Kitchen Refurbishment Project Week One

The Kitchen refurbishment project started as planned on Wednesday 3rd January 2018. The main building contractor is Steven Leach Building Services; the electrical contractor is Dart Electrics; and the plumbing contractor is Martin Greenslade. The day started at 8.00 a.m. with a meeting between Steven Leach, and Steve Baber, who is acting as project lead for the Parish Hall Committee. The meeting covered health and safety issues, the project plan, and the ways of working between the contractor and the client, especially in respect of in-project decisions that could be needed. An In-Project Decision Log will be maintained. 

This week the priority has been to dig out the old kitchen floor to the correct depth and lay the new concrete slab. Steve has been working with Mark Couzens and digging out the floor by hand. The thickness of the old concrete floor determined the extent of the task digging out the floor. A metal bar was used to strike at the concrete and judge the depth and this revealed a thin layer of concrete laid directly on top of the old original ground level.The ground had been undisturbed and provided a firm base for the concrete floor pad.

The Building Surveyor from Building Control visited on Thursday and agreed the project plan with Steve Leach. His main instruction that was different to the original project plan was that the insulation to the north elevation (a single skinned concrete block wall) had to be insulated in a stud frame with an air gap. Also the damp proof membrane to be used on the floor had to used to line the wall as an added damp prevention measure.

On Wednesday scaffolding was erected in readiness for work on the roof. The scaffolding is supplied by South Molton Scaffolding Ltd.