Gimme Shelter...

Cold and crisp again on the #Inspired Pavilion Project last week, so Kirk Developments concentrated on further work to the inside of the building. Unfortunately again the weather put paid to the concrete being poured for the new extension floor slab, but with weather warming up it's hoped this will be completed this week.

The first task of the week was to brick up the old kitchen door and serving hatch. This was probably more down to the weather than anything, the welfare area (tea room) was struggling to stay warm and the heaters were at full capacity.

Efforts then moved on to the away dressing room, where the walls and ceilings were all boarded ready for plastering. Once the floor slab has been cast, block wall erected and first fix electrics done the walls can be plastered.

Once the away dressing room was boarded, the same task was carried out in the home dressing room and also the new loft hatch was installed.

The final action of the week was concentrated in the loft, where all of the floorboards needed removing to allow the electric cabling to be run. The added benefit of this action was that we had plenty of firewood for the bonfire keeping us all warm. Once the cables are run the loft will be ready for its insulation, although this will probably take place once the roof has been constructed.

Jobs for this week: Finish stoning up dressing rooms, lay DPM and insulation boards, pour concrete floor slabs, start extension walls and complete boarding of home dressing room. Details of these actions will be provided in next weeks blog, along with details of some positive volunteer news, an update on fundraising and details of the kitchen design and pavilion clock.

Finally our Just Giving site has gone live so we can now receive online donations and receive Gift Aid. Any donation large or small would be greatly appreciated and for all donations in excess of £50 you, a family member, or your business will be added to our Pavilion Honours Board. You can email names to donations@yarmcricketclub.co.uk for the honours board or leave a comment when you donate. The honours board is to be unveiled at this years Family Fun Day (13th July) and will remain in place to remind everyone who made this development possible. It's hoped the project will be supported by members new and old, parents, the local community and businesses. To offer your support and make a donation follow this link http://www.justgiving.com/yarmcricketclub and click on the donate button. The site is a work in progress, as I familiarise myself with the tools and options available.

Fingers crossed for concrete pouring weather...

Oh the Weather Outside...

...was frightful, but by the fire was so delightful, we've had enough of all this snow, please go, please go, please go! That's pretty much the story of our week on the Yarm Cricket Club Inspired Pavilion Project; snow, bonfires and working indoors.

 

 

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the project benefits from having a number of work fronts and when the weather is bad there's always something that can be achieved. Before the worst of the snow Kirk Developments managed to get the extension floor and surrounding area stoned up ready for the floor slab to be poured.

From Monday night onwards the weather turned much worse, so we all moved indoors and concentrated on the new away dressing room. The wall between the old changing room and kitchen was removed and the steel beam erected. All the floors were removed and most of the stoning up completed. The ceilings were boarded and works to the damp proofing carried out.

Unfortunately we had the concrete planned for Thursday, but due to the extreme weather conditions we had to call it off. Once the temperature improves Kirk Developments will look to get this completed as soon as possible, then work can begin on the extension walls and bricking up various openings no longer required.

It's looking as though we will be ordering our new kitchen from Howdens Joinery Co, they provided us with a full design and layout, and a reasonable price. The quality of units is much better than those we could afford from Wickes or B&Q and quality of service to date has been excellent. The only bad news of the week was the gas quote going up by an extra £200, hopefully the final works will cost less and we can get a rebate.

We're still waiting on Just Giving to get their act together and set up our site. Those completing membership forms can donate using that form or wait until the Just Giving site is online. If the Just Giving site is delayed for much longer, we will look to produce a donation slip which will be available via the website. Completed forms can then be retutrned along with donations, allowing the Club to claim Gift Aid on the majority. We will aim to have something in place by next Sunday.

A number of people have donated to the project, with an additional £600 already received and this is a great start. To complete the project we still have just over £3k to raise, with your help and a few new sponsors I'm sure we'll get there.

Many thanks for all the support to date and feel free to forward details of the blog on to friends, family and business connections. Back next week.

Live Long & Prosper...

Well 2012 is now behind us and we at Yarm Cricket Club would like to wish our readers and followers all the best for 2013. Along with many other cricket clubs I'm sure we're just hoping for better weather this year, allowing us all to enjoy more cricket and not having to worry about the covers been on!

2012 has been a really difficult year for many smaller cricket clubs, with loss of fixtures and general lack of interest from members. The weather and loss of fixtures lost Yarm in the region of £1,000. This figure is an approximation of match day revenue, shop profits and subscriptions, which have been lost due to fixture cancellations. This has highlighted the need for clubs to become more prudent, identify new revenue streams, improve those they already have and strive to improve sustainability. Many larger clubs can often offset these losses by benefiting from higher throughput and bar profits.

The modernised pavilion will provide Yarm Cricket Club with a facility which not only fulfils the requirements of the game, but also a facility which can cater for families, spectators and future growth. The pavilion before refurbishment had no hot water, showers, umpires changing or suitable toilet facilities. The addition of these items to the building will mean an increase in running costs, therefore our reliance on revenue will become even more important.

To cover these additional costs we aim to increase participation, playing or volunteering; establish other uses for the building, other sports (rounders, frisbee, etc) or small community groups; improve local business links and levels of sponsorship. When our finances allow it's hoped we can also apply some elements of renewable technology, solar panels, solar water heating, rainwater harvesting, etc. These are just a few of the areas where we are looking to improve, but at the end of the day it will all come down to the support of our members and the community around us.

If you're interested in junior coaching, playing, volunteering, sponsoring or hiring the ground then please get in touch with us at admin@yarmcricketclub.co.uk or visit the website for further details.

So, here's what's been going on this week. Kirk Developments started back on Monday after our festive break and the site was still wet and horrible. First job was to empty the garage of rollers and shelving, then to remove the floor and remove the garage door. Although the picture below doesn't show it, the steel beam is now in place over the new opening, garage door removed and the damp proofing to the front elevation complete. The steel was provided by Carter Steel one of our main sponsors, they've supported the club for many years and it's great to have their product used in the modernisation of the pavilion.

 

Remaining units, fridges, sink, old fire hearth and chimney removed from the kitchen.

 

 



 

 

And finally for this week; the voids around the foundation have been backfilled and the main drainage runs have gone in.

 

 





Tasks for this week include; stoning up around the new extension to improve conditions under foot and provide a suitable surface for scaffolding, removing the wall between the away dressing room and kitchen, remove floors from away dressing room and rectify any damp proofing issues. These actions will leave all areas ready for the concrete floors to be stoned up and poured. The tea room will remain as a timber floor, with air ducts to the rear extended out through the new extension and floor re-boarded throughout.

Disappointingly we're still waiting for our Just Giving site to go live, hopefully it will be sorted in the next week or so and we can start receiving donations. The budget is very tight and at present we're approximately £4k from an all singing all dancing pavilion. The current budget covers all major aspects of the main build (including gas service connection) but does not include for final works, fixtures and fittings such as the pavilion clock, furniture, benches, kitchen wall units, grounds store and access track improvements.

Once the Just Giving site goes live, we will post here, on our website, in our Facebook group, on Twitter and via our mailing list. All support will be greatly appreciated and those persons or businesses who donate in excess of £50 will be added the honours board to be erected in the completed pavilion.

A further update will be provided here next weekend, but for those who cannot wait I'll be tweeting throughout the week @YarmCC.