News Blog
![[our repainted back hut]](images/painting.jpg)
July 2010 - Our thanks go to the Community Payback team ('volunteers' under the supervision of the Probation Office) who have spent the past four Wednesdays with us painting the two back huts.
We believe this is the first time the huts have been repainted for several decades and, combined with the re-roofing (for the first time since the '60's) these buildings are now looking smart and cared for.
June 2010 - During the half term holiday all the windows in the HQ were replaced with 'A' rated double glazing - this completes the major insulation works to the building. Many thanks to AE Barrington Installations for their friendly and helpful work. Over last winter (the coldest for 30 years) our gas consumption fell by 50% due solely to the extra insulation - the new windows can only improve on this, as well as cutting down sound transmission and future maintenance.
Our grass is not recovering well so we are looking at ways to improve this situation for the forseeable future. If we could make this area available 52 weeks of the year this would be a useful additional asset to the Hall.
Thanks to the SITA Trust we now have sufficient funds to change the hall windows for 'A' rated double glazing this summer, representing the final stage in our programme of insulating the building.
For the next couple of months our grassed area is out of use; the cold wet winter has reduced it to little more than a muddy patch, and the new grass and fertilizer needs time to establish itself.
January 2010 - a few days of rather cold weather after a snow fall at the beginning of the month left Dell Lane looking pretty, but a little difficult to walk on. A few casual hirers decided to postpone their bookings but our regular users came along regardless. The conditions proved the effectiveness of the insulation works carried out during the summer - the boiler managing to keep the Hall at the design temperatures throughout. The hallway floor looked a bit grubby with the amount of snow brought in on shoes, but the modern flooring is easy to clean.
The kitchen wall was repaired before Christmas, when we discovered that the outside leaf had no lintel, but the inside boasted a substantial concrete one. Unfortunately there were very few wall ties used in the original construction - all this has been corrected.
November 2009 - after we'd finished the ceiling insulation, and before the cold weather and dark nights set in, we had cavity wall insulation installed by CavityTech.
Later we discovered that the back wall of the kitchen would have to be taken down above window height and rebuilt. It seems that when the Hall was built some 50 odd years ago no proper lintels were used over the windows, just strips of ¼" steel. When a large hole was cut in the brickwork for an Expelair above the kitchen window many years ago this weakened the wall even further, and now cracks are appearing. We will get this fixed as soon as we can.
Summer work 2009 - as usual we took advantage of the summer break to carry out some maintenance and refurbishment work, trying to keep disruption to a minimum (not too easy these days with so many regular daytime hirers).
![[our new ceiling and lights]](images/hallceiling.jpg)
The ceiling in the main hall has looked rather tired
for some time now - it suffered quite a bit when the roof was replaced some years ago and has never really recovered. We decided to put in another layer of ceiling tiles under the original, filling the space between with 200mm of insulation. Not only does it look better but we have stopped up the holes in the roof and hopefully reduced our heat losses significantly, as well as cutting out the echo in the hall. We are very grateful to Surrey Ceilings and especially to Ken and Keith for whom nothing seemed too much trouble.
We
also put in a section of railings to protect a drop at the back of our site, fitted new lights in the hall, and had a good old fashioned clean up!
Pancake Day - February 2009 - thanks to our local Budgen's kindly donating 'add water and shake' pancake mix, the Cubs were able to make pancakes for their race without making too much mess for the Leaders to clear up in the kitchen. The winner of the race was Ben (9) with around 120 tosses. We are also grateful to the parents etc who sponsored the Cubs, and the result is a significant boost to the funds we are raising for our new insulated hall ceiling. Hopefully by next winter we will be spending more of our money heating the hall rather than Dell Lane!
January 2009 - we have two new regular private bookings on Sunday afternoons, meaning that weekend children's parties can now only be accommodated after 2:30pm Saturday term times (any time in school holidays) and 4:30pm Sundays.
17/12/08 - Unfortunately the recent persistent rain defeated the less than perfect roofing of the Ranger Hut and this had to be replaced as a matter of some urgency. We are very grateful to Cheam Felt Roofing for responding to our need so promptly. We just have to wait for the inside to dry out now! No-one can recall this roofing being changed for at least 30 years - not bad for a covering with a life expectancy of 7 years!
10 October 2008 - Our refurbishment is now effectively complete and we are refocusing our attention on routine maintenance ready for the winter.
11 September 2008 - The painting looks finished and the Hall is back in use
again - even the new front doors are on and looking forward
to getting their second coat of stain. The fencing is
finished and the skip should be gone soon - the side fence
has been cleared and repairs made to the Ranger hut and
the front double gates. Just a few snagging items to get
cleared up, and a round of thanks to our clean-up crew
last weekend - Katherine, Sarah, Tim, Hannah, Katy, Omar
& Zara, and Andy who came down to help put the notice
boards back up. Trouble is, the more that gets done the
more 'little bits' seem to be crying out "me too".
Still, the major works are now finished and we can look
forward to being able to improve the general insulation
now that all the doors fit and the draughts have been
stopped.
Jabberjacks started well this week and are enjoying the
new facilities, including baby changing!
30 August 2008 - Well, the builders have now left us, and there's just
the final fittings and decorating to do. One week to go
before we re-open and then everyone will be able to see
for themselves what we've been up to for the past few
weeks. No insurmountable problems were experienced, and
thanks must go to everyone on the team so far for finding
solutions to the little problems that we came up against
without fuss or drama.
Perhaps this is an appropriate time to express thanks
to our lead builders Richard & John, our carpenter
Bill, plumber Terry, floor man Les, plasterer Steve &
his mate, and our lead painter Sue. Each and every one
of these people have been a pleasure to work with - accommodating,
cheerful, willing to offer suggestions and to apply changes
for the benefit of the Hall. Without them the project
would have been much harder work and the results good
but not outstanding!
Let's hope the users agree with my somewhat biased viewpoint!
10 August 2008 - Two weeks of hard work and we now have all the new 'rooms'
built, walls plastered, some with tiles on, doors hung,
paint chosen new electrics thread through. The broken
drain has been found and will be repaired, and the boiler
drain has been relocated inside correctly.
On the downside the loft is a mess, but a few hours moving
things around will get that sorted!
The refurbishment has started - 1 August 2008 - As the first week of the refurbishment draws to a close
and the dust begins to settle (literally!) we are starting
to see the new layout of our toilets. In fact, the layout
is very new, as in taking down the original walls we were
able to see where improvements to our proposed design
could be made, and the necessary changes have been implemented.
We will still have the same revised facilities as we
planned, but the new layout is much cleaner and logical,
with less 'wasted' space. Work on the electrics is also
going well and we will have no cables on show, with all
redundant wiring removed.
All the woodworm infested 'gadget wood' has been removed
from the loft and a vast amount of dust removed! The loft
window has been opened, with light and air now flooding
in. Next week sees the walls plastered and pipe runs laid,
which will complete the 'first fix' stage.
Summer 2008 Refurbishment - During the summer break the Hall (capital 'H'- all areas
indoors and out!) will be closed - from 28 July until
7 September inclusive. During this period we will gut
the toilets down to the bare walls, removing all fittings
and services. Everything (apart from the toilet roll holders)
will be new, and we will start the new term with a unisex
accessible toilet as well as dedicated facilities for
boys and girls. We're also refurbishing the entrance hallway,
and you may already have seen the first of the changes
to the exterior lighting which are designed to enhance
safety and reduce costs. We'll also be replacing the front
fence and making a few smaller improvements to the grounds.
Many of the users have given their own personal views
of what they'd like to see included in our summer works,
and we're very grateful to them for this input which has
proved very useful.
What we really would like now is a few adults (mums,
dads, grandparents etc) to offer a few hours to help us
'finish off' the contractors' work, probably sometime
around the end of August. There isn't a specific 'work
day' - there's a variety of DIY type things like painting,
replacing fixtures etc to be done, and we can be pretty
flexible about personal times - just give us a ring on
0845 486 7777 PLEASE!
Jabberjacks - July 2008 - After the summer break we welcome Jabberjacks to Dell Lane, an established franchise offering weekly sessions for babies and pre-schoolers on Tuesday mornings. Jabberjacks also specialise in a party service for birthdays, christening/naming days, toddler groups and pre-schools, nursery sessions, infant school after school clubs, end of term parties and school fair/fund raisers. They are offering a free trial session, so what have you got to loose? Contact Katie by email or telephone 020 3185 1003.
Squirrels - June 2008 - After two years of being 'squirrel free', the little
rascals found their way into the roof space again at the
beginning of May. Our friends from CTF pest control came
along again to help reduce the numbers living in the trees
at the bottom of our garden, and we then embarked on a
plan to keep them out of the building for good. Two proprietary
ultra sonic 'squirrel deterrent' were installed, which
appeared to have no effect whatsoever. It was when I saw
a squirrel looking straight at one from a metre or so
away I knew we needed to do more!
So down came the gutters and up went metal mesh, filling
the gaps between the wavy roof and the straight fascia
board - are roofs really built this way with big gaps
all along them? So far so good - but perhaps we ought
to do the front of the building as well, just to be sure!
The leaky gutters got fixed and the garden floodlights
replaced at the same time - so all in all a good couple
of week's work.
New Fencing - April 2008 - We are very pleased to be able to report that the fence between ourselves and the adjacent Day Nursery at 1 Dell Lane has been replaced, making this boundary much safer and better looking. When the Scout Association purchased the land from the Co-op on our behalf on 12th October 1955 for £500, we agreed to 'erect and maintain' a fence between ourselves and what remained as a dairy. Cherrystone Nursery have been kind enough to fund the replacement fence, and we have agreed with them to maintain the existing boundary position. We are very grateful to Cherrystone for their actions, which will set off our own new front fencing due this summer perfectly, as well as enhancing our own site security considerably.
Big Lottery Funding successful - January 2008 - After more than a year of form filling, research, discussion
and anxious waiting, the news eventually came through
that we had been successful in our application to the
Big Lottery Fund for 50% of the costs of refurbishing
our toilets and creating an essential 'disabled' facility.
This is a tremendous boost to our morale and means that
the work will definitely be completed during the summer
holidays this year.
The existing toilets have been refurbished in their 50
year life, but the original design never allowed for wheelchairs,
and even for ambulant adults access is a bit of a squeeze.
Based on an idea that came from one of our Guiders during
a virtual brainstorming session, we are going to create
a unisex accessible cubicle from two existing cubicles.
Although this will reduce the total number of cubicles
on the premises, our meetings are predominantly male or
female, so the loss will be minimal. What we gain in return
is an additional basin, accessible features, baby changing,
easy maintenance surfaces, a new floor, temperature controlled
hot water, specific 'child friendly' features and enclosed
low energy lighting to replace the bare bulbs we've had
for so long.
There's a lot of work to be done both before and after
the actual construction, and the Management Committee
gave their unanimous support to the project at their meeting
on 31st January. We hope that some of the parents and
hirers will be able to help with the finishing touches
towards the end of August, and that everyone will contribute
their thoughts to the project, as well as spreading the
word about the improvements to the premises. We have also
received £1,500 from Surrey CYVS which will allow
us to do some essential repairs to the front fencing,
the entrance hall, and all our fire doors - the general
effect overall should be a great improvement visually
as well as practically.
Trees Down - January 2007 - With a night of high winds in January we lost six of the evergreens that formed a screen between us and the houses at the back of the property. I think both ourselves and our neighbours were equally surprised to each other! Negotiating with a local tree surgeon we managed to get the trees down for a reasonable price by allowing him to fit us in between other more urgent jobs. And then we were lucky in finding that the Boidier Hurst Service Team were prepared to clear the logs and the foliage for us for the cost of the van hire - and a very excellent job they made of it too!
Access Ramp complete - 2006 - We have successfully completed the ramp to the Ranger Hut, making this area fully accessible to wheelchair users as well as a safer emergency exit for all. With the expected refurbishment of the Hall toilets to include a unisex accessible toilet in summer 2008, and the changes to the kitchen we made last summer, this will make our premises fully accessible to those of limited mobility and reach.
Big Push on Toilet Refurbishment - 2006 - Having received a generous grant of £5,000 from Surrey County Council towards the costs of refurbishing our ageing toilets, a number of enquiries about our provision for disabled access made us realise that whilst the building as a whole was wheelchair friendly, we had no specific toilet provision. A quick reassessment of the refurbishment programme showed us that we were now about £18.000 short of what would be needed to create a unisex 'disabled toilet' as well as the original refurbishment. The cost of carrying out the original plans, and then providing disabled access later, was going to be considerably more, so the push is now on to raise enough to do the 'whole job' next summer. Luckily we think we have found a builder sympathetic to our needs and problems, and are now keeping our fingers crossed that either we will be granted a time extension, or that one or more of our current applications for additional funding will come through.
Rangers Move in - January 2006 - When Stoneleigh Methodist Church looked for volunteers
amongst its ageing membership to redecorate an under-used
meeting room, there were plenty who were willing but few
able to climb the ladders etc.
To the rescue came Epsom Division Rangers, the Senior
Section of the Girlguiding movement, who willingly picked
up the paint brushes and rollers provided by the church
and set to with enthusiasm and, it has to be said, quite
a lot of noise.
Nevertheless only two hours later the walls were complete,
leaving only the detail work to be completed by the Church
members before the room could become fully available again.
The new Epsom Division Ranger Unit, so successfully established
by Clare Miller, has decided to use Dell Lane as their
main base and they have taken over the hut used by the
Dell Joint Unit until its closure in 2004. Their initial
plans are to repaint the inside and to make the appearance
a little 'warmer.' We wish them every success.
Hall redecoration - Summer 2005 - Donations of labour and materials from companies seeking to support their local community (all of the Scout & Guide Leaders are unpaid volunteers) are always welcome - a recent visit by the 'Helping Hands' team of EDF resulted in a fresh new look for the main Hall - as well as their splendid efforts we were very grateful to receive donations of paint and other materials from local sources.
