PACT Housekeeping Meetings
Thursday 6th August 2026
No call this week, but due to a lot of progress, we’ve written an update below. It’s in the form of points so that we can pick them up again next meeting, which will resume at normal time of 5:30PM on Thursday 13th August.
We haven’t expanded our points yet, as we are waiting for the report from Eastwoods. We have, however, talked with Andrew on site about the potential repercussions behind the below facts.
Facts we learned: (More details post-report from engineers)
We also learned a lot about the organisation and scheduling of site visits. We can talk more about these lessons next week for those interested, and our main job while we wait for the Eastwood report is to create some internal documentation and business plans.
Due to our inability to predict the workload and delays from this week, we have concluded it is best to extend our break until after the weekend - meaning we will now be back in the studio on the 17th August.
No call this week, but due to a lot of progress, we’ve written an update below. It’s in the form of points so that we can pick them up again next meeting, which will resume at normal time of 5:30PM on Thursday 13th August.
We haven’t expanded our points yet, as we are waiting for the report from Eastwoods. We have, however, talked with Andrew on site about the potential repercussions behind the below facts.
- Tuesday 4th saw Lee and his contractor visit site and dig trial pits which were completed on the day. Foundations now exposed, Andrew. C from Eastwood was rescheduled to visit on his next available date (Thursday).
- Wednesday 5th: The walls were broken out on both sides of the cellar, kitchen, and exterior wall to expose the original lintel depth.
- Thursday: Andrew Cartlidge visited the site and gained a clearer picture of the structure of the house through notes, measurements and viewing of our investigation points. He will write up all of these points in the official report from Eastwoods, which we will then use to update our plans.
Facts we learned: (More details post-report from engineers)
- The cellar has ventilation, which comes from the suspended floor-type construction of victorian houses.
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The base of the stairs are carved from the same material as the cellar walls, lime wash mortared with stone slabs on top to form treads.
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We gained a strong indication of which floors are stone, suspended timber, and what that means in terms of expansion of the downstairs cellar stairs.
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The junction of the extension walls and original exterior walls is now clear, and constructed with a rubble-fill, typical of the time.
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The lintels above the rear fire door extend around 350mm into the extension wall, giving us a location for structural steel.
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The top of the cellar stairs have an old exterior doorway leading into the kitchen, meaning the wall is thin plywood, therefore non-structural.
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The rear original exterior wall didn’t seem to be holding any floors above the proposed opening, while the extension wall does hold up floors above.
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The drainpipe will need to be relocated, but we aren’t sure where it leads and why it’s so big. (Waste pipe size, but goes up to roof).
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The bush by the kitchen window will need to be removed - but is not protected or special. Its roots don’t seem to pose any threats.
We also learned a lot about the organisation and scheduling of site visits. We can talk more about these lessons next week for those interested, and our main job while we wait for the Eastwood report is to create some internal documentation and business plans.
Due to our inability to predict the workload and delays from this week, we have concluded it is best to extend our break until after the weekend - meaning we will now be back in the studio on the 17th August.
Decisions made:
- Meeting to resume as normal next week (13th).
- Extended break until 17th August.
Resources Shared:
Project GANTT now created
Goals for next week:
- Rest while waiting for the Eastwood report to inform final planning drawings.
- Contact Architect Tony to sechedule a meeting after the break.