Sorry for the gap in updates but I've been away...

However

the builders have not been idle and we are very nearly at the end

We have been very lucky and received another boost with a grant from Norfolk County Council Community Construction Fund. 

This will allow us to complete the ground works around the building and a number of internal items 

 

The view from the the river

Currently the doors are being hung, the walls painted, and the lights connected. The wooden floor in the main hall has been laid and the heating is working.
This is what it looks like inside:-

The shiny new main hall

 A happy scout leader

 No not the monkey cage at the zoo
this is the view in through the windows that
overlook our back garden and river

After around 4 months with builders Draper and Nichols on site

under Gary's watchful eye the building is really taking shape. 

 

Adam & Steve are fixing the cedar cladding outside

This side is completed already

After some years weathering the timbers will turn a silver grey colour,

but they will last for over 50 years

 The concrete screed is being laid inside

in readiness for the main hall heating pipes

and then the wood floor

The walls have been clad inside and are being skimmed with plaster.

The whole place is looking really good.

The underfloor heating pipes are being laid 

in the entrance hall and smaller rooms

 

They all terminate on a manifold in the store area of the boat store

 

A concrete screed is laid over them to form a 

giant concrete radiator

This will take a number of days to warm up

and will give a background heat for the building

The first fix of the electric wiring has been completed

and here's what it looks like inside

 The mezzanine floor has a temporary rail for safety

The pile of insulation board has been fitted last week

and the ceiling has now been plasterboarded

see next posting later this week

The zinc roof is now complete.
The panels are made from rolls of sheet zinc then fixed on the roof
and crimped by hand to make it water tight.
The gutter is also made of zinc

See how its made here
or on YouTube

One of our Funders 

The Lafarge Environmental Trust

visited on 18th September.

At this stage of the project they released funds

which enables the building work to progress.

Two months work

and

reasonable weather

has meant good progress on the building

Its up to the top of the roof

and

we can see what it will look like when complete.

Work on the site has been moving forward for just over a month

The base is in and the first payment has been made to the builder

Groundworks

The foundation diggings are first covered with a layer of concrete then the steelwork is fabricated,
and raised on blocks, over a damp proof membrane. It will be encased in concrete when finished.

 

Timber shuttering to contain the concrete is built around the outside.

 

When the concrete has been poured, some is kept and blocks are made to be tested.

This ensures that it has the correct content and is strong enough for its purpose.

 

Flight over Lakenham

Going

Going

The demolition team have done in a few days what 100s of scouts, cubs and beavers tried and failed to achieve in over 45 years!

GONE !!

Tuesday 3rd July

Demolition starts tomorrow, though we've already had a good go at it.

We've also set up a time lapse camera to watch the whole job and we'll put the video on the blog for you all to see.

And there's lots of wood on the wood pile now so no problem doing fires.

3 days hard graft and now we've got over 100m2 Canadian Maple floor stored. If anyone out there has a building project underway, make us an offer. We've still got a few finishing touches to pay for in the building. Karl, in the middle, who works for Draper & Nichols the main contractor, used to be a Cub Scout at 1st Norwich. Thats a great start to the whole project.

The builders have dug up the electricity cables and installed the meter cabinet in readiness for the cables to be relaid,and the electricity is off in the stores. Kelvin got stuck in with his crowbar and we have started lifting the hall floor, to be stored for reuse later somewhere.

Well we've had the last meetings and today the builders moved in to start digging the trenches for the new electricity cables. Its an exciting moment and it means we're really going to complete this long project and by the end of the year with luck. The scouts had fun chalking on the walls their messages of good luck but this one is the best to end with today