More bleating

The blacksmiths returned yesteday with more large chunks of metal. They drilled the horizontal beams so that the rest of the steelwork can be joined on to them.

Then they stopped and went home.

That was because they had just implemented some safe lifting directives (which have been around for about five years) and need to bring a mechanical lift to lift the beams into position. Monday’s a holiday so they’ll be back on Tuesday.

Meanwhile we have four guests at least two of whom have stayed before. We’re offering guests a fairly large discount while the building work is going on and that, combined with our most excellent breakfast (tho I say so myself) makes up for the disruption.

We expect most of the steelwork to be in place by next Friday. D**** (project manager) will be along on Wednesday to check progress and prepare for the kitchen and bedroom upgrades.

The lack of a final decision on the planning process should surprise no-one who’s been through this kind of thing. It seems that if you are told to expect a decision in January you’ll still be waiting in May. Very frustrating since no-one appears to have any issues at all with the revised plans; all we need is someone to pick them up and stamp them as “approved” or whatever they do.

Nu-metal

After a brief delay for checks by the structural engineer, the blacksmiths returned yesterday. Four new beams have been installed.

They’ll be back today to continue installing the steelwork. I was hoping to set up a semi-live webcam in the function room, but the range of wireless networks is not good if there’s anything resembling a wall between the base station and the computer.

Maybe I’ll try anyway.

In all this free time I have:-(

Cisterns of mercy

Maintenance today. As if we didn’t have enough to contend with the toilet cisten in Room 2 had stopped working. I bought a new one yesterday and fitted it today. Much muffled swearing followed by less muffled swearing as I realised I had assembled the bits in the wrong order causing water to drip out of the bottom of the cistern. It’s sorted now and should last until we get the whole room refitted later this year.

No action on the function room today other than a visit from the structural engineer who okayed the work done so far. Steelwork installation is planned to start tomorrow.

Diversion

Lorna’s sister’s over from South Africa. She’s staying in London, but she’s coming up here for a few days. I have to drive down to Newcastle to pick her up. I’m also going to get some spare parts for Room 2’s bathroom in preparation for another DIY (destroy it yourself) session.

On the restoration side - nothing happening today. The pads to receive the steelwork across the pend have been installed.

You can see them at the top of the wall. There are four on each side. But before the steelwork gets installed we have to get the pads inspected by our structural engineer. Only when he’s happy will the installation go ahead. That’ll happen tomorrow.

Weekend break

The pads have been installed in the pend wall. They will receive the beams that will support the steel frame we’re installing in place of the wall.

This picture was taken last night before that happened, but it gives a good impression of how the building looks at this point of maximum chaos. Everything that follows in this area will be reinstatement and refurbishment.

More of the same

The fire at Denholm school seems to have been pretty serious. Our plumber is a volunteer fireman and was diverted from here to attend, as was every available firefighter in the area.

The area under the pend is now completely open.

The large beams which until Monday held the wall up have been removed. Pads will be cut into the wall to take the steel beams.

When I said I wanted open plan this wasn’t what I had in mind

Risk assessment anyone?

Walking through the vennel tonight had a surreal air to it - a bit like walking around a city after an earthquake. The chandelier still lit dangling irrelevantly in space only adding to the general feeling of oddness.

Despite appearances things are going to plan. The plumber was late having been diverted to Denholm school which was on fire - he’s a fireman as well - but everyone eventually turned up. The horizontal steelwork across the pend should be ready for either the end of this week or the start of next.

A room with a view

Renovations

The boards above the pend have been removed in preparation for the installation of the steelwork. Blacksmiths were here today measuring for the horizontal beams that will take the place of the wooden ones you can see in the picture.

Here’s the view from below. The beams rose by about 3cm when the load was removed from them.

Other stuff
Oh, and we still have a hotel and bar to run. New T bars were installed in the bar last week.

Aren’t they pretty? And they pour much better than the old ones. The reaction of most of our regulars when asked “what do you think?” has been “think of what?”. Even when sitting directly in front of them most of the customers don’t seem to notice them. We think that is a good thing because it means they don’t stand out like a sore thumb. If we’d got the Tennents “twin towers” you can bet people would have noticed!

perestroika (and quite a lot of glasnost)

Going…

Going…

Gone!

New technology

I’ve been messing about with vgrabbj which grabs the output from the webcam and saves it. It can also upload it to a webpage, so maybe the “eagle cam” will appear on the hotel website shortly.

Here’s a picture of the front hall for the moment. As you can see, it needs a little work. The railings on the stair date from the 1970s when someone fell over the original ones and broke them. Saturday nights must have been fun then:-( There are flagstones under some of the floor, but we’re not sure how many survive. Our plan is to have replacement flagstones installed. But first…

The wall - yes, it all happens tomorrow. Three skips and a wee dumper truck are lurking at the back of the hotel, and the builders will be here at the screech of dawn to start work. The demolition should be done in a couple of days and then the steelwork gets installed. The whole process should be done in three or four weeks. Meanwhile tenders have been sent out for the refurbishment of the function room. The adjacent room (formerly the dining room) will not be done just yet.