We finally got the keys late on Friday night but due to other work commitments, I couldn’t actually start on site until Monday. And what a first day it was!
You never really expect to get much done on the first day, as there’s so much to familiarise yourself with, and especially in a building so large and old. But I only really achieved three things all day! These were:
- Sorting keys
Have you ever entered a building with approximately 30 different locks and a tub of around 80 loose keys? No? Trust me, it takes some time sorting them out. I think I’ll be doing quit a lot of lock fitting/changing before we open! - Turning on water
Finally managed this in all areas after it had been turned off for 10 months. And I avoided any (major) floods in the process…bonus! Thanks also to Dave for the advice on locating the additional stopcock. ‘Hidden in plain view’ is probably the best way to describe it - Turning on the heating
This didn’t go quite so well. If you need any reminder of our building’s history as a government building, you need only look in the boiler room. I imagine it’s what the engine room of a 1960s Russian submarine looks like! Anyway, after a couple of hours of pressing buttons and once I’d turned a shade of soft blue on one of the coldest days of the year, I called in a commercial heating engineer. I didn’t feel at all embarrassed when he had it fired up within ten minutes…not at all…nope. I decided to leave it running overnight, so I expect tomorrow I’ll be glowing pink!
Other than sorting out a few tools and getting my initial plan of attack together, that was it. Tomorrow, the real work starts…
