Rebuilding Diary

This project meeting was brought forward from 29 August because I am going on a business trip to the USA and Canada (on behalf of MMR Research Worldwide, the market research company that I co-own).

The 'piend' on the north gable of the East Bonded Warehouse has been re-built completely. What a magnificent job the stone masons have done! The carpenters are in the process of replacing the main roof trusses and making good progress. Unfortunately, some of the joist ends in the West Bonded Warehouse are more rotten than expected. The carpenters and the structural engineer are working on a scheme that will allow us to save all of the trusses (we hope). Otherwise, the masons are re-pointing the stone work and repairing the damage caused by decades of water ingression and general neglect.

It transpires that the roof of the Maltings is also very rotten (no surprises there) but some of the original structural elements can be saved, hopefully. We await the report from the rot specialist. Kirkwood's men are working on the new floors and damp-proofing in the Maltings. These need to be sufficiently strong to take the weight of our two giant 30 tonne malt bins.

Fiona Sinclair (Architect) and I saw a presentation by Glasgow architects Graeme and Hazel Andrew (ATA Studio) on how the archaeology of the old Still House might be integrated into the new Visitors' Centre planned for Phase 2. John Wood of Edinburgh Napier University facilitated this – so 'thank you' John. Teresa Church (co-owner) will review these when she returns from her business trip to China. Although Phase 2 will not happen for a few years, we need to make sure that the ground works (e.g. siting of drains) in Phase 1 are compatible with our plans for Phase 2.

Exciting times!

The next full project meeting is scheduled for 26 September. This will be an important meeting because a large delegation from Historic Scotland is expected to attend along with a film crew from Edinburgh Napier University's Biofuels Group. I will give a presentation on Single Malt Scotch Whisky production in the context of the original historic buildings at Annandale Distillery.