Last week Severnside Scaffolding, based in Gloucester, spent two days on site at the GC House fitting the scaffolding. No students were present during this time due to the risks associated with erecting scaffolding. The company is very kindly supporting the project by providing free scaffolding inspections throughout the duration of the project too.
Dave Packer from Severnside Scaffolding said: “It is great to see students getting some realistic construction experience, as the classroom does not always reflect everyday problems.
“This house, by nature, is not a straightforward project and we had a number of problems to overcome when erecting the scaffolding. These included a narrow pavement, a nearby pedestrian crossing, traffic lights and access issues. These had to be catered for without sacrificing the stability and security of the structure, and some compromises had to be made to the access of the building in order to allow this.
“These are the kind of everyday problems we face in the real world and the students will gain valuable insight throughout this project.”
We also sent the original doors off to be chemically stripped of paint, and received these last week. Our bench joinery students will be tasked with making four more of these to match the rest.
The students have now completely removed the tiles from the original mosaic flooring and we are pleased to say that after some cleaning, this will be a beautiful feature for the entrance hall.
In the dining room, Level 1 plastering students have taken down the fire surround and removed the rest of the plaster.
One said: “It was actually really interesting and I enjoyed it. I’ve developed lots of skills already so far, including leadership, using my initiative, problem solving and team work.”
Meanwhile outside in the back garden, students have been tidying up and removed some of the Ringlock Scaffold fence panels too. While Rex Bishop and Son, a family-run business based in Gloucester, safely removed and disposed all asbestos from the site.
Our construction partner E G Carter is putting the roof up today and tomorrow – so fingers crossed the rain holds off!
