david

Update and heads up for next run of working bee Saturday 2nd November 9am – 5pm

Hi to the Brooklyn Scout community from the Hall rejuvenation project team.
After getting the outside painted, windows repaired and the ground lease sorted (nearly), we are gearing up for sub-project two –the basement restoration.
Having experienced the enthusiasm the exterior restoration generated we are confident we can knock off the next stage in time for Christmas.
We have also received additional grant funding specifically tagged for this that needs to be spent to keep the grant money. (We are required to provide evidence of the grant being spent for the purpose applied for, so there is a good incentive to get this stage done).

Also as Oliver has generously offered his garage for a temporary QM store we need to make fast progress to let him have his garage back ASAP.
This means that there will need to be a concentrated effort over say two months, so that the restoration does not drag on, and importantly, does not impede scouting activities unnecessarily.
Creating the new Venture space, QM store and preparing for the new kitchen is all very exciting.
Add to this the prospect of the proposed deck on the basement to expand the space and improve access— it’s all go!!
We have decided we can do most of the job ourselves but it will mean a run of working bees and help with the heavy lifting, shifting materials from the street to the basement, hand mixing a bit of concrete etc.

We will need:

Strip out basement 2nd Nov
fetchers and carriers
Good strong fit people to manhandle steel beams into the basement and into place (when required looks like weekend 16 Nov for this)
Then we will have a lot of sheets of ply to move and also timber for wall rebuild to be carried down in the following weeks
Painting
Maybe some help hand mixing of concrete
Sensible practical helpers who don’t mind hanging around a bit sometimes to give a hand on the heavy stuff and odd jobs to keep it moving—but there are plenty of bits and pieces to keep people busy.

Request:
Does anyone know where we can get a second-hand exterior door and frame with safety glass for the basement—this will go where one of the windows currently sits. Since it is replacing a window it will need to be glass at least for the top two thirds. Or maybe someone has a contact for getting one made at a good price? Exterior doors are generally very expensive.