Last Post

The last couple of months have seen us fully occupy the new building, with Resound Church, Crossways Preschool and various community groups and activities taking place. Just this last weekend saw Resound Community Choir perform their first public concert on friday night, with a Jubilee Tea on Sunday.

Now the building is in full use this blog has fulfilled it's purpose of detailing the progress of the construction project, so this is the last blog entry. It's been an interesting 12 months, we hope you think so too. Now it's time to enjoy using the great new building!

You can keep uptodate with events in the building on the new Resound website

Open

We've been enjoying using the new building for a few weeks now, so it was great to have the official opening earlier this week. You can read more in the Bristol Evening Post by following this link.

Art

As part of our vision for encouraging the Arts and Creativity it has always been our intention to use the Cafe space to showcase a variety of artwork.

So we're really pleased that we now have our first installation adorning the Cafe walls: stunning photographs taken by Neil Edbrooke of Image Release

Music & Light

Our PA team met up with Rock-tech this evening to setup our newish sound and lighting system. We had originally planned on having a completely new sound system, but budget constraints have meant we've needed to reuse a few older components, such as the sound desk and fold-back. Even so, with only a small band the sound we had coming out of the new speakers was great; really crisp and clear. It bodes well for both Resound church meetings and concerts.

The lighting system is all new, and although we've started off with a simple setup, it is something we can extend and develop to suit how we use the performance space.

The coffee is on!

It's the first meeting of Resound Church in the building this morning. It may be wet and grey outside but it's warm inside and the new coffee machine is getting its first use, filling the cafe area with a wonderful aroma.

Are you sitting comfortably?

You will be able to if you visit the building later today, as the 300 chairs for the auditorium are being delivered this morning.

This is what we call 'just in time' planning, with the 100+ members of Resound church meeting in the building for the first time on Sunday.

Moving in

Thanks to several volunteers and a few vans, today saw us we move the church offices from Almondsbury to the new building.

We'll miss the panoramic views of the Severn bridges and Wales, and there are still plenty of boxes to unpack, but it's great to finally be in.

Practically Complete

Following a site inspection by our independent Contract Administrator this afternoon, we have accepted that the building is now Practically Complete! So this afternoon Cowlin handed ownership of the building to us, marked with little ceremony other than the passing of numerous keys to our Project Coordinator Cathy Knowles.

We can now plan the move into the building and getting used to this great new facility, starting with the Church office move that will happen on Monday.

Handover

More detail to follow, but today's big news is that we have Practical Completion and the building has just been handed over to us.

Tomorrow?

Work on resolving the various 'snags' in the building, and externally, has continued this week. This has included the completion of the car park and the installation of the cycle stands so there'll be no need to lean bikes against the building in future.

As a result we've been given every indication by the Contractor that Practical Completion will finally happen tomorrow. If this is the case rest assured we'll let you know as soon as we do!

White Lines

The new Groundworks Contractor has completed most of the car park, and we even have white lines marking out the parking bays. Areas that are still to be completed include the main entrance and the telescopic bollards.

It's great to see the parking bays marked out but there aren't a lot of them, so users of the building will have to consider how they travel to it to avoid gridlock in the car park. As the building is located on several bus routes, and close to the cycle path, there are some good environmenatlly sustainable alternatives available.

Contain your excitement

With the revised completion date looming close we're getting excited about the prospect of moving into the new building very soon.

The new phone lines have been tested, boxes are being packed at the old church office, and there's the very real possibility that we'll take occupation of the building next week. We can't say exactly when just yet as the Contractor hasn't confirmed the date.

So unlike one of our recent visitors to the building, please contain your excitement just a little longer!

Rolling forward

After a very quiet week on site, the Contractor has now appointed a replacement Groundworks sub-contractor. So this week has started with the car park a hive of activity once more as they work on what the previous company didn't finish.

Mopping up

Whilst the issue with the incomplete carpark and landscaping has delayed Practical Completion, it means that the Contractor will have some additional time to complete the snagging within the building.

It should also means that the 'sparkle clean' can be done thoroughly, without the cleaners tripping over the gang of workers who were endeavouring to complete all their work on Friday.

And no the mop isn't being used on this floor; it's a hardwearing Flotex which combines the benefits of carpet and is as cleanable as a hard floor but shouldn't be mopped.

Nearly but not quite

Friday 3rd February was due to be the day of Practical Completion, the day we took ownership of the new building.

Despite Cowlin's best endeavours this week, with them and their sub-contractors working some very long days, this has not resulted in the works being complete. Some snags and defects still need to be resolved but the big issue that prevented completion today was the Groundworks Contractor going into liquidation this morning. This resulted in their employees literally walking off site taking all their materials with them. A disappointment for us, and also sad for those who have lost their jobs.

Cowlin have a plan to resolve this last-minute hiccup - watch this space!

The heat is on

We are 'snagging' the building today, checking the quality of finishes and to see what is left to be completed.

We've also been checking the status of the mechanical and electrical services, which have achieved a major milestone: we now have heat on in the building! So the boilers and underfloor heating will be working hard over the next few days to bring the building up to temperature.

Cleaner

We were on site this morning and it was a hive of activity, with electricians, heating engineers, decorators and Rock-Tech all busy inside the building whilst a gang of men were working on the tarmac for the car park.

All this activity means that there are significant changes to the building every day, with more finishes being revealed. But the biggest change is that it's becoming a clean building and not a construction site, with blue plastic overshoes now being worn through most of the building to protect the new floors.

This isn't a permanent sign!

Posts

Despite the freezing weather this week the groundworks sub-contractor is continuing to finish work on the external hard landscaping; the paving slabs and tarmac.

Along with transforming the muddy site into areas of paving and a car park, the Contractor is installing the new lamp posts. These will give much needed artificial lighting to the car park and building entrance, making it more welcoming and safer.

All in the detail

It's the final countdown this week, so the Contractor will be pulling out all the stops to get the building finished to a standard we'll be able to accept on Friday. That's the plan at least.

The ongoing challenge for us and the Contractor will be keeping an eye on the final details to check we're all satisfied with the quality of workmanship, that everything works, and that the building is 'practically complete'. This is no mean feat in a building where various trades are all under pressure to deliver at the same time, and when the Site Manager and our Project Coordinator are juggling numerous decisions and last minute issues.

The satellite dish location is a good illustration of this. The Electrical Contractor located the dish and TV aerial on the wall where it received good reception, which also hapens to be side of the building that most passers-by will see. Whilst it's not a complete eyesore it does detract from the relatively uncluttered rendered wall. Architect and Client both agreed that they don't want to see the dish/aerial and the Contractor has kindly relocated it.

This might not seem a big deal, but it's these 'snags' and other detailing issues that will be identified over the next few days to make sure that the building is a great as it ought to be.

A week to go

This time next week we'll be meeting on site with the Contractor to check that we're satisfied that the building is Practically Complete. Hopefully this will be the case and we'll be able to take the keys and ownership of Resound!

In the meantime Cowlin still have plenty to do, finishing off areas, snagging, landscaping and transforming a construction site into a gleaming and completed building. We'll also be snagging the building with our Project Manager later next week to check we're happy with progress before we accept the keys.

The lights are on

Up until a few days ago the building has been illuminated day and night by the Contractor's work lights.

There is now power on throughout the building and the bulk of the permanent light fittings have been installed and switched on, including the street lamps for the car park and these huge fittings within the main hall.

Storage

Last time we saw this it was a series of coloured squares in an Excel spreadsheet. It's now a storage wall within the preschool, so they'll have plenty of cupboards to store their belongings in.

Meanwhile, site was extremely busy when we visited this morning, with the first signs of the big clean up starting.

Carpet

The final finishes are being installed despite some parts of the building still looking like a building site. So you have to look very closely at the photo to see the green carpet that's been chosen for the office area - it's mostly hidden by a protective sheet until the Contractor is ready to do their 'sparkle clean'.

And yes, that is really what they call it!

More chairs

We looked at chairs for the main hall back in March 2011, but now that we've almost got the keys to the building it's time we ordered some! So, we've been looking at a whole range of chairs to see what would fit the space, be the most comfortable and come within budget.

These are the ones that didn't make it through the selection process, for a variety of reasons.

The more we think about what we do want, and how to use environmentally responsible materials that allow the maximum density of people, the more long wooden benches sound like a good idea. And if we added backs to them.......

Landscaping

Despite the heavy frost this morning the groundworks contractor is onsite and starting work on the landscaping. With the scaffold removed from the building a few weeks ago, and the site compound less full of construction materials as the completion date nears, they can now access most of the site.

Whilst they're only moving piles of earth and installing kerbs today, we expect to see the first of the paving being installed by the end of the week, turning the sea of mud into something far more welcoming!

Technical Fit-out

Along with being home to Resound church and Crossways Pre-school, our aim is for the new building to be a resource for the local community. In particular we'd like to see the building used for the performing arts. To enable both this and our Sunday church meetings, an essential part of the building is the PA, video and lighting systems.

This week our specialist supplier Rock Tech will start the fit-out of these systems, using the trusses they've already installed and conduit installed by the main Contractor. Whilst budget constraints have limited some of the equipment being installed at this stage, we'll still be able to open the building in style!

The technical and building design gives us the flexibility to, in due course, expand the fit-out as budgets allow to meet the future needs of the building and it's users.

Canopy

All the wind and rain we've experienced over the last few days has made us take particular notice of the newly installed glass entrance canopy when we were on site yesterday.

Designed to give some shelter when entering and exiting the building, the simple and elegant glass and stainless steel canopy looks great against the glazed entrace and larch timber cladding.

New Year, new fixtures & fittings

New Year has brought the start of the most exciting time of the build: delivery and installation of the final finishes and fixtures and fittings.

Whilst many of these won't be fully completed and revealed to us until later in January we've taken a sneak peak at a few of the things that are now on site:


The servery/bar & kitchen equipment:








The Preschool: