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!