inside the wall. This means removing the fridge, existing cupboards and appliances along the wall and making the electrics safe.
Last week we made some investigations into the existence of any services in the ground underneath the extension and so far this has not turned up any nasty surprises. However we need to expose the existing footings a bit more to see if they are acceptable for the new front wall and we also need to find the route of the rising cold water main.
So in summary the jobs for this week are:
Martyn Harrold
We have had another good day today with all of the existing brickwork demolished and stored and all of the paving slabs that we want to take up taken up. There is still a little bit of clearing up to do. There is also some exploratory digging to establish exactly what is in the ground and Roger Curtis and I plan to do that tomorrow afternoon.
What this all means is that we are on schedule and we do not need to work this Friday or Saturday.
When we receive Building Regulation approval we will start the excavation of the footings and I will let you know as soon as that happens.
Martyn Harrold
The demolition went well last week, particularly on Thursday when there were plenty of workers. Friday was not so well attended as many had previous commitments, but further progress was made.
On Thursday I would like to organise the Friday and Saturday working parties, so those who are able to could you please let me know your availability.
This week we will remove the remainder of the rubble and take up the paving slabs and save them if at all possible. Once we have the ground exposed we can work out exactly what is in the ground before we get the digger in. Another job is to try and save the kerb edging to the track bed for the 7¼” where the track has been removed. It may prove difficult as they may be concreted in, if so they will be removed by the digger.
As the water is now turned off to the steaming bays and station we need to make alternative arrangements for water supplies. If anyone has a clean one-gallon container with a top could they bring it along this week. If we place some in the station and some in the steaming bays that should enable us to operate until normal supplies are restored.
We have some waste materials that need to be disposed of off site. These are mainly the fibreglass insulation and the roofing felt. I took two bags of fibreglass to the council dump on the way home on Thursday and if others who pass near to a council facility can take a bag or two of felt or fibreglass we can quickly clear the site of it.
Martyn Harrold
We have made a really good start on the demolition of the toilet block today and it is nearly all down. I will not be on site tomorrow but the work needs to go on. Roger Curtis will be there in the morning. What we want to achieve tomorrow is the following:
We had a lot of support today, thank you all. I hope we get a similar response tomorrow.
Martyn Harrold
This Thursday we will be starting on the demolition of the toilet block. Once the electrics and the water are turned off we can make a start. We intend to use all of the rubble as backfill to the site with all of the combustible material burnt in the parking area of the steaming bays. The rubble will be put in front of the new building close to the fence. The only items that it is important that we keep will be the door locks (as they use club keys) with all other materials disposed of. We will not be having a skip at this stage as there is insufficient need and we hope to use a Man and a Digger for the footings who will take the spoil away with a lorry and a grab.
We will not be working this Saturday as there is a Birthday Party Run then so at the end of Friday we will need to ensure that the site is suitably cordoned off to prevent any accidents to our guests. We have plenty of the orange plastic fencing to do this. We also need to cut through the perimeter wall( adjacent to the toilet block) just as it meets the front wall.
Another task that needs to be sorted out in the next couple of weeks is the testing and overhauling of our concrete mixer. I am told that it is unreliable but that the problem might be electrical. If someone can look at it for us and let me know whether it is serviceable or not so that we can buy a new one in good time if we have to.
We will be providing hard hats, high viz jackets and some gloves for your protection which will be available in the clubhouse and we encourage you to use them. If more are needed then we will provide them.
I am afraid that it is an inauspicious start for me as I am unable to be there on Friday as I am away for the weekend.
Martyn Harrold
Next week as part of the preparatory work for the demolition of the toilet block and the digging of the footings we need to tackle three tasks.
I expect we will be starting work on this on Thursday, but I will keep you informed.
Martyn Harrold
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