Week 5 Build Pictures

Is it time for another blog? I think it might just be. And it has been a busy one down at unit 5 Boston Business Park, or the AntHill as I like to call it.

One thing we have been struggling with for some time is the floor. It is very expensive, very time consuming and has thrown up countless problems. But I have been told that it is essential, and who am I to argue. Anyway, bright and early on Monday morning a fine bunch of men turned up to to start digging drains and laying the new 'screed', which will be the under layer of the 'flowcrete' floor we are installing. I think the floor itself could easily have a blog of it's very own, so I will save any more detail for such a day that one of us has the strength to tackle that.

So here are this weeks pictures, in the same predictable order.

From the first 2 pictures, as usual taken from just outside the large shutter, you can see portions of new flat concrete. The darker areas towards the right and directly in front have been primed ready for the last bits of concrete to go down Saturday. You can also see lots of the builders equipment. These guys have been friendly and a joy to have around.

The picture from the mezzanine looking down, where we have had a great view of the work going on downstairs. In this picture you can just see the hole where the drain will go, the wooded area to the left, or the bonus picture for this week shows this more clearly. Next to that, the darker concrete was freshly laid today. In front of the door is the stuff that went down yesterday, while in front of the shutter, that area is primed to be completed tomorrow. There are also a couple of new phone lines and a wireless router that went in yesterday, but you need real good eyes to see them.

The two shots taken from up in the mezzanine show that we have finally moved up there properly. This is where the office area will now be permanently, along with storage of ingredients and the hopper for loading the mash tun. We have a kitchen sink, kettle, and a table that does not shake when people look at it funny. You may also notice Gregg's lounger style chair, although I'm sure he's had no time to enjoy it yet.

The final picture shows the back room that was the kitchen and office since we moved in. It has now been pretty much cleared so the new floor can go down. You can see our new high lift pallet truck professionally parked in the middle of the area, while we work out how to get it up to the mezzanine where it will be used to help load grain into the hopper.

Next week we will mostly be watching concrete dry, which should make for an exciting bunch of photos for next weeks blog. Can't wait.

Week 4 Build Pictures

It’s Friday night, which means I have been at Unit 5 Boston Business Park with my camera for this week’s pictures. It has been a quieter week this week, probably the quietest since the day we got the keys. Right now we are waiting on a few things which are holding us up slightly, the biggest of which being the floor. But we do finally have some people coming in on Monday morning to start cutting the drains.

Gregg, Mike and I have mainly been doing small but necessary jobs, like getting the office/storage area on the mezzanine sorted, and general tidying.

  

From these first 2 pictures looking into the unit you can see the place as a whole is much tidier. There are 3 phase electric sockets on the walls, and the obligatory insurance document displayed. You can also notice a window on the mezzanine.

The shot looking down from the mezzanine again shows the power sockets, insurance documents and a nice clean floor. I do tend to keep mentioning the floor, but this has become a huge thorn in our sides, and has delayed us greatly.

The 2 shots of the mezzanine show where the greatest amount of work has happened this week. We have finished stuffing the floorboards at one end with insulation, as the cold room will be constructed below. This has allowed us to finally get all the new, stronger floorboards down. The kitchen sink has made it upstairs, and is 75% plumbed in, which means the rest of the kitchen and office will be up there in no time. You can also see we now have a window looking down to the fermentation area. This was always there, but had been painted over. Cleaning the paint of has made a big improvement to the overall feeling of the mezzanine.

The last picture, as always is the back fermentation room, which has been the office and kitchen for the last few weeks, that and general store room. Here you can see Gregg and Mike having a discussion about the layout of the office area on the mezzanine.

Next week’s pictures should show a lot of progress hopefully. We hope to have a huge hole dug for the drains in the downstairs area and an office with kitchen on the mezzanine. If all goes well that is.

Week 3 Build Pictures

Well, it's about that time again. Time for the weekly progress photo blog. This week has been extremely busy. We have had a builder and electricians in, but mostly we have been breaking concrete, which has left us all feeling totally shattered and in need of beer. 

I'm not sure the pictures will reflect just how much has gone into this week, but here they are, in the same order as usual.The main things that have changed this time round is the top concrete surface of the ground floor has been removed and the wall of the mezzanine has now totally gone, opening the whole place up.

Oh, we also have hot water. This was particularly important for washing off the concrete dust after 9 hours days of breaking and moving concrete.No central heating though.

Week 2 build pictures

This week’s instalment has been moved to the blog section as opposed to the news section, as it’s not really news now is it.

To celebrate our first week we cracked open an Ellenberg’s Brewery Black Ale and took a photo of ourselves. We also managed to spill some beer all over the floor, which seems kind of fitting, like a christening.

OK, so its been a whole week now since we got the keys to our new home, and we have been busy trying to get it ready to house our shiny new 10 bbl brew house that is due to arrive in just a few weeks. You can see last weeks pictures here but here are this week’s pictures. I tried to take them in the same location as last, so the progress, if any, is apparent. This weeks were taken in the evening when the light was not so good, just to prove that we are putting in the hours and staying late.

The view looking in from the big roller shutters. Firstly, more of the strip lights are actually on, which is very helpful. Other than the man with the broom, that’s Mike Ellenberg of Ellenberg’s brewery by the way, the big difference here is the missing wall on the mezzanine. This really opens out the place, and will allow us to see the brewery, load things onto the mezzanine with a forklift, and fill the mash tun.

The second view from just outside the roller shutters. Again the most obvious change here is the missing wall from the mezzanine.

Looking down from the mezzanine. Nothing really different here, except the light shining through the windows doesn’t look quite as cool as last week.

First picture from inside the mezzanine. You can see that the little office structure in the far corner has been removed, and again another view of the opened up wall. We must think about getting a safely barrier across there soon.

The second shot from up in the mezzanine area again shows the missing office, and also a few new flooring panels to replace some damaged ones from a leaky roof, which we hope has been fully fixed.

The back room, that will be housing our fermenting vessels very shortly, has become our make shift office area for now, mainly because the kettle lives there by the sink.

Next week should be a busy one, as we need to remove a 2” layer of concrete from the main brewery floor before we can get the new hygienic resin floor installed.