Diary

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** Click here for the Before and After photos »

January - March 2006

Refurbishment of the office at 4 Station Approach.

End of 2005: Work is now complete on the first and second floors, inside and out, and the tenants have moved into both floors.

The left-hand shop on the ground floor has been vacated and work begins on 3rd January 2006 to transform that into a habitable shop.

21st December 2005 - Finished: first and second floor

Wednesday 21st December 2005 -- Tenants moved into first and second floors.

Monday 19th - Tuesday 20th December 2005 -- Carpet laying - 'acorn' carpet with stair nosings.

w/c 12th December 2005 -- Plumbing of washrooms; hanging of doors; final painting

November - December 2005

w/c 5th December 2005 -- Second stage electrics; internal doors fitted, with door furniture and closers; final painting of entrace lobby; agreement reached about Stage 3 (refurbishment of shop @ 4 Station Approach, to commence 3rd January 2006 for two months)

w/c 28th November 2005 -- Painting of landing; installation of trunking skirting in both offices on both floors; painting of washrooms and other areas; installation of architraves; carpet ordered; delivery of internal and external doors; delivery of sanitary ware;

w/c 21st November 2005 -- Painting of first floor offices; installation of lights and speakers; final lining of washrooms

w/c 14th November 2005 -- Existing staircase removed and two new staircases installed; installation of plumbing; architrave installation; final plasterboarding

w/c 7th November 2005 -- New 50-capacity telephone cable installed into building; Loft office painted; Removal of first-floor flooring (6 truck loads of wood)

October 2005

w/c 31st October 2005 -- Plastering of first-floor office. First-fix electrics continues. Tenant for first floor signed lease.

w/c 24th October 2005 -- Final plasterboard installation. Plastering of loft office. Scaffold still not completely down (photos to follow when it is)

Fitting Out

w/c 17th October 2005 -- Telephone line survey. Installation of insulation. Tacking of plasterboard and preparation for plastering. Scaffolding still delayed due to weather. 3x eletrical cupboards installed.

Thursday 13th October - Friday 14th October 2005 --Insulation delivered. First-fix electrics continue. Ballustrate installed around stairwell in loft office.

Wednesday 12th October 2005 -- Scaffolding starting to come down (delayed due to bad weather). Gutter downpipes added. Plasterboard being installed on studwork partitions.

Tuesday 11th October 2005 -- One hundred and ninety 8'x4' plasterboard sheets arrived and carried to first and second floors. Yes, 190. Final lead flashing added to neighbouring properties.

Monday 10th October 2005 -- First-fix electrics begins. Final lighting design agreed. End-of-year deadline agreed for completion of first floor.

Thursday 6th and Friday 7th October 2005 -- Further coats of exterior paint, and painting of lintels.

Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October 2005 -- Exterior of building painted in 'Dulux Buttermilk' (photos to follow). Scaffold is coming down in one week's time. Selections being made for carpets and lighting. Flexible coating added to inside of guttering. Small chimney rebuilt and tall pot replaced. Visible guttering painted black.

Monday 3rd October 2005 -- Final bits of rendering to side walls on neighbouring properties.

Friday 30th September 2005 -- Battens added to first-floor walls, ready for plasterboard.

Thursday 29th September 2005 -- Vertical timbers for partition walls on first floor installed in a day.

Click for gallery
of roof build

Roof Installation

Wednesday 21st - Tuesday 27th September 2005 -- Second/final layer render added to rear of building. Internal partition walls begun. Stairwell opening to second floor increased from 1000mm to 1100mm. Lighting designer employed. Deciding on exterior colour. Finalising position of toilets on second floor.

Tuesday 20th September 2005 -- Beading being added around all external windows [ Photo ].

Monday 19th September 2005 -- First layer scratch-coat render applied to external front wall. Removal of iron external rear staircase [ Photo ].

Friday 16th September 2005 -- First layer scratch-coat render applied to external back wall. Completion of window installation. Roof complete [ Photos ].

Thursday 15th September 2005 -- Windows fitted to first and second floors, including two arched windows.

Wednesday 14th September 2005 -- Coping stones added.

Tuesday 13th September 2005 -- Ridge tiles being put in place at apex of roof. Lead flashing continuing. Roof now completely tiled.

Thursday 8th September 2005 -- Windows have arrived, including the two all-important arched windows. Slating of the roof continues [ Photos ].

Wednesday 7th September 2005 -- Velux roof windows installed.

Tuesday 6th September 2005 -- Eternit fibre cement slates being added to roof.

Monday 5th September 2005 -- Roofing felt and battens added.

Tuesday 30th August - Friday 2nd September 2005 -- Lead flashing added. Gutter installation completed.

Friday 26th and Thursday 25th August 2005 -- Working on the woodwork to support the guttering. Photos of loft space available.

Wednesday 24th August 2005 -- Additional noggins being added to brace roof and flooring.

Tuesday 23rd August 2005 -- Rear gable end wall being built up to final height.

Monday 22nd August 2005 -- Front and middle built sections of roof being built. Cross-bracing of rafters being added.

Friday 19th August 2005 -- Continuation of roof carpentry.

Thursday 18th August 2005 -- Continuation of roof carpentry. Getting more difficult to take 'overview' photos now that the floor is back in between the first and second floors.

Wednesday 17th August 2005 -- Continuation of roof carpentry.

Tuesday 16th August 2005 -- Installation of roof trusses virtually completed. Centre 'built' roof section (around staircase) began.

Monday 15th August 2005 -- Intallation of the roof trusses begins [photo].

Friday 12th August 2005 -- 35 tonne Crane hoists trusses into the building [photo].

Wednesday 10th August 2005 -- Cutting of scaffold to allow entry of trusses; continuation of rear gable-end wall; preparation for truss hoist on Friday.

Tuesday 9th August 2005 -- Survey by crane company to hoist trusses into position.

Saturday 6th August 2005 -- 7am trusses arrive on the back of an articulated lorry [photo]. It's great to get a sense of the size of the loft room [photo].

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gable end wall rebuild

Gable End Wall Re-building

Friday 5th August 2005 -- Side wall height extended by a metre using blocks. Rear gable end wall nearing completion.

Thursday 4th August 2005 -- Rear arched lintel installed and side walls being built up.

Wednesday 3rd August 2005 -- L-shaped steels being fixed to other wall, and rear gable end being built.

Tuesday 2nd August 2005 -- Fixing the L-shaped steels to the walls with chemical fixings, on which the trusses will sit.

Monday 1st August 2005 -- Late evening visit by structural engineer. Steels have been discovered and the chimney is quite secure.

Saturday 30th July 2005 -- Site visit by structural engineer to inspect chimney.

Friday 29th July 2005 -- Rebuild of front gable end wall proceeding nicely. First arched lintel in place and looks great [photo].

Thursday 28th July 2005 -- Additional scaffold sheeting being added to all sides, now that the gable ends are missing.

Wednesday 27th July 2005 -- Further work on the gable end walls. Catnics in place, showing the openings for the new windows, front and back [photo].

Tuesday 26th July 2005 -- Gable end walls beginning to be rebuilt [photo].

Monday 25th July 2005 -- Gable end wall demolishing continues [photo]. One-day roll-on-roll-off skip for removal of bricks. Architect visit to examine chimney breast.

Friday 23rd July 2005 -- Gable end wall demolishing began.

Thursday 22nd July 2005 -- Bad news. The gable end walls are in a poor condition and need to be removed and rebuilt [photo]. There are also questions about how the large chimney breast is supported [photo].

Wednesday 20th July 2005 -- Top layers of brick from gable ends being removed. Additional temporary wall brackets added. Brickwork repaired where corbelled brickwork removed. Rear windows removed.

Tuesday 19th July 2005 -- Remaining steels and corbelled brickwork removed. Datum line drawn around walls. Temporary brackets being fitted to the walls to help site the L-shaped steels.

Monday 18th July 2005 -- Holes drilled into the steels ready for fixing to the walls. The steels weigh over 1 ton.

Friday 15th July 2005 -- Eight 3 metre L-shaped steels were delivered for sitting the roof trusses on. The trusses and additional timber were ordered. Lead time is 3-4 weeks (but hopefully sooner), so delivery planned for 13th August..

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of first-floor stripping

First floor -- Stripping

Thursday 14th July 2005 -- Prepation for removal of existing steels and lintels.

Wednesday 13th July 2005 -- Remaining half of roof removed.

Tuesday 12th July 2005 -- Front half of roof timbers removed.

Monday 11th July 2005 -- Preparation work for roof to be taken down.

Friday 8th July 2005 -- Remaining slates removed.

Thursday 7th July 2005 -- Final toilet and back office removed. Slates from half the roof removed. Unaffected by bombs in central London (thank you to friends around the world who've emailed to ask).

Wednesday 6th July 2005 -- Partitions and ceiling on back half of first floor removed. Water re-routed.

Tuesday 5th July 2005 -- Scaffold finally complete. Skip shute installed. Partitions and ceiling on front half of first floor removed.

Monday 4th July 2005 -- Skip arrived and stripping of first floor office began.

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of scaffolding

Scaffolding

Sunday 3rd July 2005 -- Evacuation of first-floor offices.

Friday 1st July 2005 -- Scaffold almost ready for corrugated roof and plastic sides (see photos). Work needs to be completed in time for the building work to start on Monday.

Thursday 30th June 2005 -- Front-to-back aluminium struts are added.

Tuesday 28th June 2005 -- Start of erection of scaffold 'tin hat' over entire building.

Click for gallery
of shop refurbishment

Floor in shop at 4 Station Approach

27th June 2005 -- 2" concrete screed floor added to ground-floor shop.

23rd June 2005 -- Holes filled in and concreted over.

21st June 2005 -- Holes photographed by architect. Depth of foundations deemed more than adequate for the building and any additional load from the works.

20th June 2005 -- Trial foundation holes dug in shop at 4 Station Approach and behind shop at 6 Station Approach.