With the majority of the exterior completed we were able to turn our attentions to the interior makeover of our garage. Measuring approximately 7 x 5 metres, it's a reasonable space to play with and having emptied the whole garage, apart from the clay oven, we had a blank canvas. A list of tasks was created which included the following:
Refurbish the windows.
Treat the walls with PVA.
Clad the main roof interior.
Fit new lighting.
Box off the loft area and make an access door.
Complete and paint the underside of the loft roof.
Treat and paint the floor.
Make a bar.
Fit out the bar.
Make and fit shelving for beer collection.
Drink beer.
Not much to do then, especially as we set ourselves the target of having the job finished by the second May bank holiday weekend!
The first job to be completed was the sealing of the brick walls with a PVA sealant to prevent brick and mortar dust from getting in our drinks. one job down 10 to go. Over the first bank holiday weekend and into the following week a number of the other tasks progressed in tandem. The galvanised metal windows along the side of the garage were stripped of their flaking paint and mock wooden frames were manufactured and fitted, along with windowsills for the odd pint to sit on.
For the main roof, 70 x 4.8m lengths of shed-lap wood were purchased from our local wood-yard. Cutting, shaping and cursing the new roof took place in the breaks between doing the windows and once the roof was in place the offcuts of wood were used to box off the loft space.
The edges of the underside of the loft floor were then fitted and the whole underside was painted in Pool Cottage cream. Wiring for the lights was installed and lights fitted. The main area having a set of 6 free hanging Eddison lamps which bathe the wooden roof in a wonderful golden glow.
During all of this frenzied activity much thought was given to the design of our bar and the decision to remove the clay oven was taken. This sad news was reached for a variety of reasons including the fact that the oven was badly cracked and needed major repairs and since that the garage was now so well sealed, we would probably smoke everyone out if we fired it up. It was also taking up a good proportion of the floor space. However, plans are afoot to build a new oven outside, once the garage is finished.
Whilst we had our thinking caps on, we also came up with a name for our new space. The Dizzy Pig was born, named after our weathervane who gets very dizzy in high winds. Our dear friend Mike created a stunning logo and produced a huge sign which we framed and fitted to the outside just days to go to our deadline. In the evenings and any other spare moment, we created a new website: www.dizzypigbrewing.com which tells the story of our brewing empire!
The week leading up to the bank holiday saw the floor painted and a plethora of little jobs completed, but despite our best efforts, we were unable to finish our list. To date we still have to remove the clay oven and design, build and fit out the bar. However, come the Saturday of the bank holiday, the Dizzy Pig will open and we will drink beer, the main job on our list.