Men's Shed Blog
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Thursday 2nd May was a very special day and it felt like the culmination of an awful lot of hard work. Our first group of a dozen shedders met for the first time and the picture shows what a fine bunch we are.
The shedders were introduced to the shed and the way we think we will operate for the time being. We are going to run three sessions each week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10am to 1pm and Thursday afternoon 1.30pm to 4.30pm. Each session will have up to 6 people and the shedders will be asked to sign up to attend either weekly or fortnightly. Our first session of actual woodworking will be next Thursday 9th.
The equipment is all installed but the work still goes on. The picture below shows Nick J, Nick P, Chris and Trevor working on our risk assessments. We have almost completed them and everyone using the workshop will be asked to read the document and follow the rules. We have also decided on our training programme which will be implemented for each shedder. We were very keen to explain that there is absolutely no obligation on shedders to use all of the kit.
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We held our first Volunteer Shed Supervisors meeting this week and it went well. Nick P gave a short presentation about Age Concern Banstead and the history of the shed project. He then handed over to Chris who explained how we intend to manage the service. Nick J then spent some time going through the various tools and equipment that we have.
Chris was also elected onto our Board of Trustees and he is now the Trustee with specific responsiblility for the shed. He is also opening the Banstead Repair Cafe in June so is a busy man.
Our first meeting for our clients, "Shedders" takes place on the 2nd May and we start our woodworking the following week. Exciting times.
You can never have too many clamps
The rear wall now finished.
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Our first meeting for our potential Men's Shed Supervisors takes place this week on Thursday afternoon, and we have been busy making sure everything is ready. The last few bits of kit have arrived and are being installed and tested. We have even been sorting out all the screws that have been donated into user friendly boxes.
A final skip was delivered on Friday. Nick P and Chris spent a few happy hours throwing away lots of junk which had accumulated over the months that we have spent building the workshop and garden. One estimate is that about 700 volunteer hours have gone into this project so far!
Everything taking shape for a final run through
Sally and Ian carrying on with the planting programme
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Fitting everything in is proving to be a bit of a challenge. We have assembled our donated lathe, The new table saw and the air filtration system is up and running. Sally and Ian have also been busy in the garden and have created a native hedge consisteing of hawthorn, hazel, viburnum opulus, yew, holly and elder. It will be a fantastic home for wildlife in a few years. Next week we will get the workshop ready for our first meeting of the session volunteers on Thursday 18th. We are intending on holding our first session for shedders on the 7th May!
Our new lathe, all ready to make some bowls
The brand new table saw
The dust extraction filter
The start of our native hedge
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We have been very fortunate as we have had a great deal of equipment and timber donated. We have only had to purchase a few items and we take delivery of our table saw and air filtration unit in the next few days.
Nick J and Chris are deciding on which tools we need to keep in the workshop for day to day use for the Men's Shed and Repair Cafe projects and we are working out the most efficient way of storing the tools.
Nick P has contacted everyone who expressed an interest in joining our team as a session volunteer and we are all meeting in the next couple of weeks to decide on how to run the sessions. Initially we intend to run sesions on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. We will add in more sessions as we grow.
Our donated mitre saw on a temporary stand
We should have plenty of planes.
Our scroll saw, sharpener and sander.
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This week has been one of finishing touches. The main picture shows Mark and Chris K proudly showing off their window trim. Nick J has also finished the sink units and the fire extinguisher has been installed
We have also gone live with our CCTV remotely monitored security system.
These small jobs do take some time but we are very nearly there and now, lead by Nick J, we are going to spend next week deciding which woodworking equipment we need. Hopefully it has all been donated but if not we will need to go shopping.
We are also working out how to start the shedding sessions. Nick P has a list of those who wish to become shedders and those who have agreed to volunteer as session coordinators. He will be getting in touch with everyone within the next week or so to start the ball rolling. The initial sessions will be on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons and we will open up more sessions as the demand and the number of volunteers permit.
Chris Shaw has been working with us on the shed project since we started the installation and has become integral to the project. He first approached us as he is interested in setting up the Banstead Repair Café. This concept fits very well with the men's Shed project and we will be working with him and he will be using our workshop for his sessions. We are also very pleased that Chris has agreed to come on board as a trustee with Age Concern Banstead and will act as the main liaison between the Shed and Board of Trustees. This is an important role and we are looking forward to working with him in the months and years to come.
Fire extinguisher installed
A couple of pics of some completed worktops
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A quick update with regard to the planting taking place at the site. We wanted to create a beautiful space and replace some of the trees which we had to remove. We have added three trees which are a Rowan, an Acer Griseum and an Amelanchier. These will all give beautiful autumn colour. We have also planted a variety of shade loving shrubs including Hydrangeas, Roses, Witch Hazel, Purple Elder, Ribes, Purple leaved Pittosporum, Viburnum and Sarcococca for all round seasonal interest.
We intend to plant a small native hedge and shade loving perennials including ferns, holsters and astrantia.
Sally Pulsford is coordinating the planting, abley assisted by Ian Cousins. It will take a few years to fully mature and should look fantastic
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We achieved a lot this week. We moved in lots of our equipment, went live with our CCTV security system and started the planting.
We have been donated most of the equipment that we will need and have been storing it in garages and a storage room provided by Raven Hosusing Trust. On Wednesday we moved in our planer, bandsaw and pillar drill. We have also moved about 12 boxes of donated equipment into the workshop so we can go through what we have and then know what else we need to purchase before opening.
Our security system has been installed by Bespoke Security Sytems. This was coordinated by Nigel Cook, the husband of one of our trustees and he and Lee spent Saturday running the cables and setting everything up. They provided their labour free of charge for which we are very grateful.
Sally Pulsford and Ian Cousins have spent the week preparing the ground and planting trees and shrubs. The trees and plants are all designed to give year round interest, We are particularly keen to create a native hedge to replace the trees that we had to remove.
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The plastic crates stacked against the walls are full of kit to be gone through
Worktop for coffee and tea now fully operational. There is even a fridge for the milk.
Sally and Ian are creating a native hedge and ensuring that the planting is suitable for shade and will give year round interest
There will be space to work outdoors and even a garden bench.
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It feels like we turned a corner this week and the end is in sight. Owen has finished his electrics and Jason Packer from Packer Heating has installed the sink so we now have hot and cold running water and most imnportantly a coffee machine and a kettle. Nick J and Mark have almost completed the worktops and storage units, they will finish this next Wednesday. The security team are coming in on Saturday to install the remote monitoring CCTV and Sally Pulsford and Ian Cousins have started preparing the ground for planting.
As well as the workshop and outdoor seating area Sally has created a planting map so the small area of garden we have will provide plenty of seasonal colour and interest all year round. We will also be creating a native hedge to grow alongside the fence. More about this next week.
This is a view of the workshop taken from the door.
And this picture taken from the far wall
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We spent Wednesday and Thursday this week installing some of the worksurfaces. The picture shows Chris, NIck J and Mark working hard to get them completely flat and stable. We also carried on working on the walls. Getting the coving just right between the tongue and groove and roof joists takes time but looks great. The windows are now fully openable and the main "garage" doors are secure.
Owen has been installing more and more sockets. The consumer unit is in and with a bit of luck we'll be fully powered up at the end of next week.
The hard work on the walls is paying off. They look fantastic!
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The walls are now completed. All fully insulated and clad with tongue and groove pine. It looks great. Owen Mitchell from Dormer Electrical has also been onsite most of the week so we now have lights. Hopefully his work will be done by the end of next week when we will have plenty of sockets!
The jobs for next week will be to finish the fiddly bits around the walls and to start to install the work benches.
Jim and Mark fitting cladding to the back wall.
Owen installing his sockets
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We spent Wednesday installing the floor. First to go down were the joists, then insulation and finally the tongue and groove floorboards. This took up all of Wednesday. On Thursday we started on the walls. These also needed insulation and OSB sheeting fitted before the final cladding. We got most of this done and will finish it next week. The picture above shows the finished cladding around the door.
Our banner is now up so our secret is out.
Floor insulation going down
Nick J and Mark working on the walls
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Nick J and Mark have been busy. The roof is now completed and the doors and windows installed. The next stage is the floor and we will start that on Wednesday (Valentine's Day for some). After the floor we need to insulate the walls and add some security features. Hopefully Owen from Dormer Electrical will be able to start the electrics on the 19th Feb.
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The workshop now has an EPDM (rubber) roof which should last for at least 20 years. We have also installed the insulation underneath the rubber which will keep the electricity costs down. The next stage will be the doors, flooring and cladding. The weather looks poor this week so we'll probably try to get this done next week.
Chris enjoying the view while the insulation is installed
Our Chairman, Nick, pretending he's erected the shed on his own.
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We've had a busy couple of days unpacking and building the workshop and storage shed. There is still a fair way to go but you can see from the before and after pictures how we are getting on.
Tomorrow (Friday 2nd Feb), we hope to complete the roof and install the doors and windows. Thanks to the team who have given up their time to help. A quick namecheck to Nick Jones, Nick Pulsford, Mark Alexander, Ian Cousins, John Delmar, Dave Butler, Chris Shaw, Sam Pulsford and Chris Kunesch without whom the workshop and storage shed would still be in a pallet outside our garage.
Part way through day 1. Plenty of head scratching.
Mark decides to read the instructions and things progress