Monthly Update April 2008

Robin Maddock

Restoration moved on apace during April and thankfully the weather did not hold us up.

The roofs on both buildings are almost complete with the new ridge tiles for the roof of the main building now on site and will be installed shortly.

With the weather being kind to us, the replacement of the harling went very smoothly. All the base coats are now completed and it makes a tremendous difference to the appearance of the building. The lime wash coats will be applied mid and end-May and due to the traditional process and materials used this will result in very low maintenance work and costs.

In the first floor community space, all the repointing of the stonework has been completed, where this was necessary and it makes this interior space very impressive. New windows and external louver shutters have also been installed and now that natural light can get into this area, the effect is stunning. The toilets in the community space have been framed out and clad with the sanitary ware being fitted towards the end of May.

Down in the ice chambers, a detailed examination of the barrel-vaulted roofs has revealed that they are in excellent condition and will need hardly any repointing, just a clean up.

Work has started in the 2 and 3rd ice chambers to lift some of the cobbled floor so that trunking can be laid for the electricity supply for lighting the various displays. This has proved to be a laborious task because under the cobbles was solid rock in some places. At least the building's foundations are "rock solid!!

Power and telecoms cables have been put into the first floor community space in the main building and will be installed in the office a genealogical research centre in the coming weeks. Designs for these areas are now complete and work will commence this week to lay the floor and fit them out.

In the last newsletter I mentioned that we were now looking at a ground source heating system for the building. Our options were to either lay 800 metres of pipes in the ground outside the bothy and across the road in the net drying area, or sink 2 boreholes. Due to the nature of the ground with solid rock just below the surface in many places, we are being forced to sink boreholes. Whilst the capital cost of this type of installation is significantly more than the budgeted cost for a fossil fuel system, the running and maintenance costs will be significantly less and it will help to reduce our carbon emissions and carbon footprint. We are currently examining the financial implications as a matter of urgency.

Research for the displays in the ice chambers is going well with our professional researcher uncovering some significant pieces of information about Portsoy's history and the bothy. This will make for very exciting and educational displays.

There is probably some slippage from the end-May completion date, but only by a week or ten days. However, it will be ready for the official opening on Saturday 21st June, the first day of this year's Scottish Traditional Boat Festival.

Some more pictures of the building showing its current state can be found by clicking HERE