Lots of outdoor work completed

Sorry for such a long gap since the last post.  There has been so much going on over the summer that we've never got around to updating this site, so I'll attempt to summarise the news...

Much of the practical work has been outside recently, sorting out utilities connections, drainage and the external ground finishing.  We've been particularly keen to complete utilities connections, as these require permissions and negotiation, so worth getting done as soon as possible.

Utilities and Drainage

We now have a full electricity supply into the building.  This has taken an awful lot of negotiation and organisation, with at least 12 different parties involved in getting it all in place, considering land owners, tenants and contractors!  With some fantastic hard work from the Aquativity project team, a cable has been laid in a new underground duct, drilled by specialist equipment through about 200m of earth.  This comes down the side of the nearby football pitch, under a stream and road and up into our car park, then into the building.  A meter and distribution board are now powering an increasing number of lights, sockets and equipment in the centre, with plenty of capacity as our needs grow.

We have a connection into the BT network for phone, broadband and security system.  Luckily for us, this one already had a convenient connection point nearby.

All we can see of the new gas tank is the green cap for filling  it

For running hot water boilers for showers and basins, we need a gas supply, so a brand new gas tank has been inserted into a massive hole in the car park and covered over.  We just need the boilers to connect to it now, but the external work is all done.

Water supply is in progress.  The connection point we thought we had made arrangements for turned out to provide little more than a trickle compared to our needs, so back to the drawing board on that one.  We have informal agreements in place now for a supply coming off the nearby industrial estate and across a few people's land.  As soon as the final legal paperwork is in place, the supply can be connected up and we can start plumbing in the toilets, sinks, showers and basins.

The surface elements of the bio filter system at the edge of the car park

Waste water processing is ready for when we need it.  A bio filter is in place for ecological waste disposal, with filtered water discharging into a ditch and hence into the River Blackwater, and residue collecting in another large underground tank for occasional emptying.  Not the cheapest system in the short term, and needing permission from The Environment Agency for the discharge, but it will prove an excellent investment in terms of running costs and ecological suitability for a wildlife reserve.

Surface water drainage has been an issue since the shell of the building was erected, with seepage into the lift shaft well for example.  This has all been resolved over the summer.  Drainage pipes have been laid underground feeding new soakaways.  A drainage gully immediately next to the exterior walls has been put in all around the building, taking the surface water as well as the runoff from the guttering downpipes.

Ground works

Over the last few weeks, we've had a small team sorting out the ground immediately around the building.  As the utilities and drainage have gone in, large holes and ditches have been required in various places, then infill and levelling.  As part of this work, the ground has been brought down to the necessary surface level to prevent a constant run of surface water into the building.  The car park surface is now flat and condensed back down to a solid level, with most of the surplus material removed off site for use elsewhere.

Immediately around the building, a flagstone path has been laid all the way around, wide enough for pedestrians and wheelchairs for easy access to all areas of the facility.  The team have done an excellent job of laying these and adjusting for the subtly different levels for different parts of the area.  A pea shingle border for the few inches between the flags and the walls finish the look perfectly.

To one end of the building, a low bank rises up away from the path.  A set of solid timber sleepers finish this transition perfectly, to provide and elegant and safe restraining wall for the earth bank.

Another local Scout Group has also been doing a bit of work on their site recently, and they had some topsoil surplus to requirements.  One of our Scout leaders runs a haulage business, so was able to transport this topsoil across for us.  We now have a pile ready for spreading ready for turf on the lake side of the centre, when the conditions are right.  We will be having fencing and hedging around this area to provide a well-defined boundary between Scouting and boating activity areas and general public access.  In the meantime, the shipping container acting as temporary boat store is providing a partial boundary fence, and advertising hoarding.

Other news

More progress has been made inside.  The boat store is painted on the walls and ceiling.  It probably needs one more coat on the walls, and the floor needs sealing and painting, then racking for the boats.  Lights have been kindly donated by a friendly local business and are being fitted to the prepared connection points.  Meeting rooms are being insulated and boarded, so are making good progress too, with electrical wiring going in as we go along.

The lift is on its way - more news on that soon.  Meanwhile, we already have both primary and emergency stairs, so good progress on connecting the ground and first floors.

It was very exciting at the beginning of September to hold our first ever function in the new Aquativity Centre.  The 4th New Forest North (Eling) Sea Scouts held our Annual General Meeting in the boat store.  It was great to see representation from the parents and leaders of all sections as well as the admin team and District Commissioner.  The first function of many; we will know we have properly completed the building when similar functions are held upstairs in the main hall, which is currently more like a materials store than a usable room.

On the funding front, we are continuing to progress.  With all the work described above, we have managed to spend a fair amount, but money, voluntary labour and materials are still coming in.  Discussions are in progress about the plan for the final phase of building and the funding needed for that, including potential sources of that funding.  News will appear here as those plans are completed.

A couple of boating sessions for Help For Heroes have been held at Testwood Lakes as an early trial of the facilities we are providing; very successful, including making some useful links with local services units.  The Sea Scouts Group participated in the Totton Carnival and won 3rd prize for their pirate-themed float.  Last weekend, we hosted the Solent Sea Scouts Pulling, Canoeing and Kayaking Regatta.  This was a fantastic regatta, bustling with activity all day, with our Sea Scouts and Relentless Explorers doing extremely well in all events.  Our refreshments team were kept busy all day, providing warm food, cakes, drinks and snacks, taking in much needed income for the project.

So, all in all, a very, very busy summer.  Thank you so much to the team members who have managed and delivered everything described above; the difference you are making is clear for all to see.

Well done, everyone.

Getting plastered!

The boat store walls and ceiling have a smart new plastered surface.  Having completed the boarding, a team of plasterers came in one weekend and did the lot.  Skirting, sealing and painting (floor, walls and ceiling) comes next, then the light fittings and sockets can go in - we have an electricity supply metered and ready to use as soon as we can put in the fittings and connect the wiring through the consumer unit.

The boats in the container can be moved in as soon as the floor is painted - wall racking etc can follow once they are in - we have plenty of room to shuffle them around, pending fleet expansion when we are ready (for example the 15 kayaks and ancillaries we have funding for).

All of the external walls on the ground floor are now insulated, and most have vapour barrier too.  The building inspector has been in and confirmed that all is well, so we can press on - boarding walls, wiring, insulating ceilings, fitting door frames and doors, heating and plumbing...

We have working parties arranged for the next 2 weekends - lots to be getting on with so we are hoping for a strong turnout.

Doors

I forgot to mention in my last posting, but you may have noticed in the pictures, we have opening doors to the boat store!  It is great to get some daylight in (it really helps for the evening working parties) and see just how much space we have for storage...

Fundraising successes and more boat store progress

Since our last posting on this blog, we've been making progress on a number of fronts:

1. Fundraising, I'll list some highlights in a moment
2. Boat store and dry store, again more on that here
3. Utilities connections, I'll post something soon to let you know what is happening - there are some negotiations involved and I'd rather not say too much until they are closed

So, fundraising first.

We held our Donkey Derby on one of the best days of the year for sunshine and warmth - a bit windy for putting up marquees, but other than that we could not have asked for better.  An excellent turnout, both in terms of helpers and members of the public - well over 3,000 of the latter!  Financially it was also a huge success, taking over £10,000 on the day, and making an estimated £7,500 profit.  An excellent result and many thanks to everyone who organised the event or helped out.  And thanks also to those whose efforts have been recognised by their employers in the form of match funding - for example we have been sent a cheque for £1,000 by a local firm towards fencing around the Aquativity Centre.

The following week we had some great news from Hampshire County Scouts.  We had submitted an application for a grant from The Mrs W Hayward Trust fund, for improving access to adventurous activities in Scouting.  We applied for funding to enhance the fleet of kayaks and sailing dinghies.  Hampshire decided that, since Scout groups using the lake through Ferny Crofts Activity Centre are more likely to be kayaking in the short term, that is where they would like to invest at the moment.  So they have offered us £8,500 towards buying 15 new kayaks, complete with paddles, spray decks and helmets.  We are now arranging the purchase of these kayaks, pending having somewhere to put them, and also making sure we involve the Admiralty to ask them for partial match funding under their Royal Navy Recognition scheme for Sea Scouts, so we can also get some other boats at the same time.

We are pursuing some other possibilities for financial support to the project - grants, other match funding and potential sponsorship deals - as we still need more income before we can be ready for business.  I'll let you know if and when any of these come to fruition.

What's going on with the build?

Well, a number of us (Scout Group and Explorer Unit parents and leaders) have been participating in regular working parties over the last few weeks.  Our focus has been on the walls and ceilings of the boat store and dry store - insulation, noggins to hold plasterboard, and sterling board on the walls for strength behind plasterboard.  We now have the boat store completely insulated and boarded, and the dry store now segregated off and well underway.  And, along the way, an electrician has been in fitting the cabling we need for lighting, power, fire alarm etc. in these areas.

This was all in preparation for starting to fit plasterboard on ceilings and walls.  To meet building regulations, in particular to give sufficient protection from fire, all of the boat store ceiling and wall surfaces need 2 sheets of plasterboard.  This will also give us more strength as those walls will need to take some knocks.

Then about 10 days ago, a building firm called RJ Spiller, who work with someone involved in the Sea Scouts, visited us to see how they could help.  The result was that they offered to do all the plasterboarding in the boat store for us.  So far they have done 3 days for us, all for no payment, and they will be back tomorrow to carry on.  Just what we need - free professional labour, fitting plasterboard that was donated, using tools that have been loaned free of charge!  Thanks very much to everyone who is helping in this way.  I've put a few snaps here to give some idea of how the boat store is progressing.

Once the plasterboard is complete, we have a plasterer lined up to skim the surface for us.  In order to provide access, we've moved all of the unused plasterboard and insulation out into other areas of the building - it is no easy job moving several hundred sheets of plasterboard, sheet by sheet!

Donkey Derby 2012 is coming soon

...next Saturday to be precise.  We're all hoping for fine weather and big crowds.  Preparations have been going well for the last few months, but this final week will be busy.  Just look at everything we have lined up.

Main stairs

The raffle we've been selling tickets for will be drawn at the Donkey Derby - first prize is £100, not bad for only £1 per ticket.  And of course, lots more prizes too.

While the fundraising team have been working extremely hard to prepare for the Donkey Derby, including selling many hundreds of programmes in advance, others have been getting on with the work at the building.  A few highlights:

• 2 sets of stairs are now in place and usable so we don't need to rely on a ladder to get upstairs.
• The fire exit and associated internal ramp are now ready for use.
• Nearly all of the internal sterling boarding is complete for the boat store, just a couple of boards to go.
• Noggins are in place along the steel girders ready for plasterboarding.
• Noggins are starting to go into the ceiling to stiffen the structure and help hold the plasterboard.



Fire escape stairs

• About 80% of the ceiling insulation for boat and dry stores are in place.

So what next?  Here are just some of the jobs we'll be taking on in the coming weeks:

• We've had some door bar brackets made up, these need fitting on the boat store doors so we can open up those doors and let some light in to help us when we are working.
• We need to finish the last few sterling boards for the boat store.
• We need to fit noggins in the boat store ceiling between each pair of joists.
• We need to complete the ceiling insulation in the boat store.
• Once noggins and insulation are complete we can get on with fitting 2 sheets of plasterboard on the boat store ceiling.
• Then we can do the plasterboarding (2 sheets again) on the boat store walls.
• We need to sterling board then batten and plasterboard the underside of the 2 staircases.
• We have a plasterer waiting for us to give him the nod to skim the ceilings and walls when they are ready.
• We can then complete the sockets, switches and lights in that area.
• Our boating manager can start planning the detailed layout of the boat store and start preparing to fit racking etc.
• Primer then painting floor, walls and ceiling - we'll need to choose some paint!
• Dry store completion.
• Ground floor galley, changing, plumbing, showers, toilets.......

Boarding complete around the doors

Boarding finished on this wall

We're doing a lot of this ourselves (that is, a bunch of volunteers working evenings or any other time we can spare), to make the money we have go as far as possible.  And we're begging, borrowing or stealing equipment and materials wherever we can.  Of course, some jobs require specialist skills, so some money is going out.  And doing everything ourselves would mean we have a very long time before we're done, so everything is a balance of money and time.

Meanwhile, we have various grant applications in train for building fittings, boating equipment (including kayaks, sailing dinghies, a canoe and a couple of pulling boats), and pontoon for access to pre-rigged boats out on the lake.  Still plenty of money needed before we are fully operational!

Please come along to the Donkey Derby on Saturday 26 May - Eling Recreation Ground next to A35 West of Southampton, we'd love to see you.

Boat store progress

A few people have been very busy over the last few weeks getting some traction on the work needed to get the boat store into operation.  From a bare shell as the starting point, the tasks involve insulating the walls and ceiling, then boarding/dry-lining them, in parallel with doing the electrical first fix for the building, taking cabling through and into the boat store.  We also need a partition wall to separate the wet boat store from the dry camping equipment store, with associated doorway and fire escape stairs.

As well as planning all that, we've actually been making good progress with getting on with it.  All of this is being done in consultation with the local building inspector who has been on site in the last couple of days to review and advise.

We have an electrician in doing the first fix, having had a fantastic donation of electrical materials from a local friendly supplier.  The electrician has been working closely with related experts on lighting, ventilation, security, heating and plumbing.  The boat store now has an agreed set of supply points, lights, switches and sensors, as well as feeds to outside lights etc., which are now being installed as we go along.




On the insulation front, we have had insulation sheets delivered and we've installed them into the store walls, and are now progressing to install them into the rest of the ground floor external walls too.  We've had ceiling insulation delivered this week, and yesterday evening made a good start on fitting this into the store ceiling, leaving the necessary gaps for wiring to be infilled later.

The walls are now being covered with vapour barrier fabric to protect the structure and insulation from the damp atmosphere.

Once the wiring is complete, the walls and ceilings will be boarded (using a combination of chip/ply boarding, and donated plasterboard), then plastered, primed and painted, ready for racking and boat installation.

At the moment, the building is a hive of activity whenever we can get working parties together.  With the Sea Scouts having started their boating season now, a number of parents are helping out with the work while their children are out on the lake on Thursday and Friday evenings, which is excellent.  You can probably see from the pictures that we have large stacks of boards and insulation ready to be used - plenty to do, but great to see some rapid progress.

General update - March 2012

Plenty going on behind the scenes, even if visible progress may appear to have slowed, to the casual observer.

We have a great group of specialists helping us plan and install the electrical wiring, lighting, plumbing, heating etc.  We are also advancing on the detailed plans and implementation of fitting out the ground floor.  A working party last weekend helped get some of the materials we need onto site ready for use.  Suppliers are coming forward with donations of materials and equipment as we need them.  Many thanks go to everyone who is helping move this project forward.

On the fundraising front, an increased focus is now turning on the Donkey Derby on 26 May.  We've been running various events like refreshments stalls at district events, and a really well-attended and very successful quiz night.  With the Donkey Derby getting closer, the programmes are being prepared ready for sale in the coming weeks, and equipment is being dusted off, checked, repaired or replaced.

With the boating season due to start after Easter, we're also paying attention to the fleet of craft currently stored in the container next to the building.  As well as preparing the boat store to move the fleet in, we're making selective purchases to plug the most important gaps in the boating provision.