A whiter shade of pale

The painters were in yesterday and today to paint the walls outside the back door. Dark glasses are now required before going outside. The back wall and the breeze block wall have also been painted white and all that's required is some furniture and some plants.

Also here today were Q*** along with an electrical surveyor and D**. There's going to be a planning meeting tomorrow when we decide what needs done, when and how. Then the planning application can go in and hopefully in 12-16 weeks we'll get the go ahead.

Meanwhile, the surveyor says that the wall between the function room and the dining room is in a bad state. Looking at the plans, it's clear that it is a brick wall supported on some fairly dodgy wooden beams. We need to take down the ceiling over the approach to the beer garden for some investigation. If rot has set in to the joists (probable) then the wall will need to be removed for safety reasons.

Joinery and electrical work

A new door was fitted to the kitchen corridor and the new lights were installed outside on the route to the beer garden.

Some before and afters are here

For possibly the first time in 30 years, work has been carried out by skilled tradesmen meeting at least some of the required standards instead of being lashed together by pub customers after a few pints.

That's pleasing. And it shows just how badly all the rest of the work here has been done over the years.

Even more pleasing was the fact that it rained heavily yesterday and the roof did not leak.
Roofing:
Tradesmen recommended: Finlaysons of Galashiels.
Tradesmen NOT recommended: Roofing Direct of Edinburgh

Electrical
Tradesmen recommended: Scott & Foggon of Jedburgh
Tradesmen not recommended: Almost anyone who's worked at the hotel in the last 100 years.

Lux

Otherwise lumens per metre squared. A measure of illumination. We need about 200-250 lux in our beer garden. We hope that the wee stainless steel lamps will provide this. The electrician is drilling through the (very thick) walls to install them now. And the paving's continuing and beginning to look really good. The beer garden should be open by the weekend.

Decked out

The decking in the beer-garden-to-be is finished and looks pretty good. They're coming back on Monday to start laying slabs on the rest of the area. Lighting's starting then too, though the nice stainless steel fittings we've chosen won't give a huge amount of light and a SON floodlight may be necessary too.

Q**** s on holiday this week, but returns on Monday and an electrical surveyor's coming on Tuesday to see what needs done to the wiring. Lots we suspect.

It rained last night. The roof still leaks:-(

Roofing - the saga continues

The repaired roof also leaked like a sieve. "Not our fault" cried the roofers. "B**ll**ks" we wittily replied. It seems that having repaired a fault in the lead valley, the water was now being correctly channelled down... into another big hole that was really obvious - you couldn't miss it.

We've been here before (see postings passim) but with Q***** in charge (and not paying a penny until we've had several days of heavy rain) we are confident that we will eventually have a watertight roof.

The planning department of the council have issued a stop notice preventing our doing any further work until a detailed planning application has been submitted. That doesn't hold up the beer garden which is well under way and looking pretty good. But it does prevent us starting any other work for at least 12 weeks.

While you're waiting for that to happen, have a look at http://runningspreadeagle.blogspot.com