Renovations: January 2022

7th January, 2022

Further significant progress in The Kitchen this week as the Warriors finish the walls with moisture board ready for tiling. The equipment donated by McFarlane Telfer will be cleaned and brought into the space early next week. Our electrician, Keith, will be back for the second fix.

You can tell the moisture board, it is the green faced one. This is often mounted on top of the fire board, the pink one. That in trun is on top of the insulation which is on top of the damp proofing which ... you get the idea. The Warriors have had a lot of work to get to this point.

As this work progress, the discussions now are about hiring a chef, potential menus, and the likes. Crockery and cutlery have been bought already, along with some kitchen utensils. Exciting times are getting closer.

14th January, 2022

There was also an enthusiastic team of volunteers assisting with the clean up of the equipment prior to it's arrival into The Kitchen. Whilst not quite ready, excitement is mounting as the ugly duckling kitchen is soon to be more in keeping with the beautiful Swan that so many have been involved in creating.

How many Warriors does it take to pull a steel wired armoured cable through a pipe under the full width of The Courtyard? Fortunately there were enough willing volunteers on hand to safely achieve a task that upgrades the level of electricity supply to power all the equipment in The Kitchen.

Though it may look like the warriors and Keith the Sparky are sitting down on the job, it's only to get into difficult bits in the various backrooms to put power in, etc. You wouldn't beleive that one of these was in the 'Room of Doom' and was allegedly the mouth to the secret tunnel???!

21st January, 2022

The cold weather has not deterred the Warriors this week as they continue towards bringing The Kitchen into service. All moisture boarding is now complete on the walls in readiness for plastering, tiling and painting (as appropriate). This includes not only The Kitchen but The Cold Room and The Store Room.

So the ugly duckling is starting to grow grey with natural light now available for the first time in many, many months. On Friday 21st, the team cut away one of the areas and installed on of the windows. One down with two to go. Fingers crossed that the third new window arrives very shortly.

The second fix electrics for power sockets and lighting is well underway. Keith our sparky has been beavering away installing new heavy duty power sockets required for The Kitchen equipment. As many will know, we are going totally electric in The Kitchen, no gas at all.

Next week is going to be a biggy as McFarlane Telfer are coming in to commission the kitchen equipment. This means the team must have windows, electics, walls, etc ready for them coming on Wednesday. To that end, the guys are working over the weekend.

28th January, 2022

It has been an extremely busy seven days for the team. They have been in last week to ensure that the Thursday deadline for commissioning of the equipment was achieved. This they did and in style. Just see the progress this week ...

After fitting the first window last week, the second one was installed this week. The exterior security covering had to be cut back and then the whole frame sorted out. Only then could the window actually be installed. That leaves one more when the window actually arrives.

Another part of this week was to start the tiling and have at least the minimum required so that the sink and others units could be tested for position. In the end the whle kitchen will either be stainless steel or tiles, but for now this was enough for the commissioning actitivies. You can see what the guys will be doing for the next week.

There was quite a lot of equipment to be moved into place before McFarlane Telfer could commission it. All of it is heavy, all of it is awkward, and all of it stainless steel in appearance. So it was handle with care as it was moved through the various doors and the corridor to its's final position.

Keith our electrician finished off the various lights in The Kitchen. Those underneath the hood and the wider ones covering the whole kitchen area. To say they are very bright is an understatement! No one will have the excuse that they didn't see something because it was dark.

The equipment is to installed and commissioned by McFarlane Telfer who have been a great supporter of our Kitchen Project. We can't thank them enough for what they have done for us and what they have donated. The pizza oven, now insitu, is a fine example. They will be back in a couple of days to finish it all off. The equipment is now under wraps so it doesn't get dirty.

We have come so far in the recent weeks as it all comes together. We have a small glimpse of what is to come when the tiling is completed - the sink and other equipment were put in place temporarily to check the fit. Looks good! And under all those sheets is a kitchen trying to burst into life!

The Store Room took big steps forward too. The back wall was finished with the various layer of board, Ian the Plasterer then came in, and when the plaster was dry it was misted and given a first coat. There is still a lot to be done in here before the racking goes in.

And finally the ceiling in The Cold Room was completed. This required a little remedial work on the timbers before being insulated and covered with fire board. The rest of the room was finished off, cleared out and is now ready for plastering and tiling.