Property Committee Report for 2010

The year started off with one of our regular Property Committee meetings in January 2010. We were still in the midst of building work. Most of the outside work of the Halls and Foyer had been done, the new walls built, roof on etc and the builder was fitting out the inside, re-wiring, building internal walls for toilets, and new boiler house. Then finally the decorating.

At the meeting we were reminded that when we decorated the outside of the church in 2007, the woodwork of the gable of the chancel end of the church was rotten and would need replacing. Quotes were sought and a pvc facia and soffit was fitted which hopefully will last for many years and a benefit of pvc is it wont need painting.

To go with the new halls it was decided to purchase new seats to replace the old plastic bucket seats we had, most of which were second hand, donated to us from other organisations and were now past their best. Also purchased four small round folding tables to go in the foyer for meetings etc.

With the all new look of the large hall and foyer, the small hall looked decidedly dowdy and the property committee ordered new lino to be fitted and then redecorated the room, painted the passageway doors and painted the kitchen. On painting the small hall window frames they were seen to be deteriorating and it was decided now was as good a time as any to have them replaced. One thing seemed to lead to another and although the large hall had been re-decorated and a new ceiling fitted in the rebuild, the stage floor, cupboard doors and the gas meter cupboard were worn and broken. These too, the members of the property committee set to and replaced. A company was brought in to sand and re-varnish the hall floor, the cost of which was kindly donated by a member of the church.

February saw the official hand over of the building and for those who had not had any access to see the progress being made I think they were all pleased with the result.
True to form, things could not always go well and the day after the official opening the drains were found to be blocked. The builders were called in and proceeded to rod the drains but then lost three of their rods due to a broken joint. They then had to call in specialists who put a camera up the pipes to find the rods and retrieve them.
Later in the year the drains blocked again, this time the problem lay in the public road outside of the church where the drain had collapsed.

Also during February signs of a leak in the roof were detected and this was put in the hands of the architect and builder.

As the year progressed, the grass cutting rota was set up to keep the place tidy and it being quite pleasant out the back on the lawn, David our minister, decided a garden party would be nice and ladies of the church did the organising. Will this be a regular event? Watch this space.

As well as the grass cutting, the bushes around the church perimeter were getting out of hand and a team set about tidying this up which involved quite a few trips to the local waste disposal site.

During the renovations the Hillhouse Parish Church Sign was removed and it was decided this would have to be replaced and also the Mission Statement Board be tidied up and a new notice fitted. This was put in hand and I think if you look at the latest pictures of the church on the website the sign can be seen.

During August the cooker in the kitchen began to malfunction and a replacement was fitted and at the same time the boiler in the manse, which was estimated to be about thirty years old was thought to be past its best and quotes were sought to fit a replacement. This duly received attention and no doubt our minister will be hoping for lower gas bills this winter with his super efficient boiler.

At the beginning of the year, money had been set aside at a finance meeting to have the sanctuary part of the church rewired (most of the wiring was original from the fifties and other parts had been added on over the years) including the fitting of new switchgear and brighter more efficient lamps. Various quotes were obtained. Meetings were held with the electrical firms quoting and work finally started at the end of the year and was successfully completed.

The above jobs are the main ones carried out but there were dozens of smaller jobs, it seems never ending at times.

The leak in the new roof mentioned earlier continued to cause problems, the builder seemed reluctant to appear and it transpired they had gone out of business. This necessitated obtaining the services of a roofer who has done numerous jobs for the church over the years. He found the fault and did a temporary repair before work came to a halt because of snow and ice on the roof.
As I write this report in January he has completed the work today and now we need a joiner to replace part of the plasterboard ceiling that has water damage. However, that is going into this years work.

As you see it has been a busy year for the team and I thank them all for their hard work and dedication

Tony Petty, Property Convenor.

Property Committee Report 2009/ Feb 2010

The year started with having to replace the Vestry Water Heater and then some preparatory work was carried out to prepare for the builders coming in to start the work on the refurbishment of the halls, building of the new foyer, toilets and boilerhouse. Realising we wouldn’t have access through the front door we fitted a lock to the back door and rear gate. The access we were now going to use was the original front door of the church which meant we had to build a temporary ramp for wheelchair access. We also dug exploratory holes to expose the foundations at the corners of the building so the structural engineer would have access.

We noted a small leak in the loft above the vestry and had one or two tiles repaired and the ridge tiles re-cemented.
The Manse had had quite a bit of attention over the last three years, the interior having been decorated, the windows double glazed, loft and wall insulation installed and the exterior painted, so there wasn’t a great deal to do. However, the cooker started to fail and was replaced and some time was spent in the grounds clearing low branches on trees and generally tidying up.

Knowing the builders were starting at the end of September we kept maintenance down to a minimum and once the builders started all activities were held in the church. The main concern was keeping the heating going with the old boilers which once the roof was removed they were effectively outside, however, they coped well and there weren’t too many non heating days. The new boilers were switched on in December but just after Christmas we had a big freeze and the water supply to the church froze somewhere under the  main road and remained frozen for over a week. The boilers kept going most of the time, their water being on a separate closed circuit but activities in the church were cancelled as there were no toilet facilities.

By the beginning of February the building work was almost complete and property committee members decorated the small hall and kitchen. New vinyl was laid in the small hall also.

We  re-floored the stage and re-faced the cupboards in the large hall and the stage curtains which had been cleaned were re-hung. Prior to this the floor of the large hall was sanded and varnished.

The Big Day eventually came on Sunday 21st February when the Halls were officially opened with a Service of Dedication.

I wish to thank everybody on the Property Committee and others who helped with all of the work throughout the year.

Tony Petty
Property Convenor.