The Renovation Diary

FEBRUARY 2019

The team from the Green Room School went in and tore down the canopy in the courtyard that was at the side of the main pub - it was completely rotten and dangerous. The "For Sale" sign has gone.

Sootbusters cleaned several of the chimneys already. The office ceiling was taken down. Taken more of the walls in the bar back to the brickwork plus removed all the radiators and sinks from the bar and stopped several pipe leaks.

See the renovation diary for February 2019.

MARCH 2019

Opened up several airbricks that had been sealed. Removed the rotten floor boards and joists in the bar area. Laundry roof was replaced. Still dealing with damp, dry rot, etc. More scaffolding was added so remedial work on the roof could be started.

Inside the structural engineer has been working with the team. They have been discussing how to remove the pillars in the centre of the bar to create a bigger open plan area. The solution will need steel beams to be inserted and Planning Department approval.

See the renovation diary for March 2019.

APRIL 2019

The footings were dug out in the bar. Some walls in the bar were demolished and Acrow Props inserted. The electricians have done the initial wiring for school room, more to follow. The rotten part of the stairs to the school room (hall) have being replaced.

See the renovation diary for April 2019.

MAY 2019

The bar floor was completed including the steel under the floor which was given a protective coat. Most of the subfloor for the bar was actually laid. Note this is the footings, joists and damp proofing. Trenches in the courtyard were completed and the electricity supply was then upgraded to three phase. The final bits of the bar ceiling were removed.

Further tidying work was done in the school room with it being readied for replacement of any faulty boards. See the renovation diary for May 2019.

JUNE 2019

the Fire Brigade came to The Swan and rescued the old pub sign for us. The Crown Estate Forresters also donated the bar top, a huge wooden plank from a fallen 300-year-old cedar tree from the Great Park.

The Building Inspector visited and gave a thumbs up for the new steels. Immediately the volunteer team got stuck in and started laying the insulation. The side entrance got a new slate roof. The cellar was re-tanked. Door frames in the two toilets were inserted. All-in-all a pretty busy month!

See the renovation diary for June 2019.

JULY 2019

Insulation, insulation and more insulation -the entire bar floor was insulated and the subfloor laid. The plasterboarding of the ceiling and pillars was completed and then most of it was actually plastered. The heating system was connected up with the appropriate controls and tested.

Key was adding back the temporary bar and kitting our the cellar so we could operate as a pub for the opening on the 20th. This took to 11.30pm on the night before opening.

See the renovation diary for July 2019.

AUGUST 2019

We saw power established in the main building. Lights were installed as well as radiators. During the month we also saw more painting, more plastering and more pointing too. The bar was a real hive of activity.

The School Room was also a focus of attention to get it ready for the new term and students. Lighting, painting, finishing.

See the renovation diary for August 2019.

SEPTEMBER 2019

A lot of painting this week. Walls, windows, skirting ... the lot. We had a call for help which was answered by our volunteers and helped greatly. Even a visitor from California even got involved and Kelly from the bar team!

Site clearance was a priority and finishing the very last bits of The School Room such as the ironworks on the external stairs. The School opened on schedule!

Scott the Plumber was busy gettng the heating system working. The sparkies were hard at it connecting up in the bar and in the cellar. The fire system was also installed and commissioned.

See the renovation diary for September 2019.

OCTOBER 2019

The toilets were finished with baby changer units, signes, etc. Boarding done in the office to allow the sparkies to finish their phase 1 work. And it was the month the safety notices were removed from the main gates.

And we had the visit of BBC Radio Berkshire too.

See the renovation diary for October 2019.

NOVEMBER 2019

The spoil heap was cleared out taking away many tons of waste. Sofits and facias were done. The professional roofers started on The Stables.The security cameras were completed offering excellent protection.

Colin (aka Jock) donated a gorgeous bell for the bar, to make the call for for last orders authentic. Thanks Colin.

We had a small hiccup with the front wall and as a temporary measure we have had to do some shoring-up. That allowed us to actually fix the gates so they open and close properly.

See the renovation diary for November 2019.

DECEMBER 2019

The drains got a full clear-out, but after a camera inspection the professionals lined the pipework to prevent further blockages. The Workday Warriors fireboarded the kitchen ceiling. There was more work in the office.

One of the chimneys was reduced in height by our professional team. And Bes came to the rescue to clear-up the dust inside the pub too.

And the courtyard and outbuildings were made ready for our impending Winter Fayre and W&E Living Advent Calendar.

See the renovation diary for December 2019.

JANUARY

The year started off removing a chimney in The School Room and creating a new stud wall with appropriate fireboarding. The sewing ladies had been busy making banquets. The office was painted and a new surrounnded added to a fire in The Bar.

In the corridor, insulation and fireboarding was started, this is going to be a big job. It included more in the cellar above the stairs, and also in the Stock Room. The leaning chimney was also tackled.

Diary entry for January tells the story.

FEBRUARY

With a lull in the weather, the Weekday Warriors performed remedial work to the roof area that had been covered with tarpaulin. Bike racks were installed in the covered area. And racking installed in the Stock Room.

Storm Ciara came and went, and we had only one issue: the tarpaulin covering the Coach House which had to be re-done. Sparkies were in for the corridor. In the dryer days, the Weekday Warriors were in the garden behind The Swan to clear the accumulated debris; they were joined by professionals for the area of the electric transformer.

Gallery for the February.

IN MEMORIAM

Our very good friend and Weekday Warrior, Adrian Chojnacki, sadly passed away earlier this morning, Thursday 5th March. He will be greatly missed by us all. Our sincere condolences are offered to Dawn and the rest of their family.

There are some photos of our good friend on our defibrillation dedication page that we have put together.

MARCH

It has been a bit restricted in what can be done due to Covid restrictions, but we are taking baby steps in keeping the renovation going: adding signage within the bar area, paint stripping in various areas, and up on the roof to fix the temporary tarpaulin. It's been more of a week for moving furniture out to allow space for social distancing.

Plans for having organised weekend volunteering days starting in the Spring have been unfortunately been postponed for now.

Gallery for the March work is available.

COVID-19 SHUTDOWN

On this day, the UK Government decided to act decisively and put in measures for social distancing and a home lockdown. This was an unprecedented action that was required to protect the NHS and keep people safe. The Swan stopped all volunteering efforts in support.

More and updated info can found on our Covid-19 page.

19TH JUNE

If you have strolled passed The Swan this week you will have seen that lots of work has been happening with The Coach House. Our local resident Brendan O’Reilly and his team from Jayflex have been in and achieved so much already.

Have a wee peek and get more of the story on our renovation diary page for 19th June.

JUNE

The Coach House has come on leaps and bounds. The steelwork has been inserted above the new concrete pads and the walls are being rebuilt.

The Weekday Warriors have been back in and have painted the walls of The Stables. Next week they will be tackling a lot more in The Courtyard and with The Pub itself.

See more of the photos and detail in our renovation diary page for June.

JULY

The Jayflex guys progressed at speed putting in the last of the steels to support the new roof which they fitted. Large Velux windows were added to provide a lot of natural sunlight into the new room. With that complete, they insulated it and got it ready for the sparkies to come in.<

See the amazing progress and detail in our renovation diary page for July.

AUGUST

It was a scorcher of a month with record temperatures which slowed things slighly. Jayflex finished the internals of the new room in The Coach House and allowed painting to take place. The place is looking fantastic.

The Weekeday Warriors undertook a lot of tasks such as pointing, turning doors round, and lots of painting including gutterings and facias.

See more of the details in our renovation diary page for August.

SEPTEMBER

Fnishing touches were done to The Coach House so that it could be ready for the new term of the Green Room. It looks fantastic especially at night all lit up. Volunteers took part in more scraping, painting and touch up activities all over the site.

See more of the photos and detail in our renovation diary page for September.

OCTOBER

The Weekday Warriors have continued - largely unseen - repairing the roof, taking down a chimney and various other vital activities to renovate the pub. This included the new blinds and amendments to the fire doors.

See more of the photos and detail in our renovation diary page for 2nd October.

NOVEMBER

The kitchen will need a new electric power source. So the team cleared off the tar from the top surface of The Courtyard and then dug a trench from The Stables to The Kitchen. A lot of work!

A very socially distanced and limited team went into The Bar to give it a sprucing up. Over the past year, The Bar has seen some wear and tear and the volunteers were filling holes, painting woodwork and walls.

See more of the photos and detail in our renovation diary page for November.

DECEMBER

What a month it has been with intense activity throughout it. The focus is now to rejuvenate The Kitchen. New power cables were laid out, the floor lifted, the ceiling sorted out and lots more activities. It is a priority for the pub to get a food offering ASAP and our Volunteers have responded.

See more of the photos and details in our renovation diary page for December.

JANUARY

Work restarted in The Kitchen and Store Room focussing on the floors and the ceiling with construction work being done instead of the normal demoliton activities. This has meant barrowing out debris and bringing in new materials. New windows were made for The Kitchen too.

See more of the photos and details in our renovation diary page for January 2021.

FEBRUARY

Brick work around door frames in The Kitchen had to be addressed with woodwork and some brickwork needing to be removed - which has meant a lot more barrowing of debris. If that wasn't enough, they took down a non-load bearing wall between the Room of Doom and the Store Room to create more usuable space - we are sure the ghosts would approve.

Steels arrived for The Kitchen ceiling and to support the floor of the School Room above. These were installed and brick piers built. Some of the older brickwork of the backwall was starting to be replaced.

See some photos and info in our diary for February 2021.

MARCH

The brickwork for the backwall in The Kitchen was completed and a damp proof membrane installed; this (and the chemical treatments) should prevent re-occurrence of the rot and damp that was prevalent when initial work started. This was extended in the Sotre Room too. The Weekday Warriors laid the scree required for The Kitchen floor.

Whilst the School was off on holiday, the staircase was replaced with a new one and further work in the School House undertaken. Replacement beams were installed to support the School Room floor, these resting on the steels installed previously.

See our diary entry for March 2021 for details and photos.

APRIL

Aiir conditioning was installed for The Kitchen, essential for removing the cooking smells. Cable protectors laid and delivery of a lot of raw materials received: sand, plywood, batons, etc. The sand was used to prep the floors ready for concreting.

The highlight of the month (and year to date) was the laying of the concrete floor which took the whole team plus other volunteers. It took a while to dry properly but looks amazing.

See our April 2021 diary to get a flavour of their achievement!

MAY

The new extraction system was finished with the main outlet added to the roof. Work was done on the brickwork facing The Courtyard to make ready for the installation of the windows.

The copper and wire that had been stripped was taken to the scrappy and a healthy profit made from that - thanks Strippers!

The School Room was finalised for the impending return of the students whilst work progressed underneath and with the new stairs.

See our May 2021 diary of photos and info.

JUNE

More work on the stairs was undertaken. Also heating was installed in the ground floor of the Coach House. And the sparky did the first fit of plumbing and electrics for the Kitchen. The place is a maze of wires and pipes, hopefully will come together shortly.

Also heating was installed in the ground floor of the Coach House. It was finished off with a dart board - of course!

See our June 2021 Diary entry for the month.

JULY

Work continued in the Kitchen with the re-inforcing the ceiling joists, quite difficult as the first fix had been done last month. This has been time consuming and labour intensive. Fireboarding and acoustic insulation was installed in the stairwell leading to the School House.

The flashing over the rear entry had to be re-done after a leak after some torrential down pours. And at last work started on repairing the worst parts of the roof to make it water tight.

See our July 2021 diary for this month.

AUGUST

Work continued with the Kitchen ceiling as greater re-inforcing was requried than originally thought. This was progressed and then the insulation replaced for heating and sound proofing.

Wee projects, such as the flower beds at the front wall, continued. These are nice-to-do activites not taking a lot of time or resources and make the place feel so much better. Have you seen the new out door tables that the guys have built? Brilliant!

Please eee our August 2021 diary for info and photos.

SEPTEMBER

The ceiling boards and fireboards were installed in the Kitchen, a tremendous team effort. A professional fire assessment has been carried out and looks good so work has continued. More plywood board and fireboarding in the Store Room, around the stairs and Kitchen walls was completed.

Work has been carried out on the Stables, unfortunately there are not many photos available. Hoever, you can see Stable 1 which has been converted into a safe space and office for the School.

All behind the scenes so worth looking at our September 2021 diary for the month.

OCTOBER

The Kitchen ceiling was plastered and after drying, painting started. The cellar hatch was replaced and the area tidied up and new concrete replacing crumbling old stuff possibly back to the 1920s. The gents tolilet roof was tackled (again) as it was leaking. There was also some painting acitvities throughout the pub.

And look at the main gates into the Courtyard!

Piccies and details in the October 2021 diary as normal.

NOVEMBER

Insulation was added to the Kitchen walls, the place was looking like it was more like something from NASA. Battons were then fixed ready for the next stage, more plywood. If that wasn't enough, the whole process was repeated in the Store Room.

To undertand better what was going on, have a look athe photos are in our November 2021 diary.

DECEMBER

The Kitchen was made ready for the installation of fireboarding and flooring througout. The cooker hood and aluminium back pieces were delivered and installed. Further electrical work was undertaken. The Kitchen is nearly ready for the installation of all the equipment.

Please have a look at our December 2021 diary to see the transformation in the Kitchen.

JANUARY 2022

The Weekday Warriors were charging on during the cold, dark January days which then allowed MFT to come in and start the installation of the kitchen equipment. Please see our January 2022 renovations diary.

FEBRUARY 2022

Plastering, tiling, painting, bricking, pointing ... basically anything ending in 'ing' has been done by the Warriors this week. They can see the finishing line now and it's all hands to the pumps doing various task, large and small. And outside the pub Bas has given the pub some colour. Please see our February 2022 renovations diary.

MARCH 2022

The Kitchen gets ever closer to the finish line. Sincere thanks to everyone involved with a special shout to young' Terry who braved the rain to sweep The Courtyard before continuing to tidy up inside. Please see our March 2022 renovations diary.

APRIL 2022

This week the Warriors have proved that many hands make light work. Or, more accurately, many hands have fitted doors, trimmed, painted, secured and so much more as The Kitchen edges ever closer to completion. Meanwhile contractors came in to fix the roofing in The Stables and add power. Please see our April 2022 renovations diary.

MAY 2022

McFarlane Telfer were in again to fit the final extraction hood that was required in The Kitchen. The team alsore-organised The Dry Store to maximise its' use for both The Bar and The Kitchen. The Kitchen had received a professional deep clean and it was left to the Warriors to do the final tidy up and stowing away of tools and materials before The Kichen opened. Please see our May 2022 renovations diary.

JULY 2022

The Stables have been undergoing a major refurbishment sponsored the Green Room School. The aim is to create an adaptable space for both the school and the community, plus the Windsor Cycle Hub too. Please see our July 2022 renovations diary.

AUGUST 2022

The Windsor Cycle Hub installed new equipment into the stables. This was made possible due to the power and security being added. Please see our August 2022 renovations diary.

NOVEMBER 2022

Some of the scaffolding was taken down from the main pub. Volunteers were also in The Coach House painting and decorating. Please see our November 2022 renovations diary.

DECEMBER 2022

December saw the finishing of the refurbishment of The Coach House by a specialised team. A true Phoenix story. Please see our December 2022 renovations diary.

JANUARY

Solar panels were installed on The School House, scaffolding removed and painting and re-pointing. All subject to the winter weather of course.

See our diary entry for January, 2023 to see what happened that month.

FEBRUARY

Painting is finished, roof repairs too. The scaffolding is coming down quickly and should be finished by the end of the month. Meanwhile there are improvements inside the stables and also under the covered area in The Courtyard.

See our diary entry for February, 2023 to see what happened that month.

MARCH

After four years the scaffolding final came down. Yes, it is true. The scaffolding is all down and has been removed by Warren who doesn't look a day older than when he put it up ;)

So go on, have a wee peek at our diary entry for March, 2023 to see how it has turned out.

APRIL

The 'Project Cowshed' continued to work wonders to the covered area in The Courtyard.

See our diary entry for April, 2023 to see how it has turned out.

MAY

As we built up to the Coronation, the Weekday Warriors reformed to help our with &39;project cowshed' to push it over the line for the festivities.

See our diary entry for May, 2023 to see how it has turned out.