 |
Porthpean Sailing Club | |
|
The Clubhouse was built in 1971. At the time there was a wooden balcony between the end wall and the Race box. Access to the balcony was via double doors in the Clubhouse, but over the years the timber deteriorated and needed replacing. In 1998, after a bit of thought and consultation it was decided to replace the balcony and extend it somewhat by a concrete construction, making it more of a permanent fixture and the larger area would permit more people to sit outside and enjoy the sunny periods for longer. An Architect was consulted and his plans were accepted and a builder was engaged to carry out the necessary building.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, the design and quality of work provided us with more problems than we expected. The joint between Club House and balcony was not good enough, with the result that heavy rain penetrated the Clubhouse and even worse, seeped below into the changing rooms. To make matters worse the front windows of the Clubhouse were rotten and replacement of these alone would cost several thousand pounds. We realised that if drastic action wasn't taken quickly then the wooden Club house floor would rot away, giving us even greater problems. Remedial action undertaken by the builder and architect failed to solve the joint problem and things were looking rather dire. Colin Wainwright came up with an idea which would solve most of our problems and that was to enclose the balcony with plastic cladding. This would allow us to remove the rotting windows and also give an increase to the interior space of the Clubhouse. Colin drew up his plans & presented them, together with costings to the Committee. Now, we are in the fortunate position that we have a fit & healthy group of retired members. Many of them volunteered their services, so we were assured that the majority of the work could be undertaken by Club Members, which would keep costs to a minimum. The decision was made to go with Colin’s plans and planning permission was applied for from the Council. This plans were approved, so materials were ordered and on Monday 10th March 2003 the preparation work started. The first job on the agenda was to remove the race box and so a temporary home for race recording was created elsewhere in the Clubhouse. The next job was to remove the race box itself. Major work here was to remove all the roof tiles, then the rest of the race box was taken down. An end wall was created to give some privacy for our neighbours next door. The next job was to remove the railings and construct a concrete wall along the front of the exposed balcony, incorporating box section steel pilings. Double glazed windows were designed and built then connected to the wall and pilings. The existing roofline was extended and sections of polycarbonate roofing tiles were fastened down. This alone has given some much needed light into the new floor area and also allows in more heat in the summer. The downside is the increased noise we get when it rains. Several pictures were taken during the project shown below. Clicking on any of them will produce an enlargement. |
