We’ll post some more “after” photos, but here’s a quick look at the much cleaner area under the hall and the very consistent looking stumps (with sixty tonnes of concrete!). There’s still some plumbing work to complete but things will be working for Bingo’s return and then tidied up next week. There’s a a little more work to fix up the back stairs and decking as well as replacing the battens but then the whole building will be finished.

Well done to Lammi Bros Restumping for a job well done and a big thank you to those who assisted us get to this point. The Gambling Community Benefits Fund provided us with a grant of $28 000 which covered nearly half of the whole cost and has enabled us to undertake the project.

We found some changes to the front and side steps will cost an extra $1200 but that’s within our contingency budget limits so all in all a week in and things are looking pretty good. Our new bingo gear arrived too (yes we’re going all out!) and Keith’s updating the wall mounting to hold the new display. It’s all go (except for lunch)

Work is planned to start August 3rd, 2009 and take about two weeks with Lammi Bros Builders doing the business. They’ve been generally very helpful all the way through this very long process of figuring out what to do and now being actually able to do it.

Goss Park’s history as a watercourse has resulted in the ground being a poor quality footing for the hall and subsequently the existing stumps have sunk substantially. Efforts to stabilise the ground through removal of moisture (improved drainage) have been ineffective and engineers have recommended the only way to prevent further damage to the hall – and to bring it back to level – is the total restumping of the building. This will level the building removing the risk of further damage to the structure caused by sinking stumps and ensure it is stable and usable well into the future.

We’ll be putting up photos of before, during and after as the hall goes from sinking wooden stumps to concrete and steel which will suit the clay soil better.

Thanks to all who have assisted in the grant application and information gathering needed to get all this happening – drafting, engineering, soil tests, building quoting, etc. Not to mention the ongoing bingos which fund the general running of the band and allow us to complete this project.