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Working Week 2009
Words and pictures by Graham Christian
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| The last few year's working weeks have been organised by Chris Grimmett
and Allan Richardson, who have tried to ensure that all materials are on
site and a plan of attack for the week is worked out so that as little time
as possible is wasted. This has enabled us to get most of the wrecking and
rebuilding done in the week, leaving the minor works to be completed later,
and the club back to running normally with, hopefully, as little inconvenience
to all members.
With this in mind, there were a few raised eyebrows when Chris said that
he could not devote any time to the working week this year. Allan shrugged
and said we just carry on. Unfortunately Allan then had to pull out at
short notice, leaving the rest of us in the lurch. John Lister stepped
into the breach and helped steer the good ship Working Week through the
choppy and unpredictable waters until we declared another successful voyage.
It is indeed a voyage of discovery, as one never quite knows what lies
just below the surface (literally, with our walls and floors!). We at
least had the list of jobs that needed doing pinned up in the lobby for
all to see. And the Soup Dragons were keeping us fed and watered.
First, we established who was present and how long they were going to
be around for. Those that were not going to be around for more than a
couple of days could then be offered jobs that they could complete in
the time and thus get a deal of satisfaction. We also tried to match the
skills we had available. Some people are just given a job and get on with
it, while others are introduced to new tasks and given the chance to learn
on the job. This is one of the greatest things about the working week
- the chance to have a go at something new and play with some wonderful
"boys' toys". Many of us remember the delight of Bethan Moore
when let loose with the Sabre Saw - no wooden lintel was safe! Anyway,
on with the week…
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Painting is a fixed item on the list, and always provides a number of
people with a job. It was good to have Jaylee volunteer to pick up the
brush this year, although she was a little disappointed when it was pointed
out that the walls needed scrubbing first to remove loose paint and dirt,
before the paint could be slapped on. Still, she stuck at it and did a
great job until she had to go on the Tuesday. Tess Lister finished off
for her, leaving the main entrance and passageway looking spick and span.
Meanwhile, we were getting to grips with the big project of the week.
The floor of the drying room was known to be rotten and the plaster on
the walls was loose and falling off. The Gents' Changing Room is also
in line for doing up, so the next stage of that was included in the works
for the back of Nº4. The Drying Room racking was taken out and dissembled
for recycling. top
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| Everyone seems to think that the destruction part of the work is the fun
bit, but in reality it is utterly filthy. A cunning plan for getting the
old plaster down from upstairs was devised. A hole was made in the floor
and the muck just simply swept into it. A wheelbarrow was placed directly
underneath to catch said muck and was then wheeled out to be disposed. |
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| By the time Tuesday came, the worst of the destruction had been done,
leaving only the wooden floor to cut out. Before that, however there were
a few minor jobs to be done, like taking out old wooden lintels and making
good some of the wall. |
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| Now that we were happy that the walls and Drying Room ceiling
joists were going to stay put, the Drying Room floor/Changing Room ceiling
could be cut out. This did not prove to be a problem and new timbers were
set into the recesses in the walls. However, there was the small matter
of supporting the old chimney breast in the Drying Room, as there was no
breast below it. This left to the next day.
Wednesday brought freshened enthusiasm to the job, and with props under
the stonework, Brian proceeded to burn through the remaining joists with
the circular saw. I use the word "burn" advisedly, as there
were no tungsten carbide tips left on the saw blade, and there was a fair
bit of smoke being generated. Brian did wonder why it took so long… top
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Andy was now unleashed on various other unsuspecting un-mortared
hot-spots, setting in lintels and plugging gaps around last year's windows.
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Pete Hobson started work on putting a water supply into the rescue garage,
and (after a false start) did a very neat job.
Unscheduled drama was brought to the week with a major blockage to the
drains on Thursday! Fortunately, it was only the grey water system. This
turned into quite a puzzle as the signs were of a blockage in three different
places at once. After much head scratching and poking about the issue
was eventually resolved and things flowed sweetly again. Well, not quite
sweetly, but you get my drift. The most worrying thing about this was
that the Listers show signs of being knocked off the Nº 1 spot for
playing with the drains. Not only were Daddy Hobson and Mummy Hobson involved,
but Baby Hobson was too. She was indocrinated at a far younger age than
ever Hannah or Angharad. top
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| Meanwhile, back inside, the new floor was aid in the drying
room and things started to get safer again. Jules was able to start getting
to grips with chasing out the trench for the new drain in the Gents' Changing
room. top
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| In the evening, things took a more genteel turn as the members relaxed
with a bit of sewing to the curtains. |
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The Drying Room was finally restrung with a temporary arrangement for
hanging damp gear. This room and the Gents Changing Room will be finished
off at a later date, but were left in a functional state, so we could
carry on using them.
Many thanks to everyone who came and helped! top
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