Renovation Diary: August 2019

2nd August 2019

With the pub being closed for a couple of days earlier in the week allowed us to doing the plastering above the bar and the surrounding pillars. A lot of square metres and very awkward corners to be covered. At the same time, we opened up the new side door and got that in place; it just needs finished off. A new guttering was added in front of the doors to prevent the bar flooding.

The windows to the front were completed and painted. All that is left to do is to add the "frosting" to make them blend in with the rest. Chris, the specialist electrician, spent a lot of time connected up the new mains in the stable - we are getting closer to having real power to the pub!

And the kitchen ceiling was pulled down too, chairs painted, the stone at painted by our youngest volunteers yet, wires and windows stripped, and much more too. It's difficult to cover it all here.

Tearing down the kitchen ceiling

By Adrian and Alan

Ground floor neatly painted

In the new Swan colours

New side door

Re-used old front alcove door

Putting in the guttering

Bosco and Tony at work

Our youngest volunteers

Preparing the stone cat for painting

New mains distribution boxes

In the stable

New windows, new paint - looking good

Front side where alcove door was removed

Tony building new door frame

One of the professionals making the new door frame

Ian Gray, our miracle plasterer

Been hard at it most of this week

Ailish and family came in

Painting the old stone cat

Miranda and Bez sorting out the world

Wire stripping

Temp bar area was plastered

By Ian Gray

A "not so clean" Adrian

After pulling down the kicthen ceiling

Bar ready after closure

Bar was closed for two days

Miranda seat painting

Lots of old seats to paint up

Dermot watering the plants

Pops in most days to water plants and sort the refuse out

9th August 2019

There has been quite a lot going on this week both visible and behind the scenes. In the bar area, you will see the lighting being installed. From tonight, there is some lighting in the bar itself and in the ladies toilet. The radiators too starting in the two alcoves at the front of the building. The mains distribution boards in the stables have been completed too. Work has started on the distribution board for the bar area. The school room has had the floor sanded and is really starting to take shape. Hopefully the lighting will go in shortly to make the next big step forward.

Last week's BBQ has accelerated the pace in the kitchen. The last of the ceiling was removed, the internal walls and door removed, and the part of the plaster removed. The stainless steel has been removed and stored. However, we have found some rot and mould that needs to be dried out, fully cleaned with bleach & other cleaning materials, and treated with boron before we can proceed.

We had a slight hiccup with the ladies hand dryer, with a much larger one being installed than was originally intended. This will be corrected shortly.

Tearing down internal kitchen walls

Making the kitchen much bigger by removing the stud partition

Mould and rot found in kitchen

Behind the stainless steel

Further plastering carried out

At alcove near the lasies toilet

Trevor misting the bar ceiling

Nearly completed the misting in the bar

Removing wood panel in the hall

Tony removing the paneling we were hoping to save

New junction box for the bar

Hidden from view behind the bar

Mains distribution completed

Power now being fed into the building

Removing last of the kitchen ceiling

Adrian doing what he enjoys most

Demolishing kitchen internal walls

Old boiler visible - very heavy

Radiator installed in an alcove

Heating now being installed

School room floor was sanded

Now coming together but still needs more finishing work

Re-strip school window frame

Needs to be neutralised before being painted

Painting chairs in The Swan colours

Lucy and Jack

Kitchen being stripped right back

Making it one big room

Radiator is to be moved

Orientation of pipework changed so raditor wont be on a feature wall

Wrong hand dryer in ladies

Fitted the wrong had dryer, will be replaced soon

Weekday Warriors

Miranda and Bez in volunteering during the week

Painting chairs in The Swan colours

Lots of chairs to be painted

We have lights on!

Limited lighting in bar and ladies toilet

16th August 2019

An update from our Project Manager.

Hi All,

What a strange week.

Scott the plumber has been on site sorting the ongoing plumbing.

Ian Grey our resident plasterer has helped save the day. He, Ian and Tony have been sorting the final plastering items to the bar including the chimney breasts.

Bas and Diana have refurbished one of the old external lights. They have totally cleaned it up and painted it in The Swan colours. As you can see, it works very well so we will be looking to do the same with the other lights.

We have a volunteer morning tomorrow with various tasks which will help move things along.

We have a very hectic week next week. The bar will be open as usual but we will run from the coach house.

Next week is all systems go:

  • Monday: The electricians will be doing as much as they can including the bar cellar so we can get it up and running properly. Peter will build the bare carcass of the bar and fit the stable door so this will give us and idea of the space and layout.
  • Tuesday: Peter, Ian and Lino Len will start fitting the main bar flooring
  • Wednesday: Continuation of the bar flooring with the help of Len.
  • Thursday: Bar flooring to be completed by Ian and Peter. Floor to be covered fully to avoid damage.
  • Friday: Stage 2 bar work to be undertaken by Peter. Ben will sort out the cellar requirements /pumps and so on.
  • Saturday: Ben to complete works. BAR open again Note we will still be outside and in the barn as fire requirements will not yet be in place.

Meanwhile lots still to do by volunteers such as kitchen, hallways ,school room and so on.

The following week we can be working on mens loos, fire and security and continuation of bar then can start planning final decoration.

So all coming together.

Marilyn x

Disused chimney plasterboarded

Getting ready to marry up to the actual bar

Lighting in the gents toilet

Sparkies have worked in here during the week

Liz painting the bar ceiling

Magnolia paint was free

Ladies toilet window stripped

Izzy came in on Sunday to do this

Bas and Diana

Demonstrating the refurbished external lamp

Last of kitchen plaster removed

By Duncan Bell

New side door taken another step

Glass added above the door

Plasterboarding a diused chimney

Ian and Tony

Undercoating window in the ladies

Miranda on her knees

Lino Len popped in

Planning session over a beer

Rejuvenated external lamp fitting

Looking really good in The Swan colours

Plasterboarding around the gents

Ian measuring up

Ian plastering where bar will be

Plastering disused chney that had been boarded day before

The new and smaller hand dryer

For the ladies

Tony smiling as ever

Working outside the gents

Miranda and Bes painting the bar

With usual hilarity

23rd August 2019

It’s easier for you to come down and see the progress rather than try to explain it. We cannot do it enough justice to be perfectly honest. The tradespeople and volunteers have really put in a shift this week to make a giant step forward.

The main parts of the bar have been built, including using the 300 years old cedar timber for the top. It was prepped, cut and installed. Finally a layer of oil has been added with further coats later today. The beer pumps have been installed and the lines are going in.

The bar carcass

Lino Len and Ian dreaming of a future beer

Preparing to cut the cedar

Pete the builder and John Symon measuring it out

Bar top now added

Bar starting to take shape

Bar almost there

Before final bar pumps and equipment was added

You may have seen on Facebook that Lino Len and the team have laid the oak flooring. Also Lino and Barney laid the floor behind the bar itself. Unfortunately a lot of it is covered for now until all the other work has been completed.

The new floor

Stacks of boxes to opened and laid

Volunteers laying the floor

Intense concentration

Lino Len and Barney

Doing the centre line first

Cutting a fiddly corner

Trevor and Ian working ona tricky corner

Lino Len laying the floor

Once going, Len lays the floor quickly

Finishing the floor

Outside the ladies toilet

Levelling the floor

Outside the gents

Laying behind the bar

Lino in action

The Gents is no longer a storeroom and the floor tiling started. Tony has been beavering away all day on it and fingers crossed, he should finish it tonight. That allows the plumbers and electricians to finish it in the next week or so.

Tony laying tiles

In the gents toilet

Nearly finished

Just to do the difficult cuts at the toilet itself

Bar top now added

Bar starting to take shape

A drainage specialist came on Wednesday and has successfully cleared the main drains. Kelvin has been in today and cleaned the portaloos out ready for the weekend. We decided to keep one of the chimney breasts as brick, the same as the feature walls. The guys dug out all the old mortar and prepped the bricks. Alan and Gerry then came in and did the pointing to make it look the same as the other walls.

Showing the new flooring

Before it gets covered up to protect it

Ready for pointing

All the old mortar has been removed

After repointing

By Alan and Gerry

Still a way to go with it but we do have fire surround already. This should be a working fireplace when it is complete and add a warm feeling to the bar as well as looking fabulous. Here are some other photos taken during the week.

Emergency exit sign going up

Frank, one of our electricians

More painting by Izzy

Before the floor goes down

Plastering a chimney

Ian finishing the last of the chimneyse

Temp bar was set up (again)

Was required when the bar being built

All the rubbish was moved

No big yellow bags any more

More painting by Liz

Just before the bar opened on Saturday

Collecting a donated piano

In the back of the school van

Checking the piano out

Lexie and Richard

Bar just before opening

Saturday morning required everything to be moved back into the bar

Ian marking out his spot

Demonstrating one of the new stools

Platerboarding in the school

wehere the mini-kitchen will go

Laying the floor

At the front door

Bar just before opening

Saturday morning

Behind the new bar

Just before opening

30th August 2019

You may have noticed today that the courtyard was a hive of activity. The team from The Green Room School were in building the furniture for the school room (aka the Court House). One of the hand-built items is four one metre tables that can be linked to create one huge one.

If you have been in at all, you will have noticed that the electricians have been working away with the second fixing. Main plugs sockets have been connected up, lights added to the walls and ceilings, some changes made in the ladies, new hand dryers added to the ladies and a lot of work in the school room to get it ready for approaching the new term.

Other work has been going on too. Pete our builder has been really busy with the most obvious sign the addition of the new stable door at the bar.The Gents toilet floor has now been completed; some of the cutting required took the team much longer than expected. We also burned out the electric motor of a specialist tile cutter. However, we are very pleased with the results.

During the week, the girls have been in painting chairs, sanding and oiling tables, evaluating the stock of bench seats. When you are sitting in the courtyard at the BBQ, you are probably sitting in one of their seats.

Work has carried on in the kitchen. Timbers were treated, errant brickwork removed and we were just about to do some remedial work when bang: rot was found. A complete non-load bearing wall has now been removed(it was behind the stainless steel) and we have started treatment.

Preparing for the stable door

John Symon making necessary repairs

New lighting in the school room

Brass lighting now installed

Kitchen wall being demolished

Dry rot was found behind the wall

Wall totally removed

Old wall was removed and dry rot washed out

Boron treatment in the kitchen

Spraying any affected area and close by to kill the rot

New stable door installed

Replacing old rotten door at the bar

Frank the Sparky

Cutting conduit

Making school room benches

Guys preparing the wood for adding legs

Team working on the tables

School room staff hard at work

One part of wall demolished

John warming up to removed the rest

Finsihed tables and benches

Stored in the coach house

New lighting in the ladies

Proper pendant light was added

Replacing the old guttering

Using aluminium guttering and down pipes

Courtyard was absolutely full

Volunteers helping the school room team

Feeling chuffed !!!

Richard with a finised bench

Finalising lighting in the school room

Pendant light being installed

Worktop was cut up by Pete

Four out of one, and cost effective too
Renovation Diary for July 2019 Renovation Diary for September 2019