Restoring a Castle

Craig y Nos Castle Newsletter – September 2006


In case you feel you have missed out on some months, I confess our last Newsletter was in March 2006. So much for my original aim - to publish a ‘monthly newsletter’! The reason for the delay between newsletters is because we were unable to do too much building during the wedding season and so there hasn’t been much to report on. We have 70 weddings this year and are on target for 90 weddings next year.

This summer we’ve had over 1,000 guests a month staying overnight at the castle. This means we have to do our main building projects during the winter months when we have lower occupancy. This winter we will be pretty busy with the following projects:


(1) NURSES BLOCK UPGRADE .

We’ve had loads of complaints this year about the ‘budget accommodation’ Nurses Block which has 11 rooms with shared showers and toilets. Many guests were unhappy with having to pay 50 pence for the coin operated showers, so we removed the coin boxes to make the showers free. However the fundamental problem is that they are not en-suite and in order to qualify as a Hotel under new Tourist Board criteria in 2007, ALL our rooms have to be en-suite.

The volume of bookings in the summer has prevented us from doing anything major until now. Our original idea was just to put self-contained showers in the larger rooms leaving the smaller rooms using shared facilities. This would have been relatively simple to do. But on reviewing the consistently bad customer feedback on the Nurses Block, and taking into account the comments of the Tourist Board, we’ve decided we have no option but to make them all en-suite.

The work will be done in two stages – the odds first then the evens. The alternate rooms form the bathrooms for the bedrooms either side. Hulse Heating from Bristol are booked in to convert the 6 ‘odds’ into five en-suites, with work scheduled to commence 15/11/2006 and lasting two weeks. (Local plumbers able to do the larger projects are impossible to find so we have to use contractors from Bristol for our major works). Work on the even numbered rooms will commence once the odds are converted, probably in January 2007. We will end up with ten en-suites instead of the current 11 non en-suites, with the existing lounge, kitchen area and shower area converted into en-suites. The existing narrow ‘sofa-beds’ (shown above left) will be replaced by proper double beds.

(2) ATRIUM BLOCK – FIRST THREE OF EIGHT GROUND FLOOR EN-SUITES .
Conversion of the ground floor of the Atrium block was due to commence in January 2006 but was held back due to delays in the planning process. We had to change our original architects as it became apparent they were not responding to questions from the listed buildings officer. Earlier this year we appointed a well respected local man, Barry Tomlinson of Brecon. His work is highly regarded by the Brecon Beacons National Park and includes the award winning design for the recently restored Penycae Inn. New plans for the Atrium Block were submitted by Barry Tomlinson in the summer and we are advised they should be approved by early October. Assuming no more delays, we have booked in one firm of builders to commence work on the first three of the eight ground floor rooms (the rooms are through the arch on the picture on the right).

The first three rooms to be converted are the old ‘map room’ and ‘laundry room’ (located to the right of the archway in the picture) and the ‘mower shed’. The map room will become two double bedrooms (sleeping 4) plus a lounge with sofa-bed (sleeping a further 2). The laundry room will have one double bedroom (sleeping 2) and a lounge with a sofa-bed (sleeping a further 2). The mower room will have full disabled facilities, with a double bed and an additional single bed for a carer. This work is to be done by Lee Jones of A & J Carpentry in Ynyswen and is expected to take 10 weeks. So the first three atrium ground floor en-suites should be in service by end of January 2007.


(3) ATRIUM BLOCK – SECOND SET OF THREE EN-SUITES & NEW LANDING / HALLWAY .
At some point in mid January we will be taking on a second firm of building contractors to convert the ground floor rooms on the left of the archway into three en-suites. At the same time we will be working on the rooms above and installing a new staircase, landing and entrance hall. This will involve disturbance to rooms 23, 28 and 24 which require new soundproofed ceilings and floors.

A new staircase and corridor is to be built outside rooms 35 and 36,with the passageway that curves around room 24, instead passing through Room 24. Room 24 (shown on left) will divide into two rooms – one a small single en-suite, the other a large double en-suite (taking in the current passage) with good views overlooking the courtyard. This work will take between 8 - 10 weeks, from mid January to end March. We need to complete the changes to AB24 (which becomes AB24 & AB29) by mid March to accommodate existing bookings. We will then have an additional two en-suites on the first floor following the alterations to room 24 to become rooms 24 & 29 and conversion of a small room next to the Bridal Suite into another en-suite.


(4) NEW SPORTS ROOM, SPA AND SAUNA .

I would never have believed the complications we’ve had here. But then if I’d known what was involved, we would never have been diverted down this unplanned journey. It all started at the Builth Wells show in Summer 2005, when I spotted a hot tub/ Jacuzzi. Having spent the afternoon reviewing different hot tubs, I paid a deposit and anticipated delivery in a couple of weeks. My idea was to install the Jacuzzi in a log cabin in the garden. But on consulting the Brecon Beacons National Parks Authority, we discovered planning permission for a log cabin would not be granted. So where to put the Jacuzzi?

Our General Manager Ian Bloom had the bright idea of putting it in the derelict Aviary adjoining the old Conservatory. The Aviary of course would need some restoration work. We then decided we’d need a space for exercise equipment – to create a sports room. Next we realised we would need showers and toilets for the new sports room and spa. Then we added disabled facilities including a disabled loo and shower and a hoist for the Sauna and exercise equipment for the upper body (suitable for disabled use). All the levels on the floor had to be changed to allow wheelchair access. The coping stones didn’t fit and had to be recast and eventually tiled over. The steel took 6 months to fabricate and erect instead of the five weeks or so quoted by the suppliers – not a problem as we were still scratching our head over the wall, ground levels and coping stones. Just straightening up the old iron rails involved a month digging up the old patio and laying new foundations.

14 months later, and some £120,000 of work done so far, maybe I’d have been wiser to cancel the Jacuzzi and lose my £300 deposit! The good news is that in another couple of months we’ll have finished restoring Adelina Patti’s Aviary, replacing what was an eyesore, the ugly hospital era glass lean-to, with a new glass and steel extension to house a sports centre and spa. The steelwork on this smaller conservatory (replacing the lean-to) is an exact replica of the original Aviary steelwork – care of a local firm, Matrix Welding & Engineering in Pontardawe. The glass is provided by Siesta Conservatories & Windows in Neath Abbey. All the rest – foundations, repairs of stone walls, re-tiling the roof, internal walls, installation of loos and showers, internal tiling, ground-works, painting, etc - has been ably completed by our in-house seven-man builders team: Anthony Davies, Steve Sax (so named as he also plays the Sax), Mathew (Matej Misanko) & Peter Stano from Slovakia, Oliver Annaly our stonemason, and Marek Specht & Jerry (Jerzy Pulut) from Poland.


(5) RESTORATION OF MAIN CONSERVATORY TO PROVIDE SECOND FUNCTION ROOM .
The problem with restoring the Aviary and making it into a smart spa and sports room, is that you then have an eyesore next to it – the main Conservatory. This has been a leaky derelict building fit for nothing, with water streaming into it for decades. Most of the roof was rotten and the original felt covering had long ago disintegrated. As for the 130 year old windows, these as you can see from the picture (left) are in a sorry state. The top third is original while the lower two thirds are cheap modern panes installed in the Hospital era, probably in the 1950’s/ 1960’s, when the Conservatory was used as a TB ward.

Our original thoughts were to fence it off so it could not be seen from the spa. However the water pouring in through the leaky roof was introducing water into our new toilets for the spa area and flooding the neighbouring Breakfast room (resulting in damp walls and peeling wallpaper). Our own maintenance guys did their best to patch up the gullies between the two buildings. But a couple of month’s later and with water still coming in, we decided to bite the bullet and have the entire roof professionally repaired, stripping off the old roofing felt, replacing all the rotten timbers, and covering over with a durable fibreglass roof.

After several months of work during the summer, with pauses in-between rain showers, the roof of the Conservatory has now been fully repaired (above right). All the rotten timber and old gullies have been replaced, the entire roof covered in fibreglass. I must say it does look very neat. Our thanks to Keith Willis of Ystalyfera; his team have done a most professional job at a reasonable cost of £8,500. As fibreglass is far superior to roofing felt, Keith tells us it should not need any major recovering for another 30-50 years or more. The next step will be to replace the window frames and glass panes of the Conservatory (above left).

We were pleased to find the Conservatory, despite its appearance, is fundamentally sound. The building is supported by heavy wrought iron pillars and has not subsided or deteriorated structurally. With the roof repaired, it is not an overly complicated task to replace the windows, retile the floor and re-install the heating. We’ve had a reasonable quote for replacement of all window frames and glazing. The heating can be reinstated using the original radiators which are being sand-blasted and re-sprayed. The floor will be repaired with a self-levelling surface finish and retiled. While we are dependent on the speed of subcontractors, unlike the tricky work on the Aviary, the main Conservatory is a straightforward restoration with no ‘change of use’ or physical alterations involving lengthy planning applications.

The Conservatory overlooks Craig y Nos County Park and the River Tawe (below):


Patti’s Conservatory, abandoned since the 1970’s, should be brought into service as a function room for weddings and events by late Spring 2007. Our longer term plan is to provide a bar in what is currently the ‘Conservatory Dormitory’ and to upgrade the existing Atrium toilets for guests using the Conservatory. Catering will be provided via new secondary kitchens in the cellars – for which planning permission is required. In the short term, bar services can be supplied from the Nicolini Bar as this can be accessed via the Breakfast room (which has a door leading into the Conservatory). Catering will initially have to be limited to buffet style pending the conversion of the cellars into secondary kitchens as part of our Blue Bar project.

(6) BLUE BAR AND CELLAR KITCHENS – DEVELOPMENT OF 90 COVER RESTAURANT IN CELLARS .
With everything else that is going on this project has taken a back-seat. First of all we found most of the ceiling joists were rotten. With the room above being the heavily used Music Room (for dancing) and the main function room, we used the slack January and February period in 2006 to replace all the rotten floor joists. While nothing can be seen for this work, it was quite major and took several weeks. We now have a nice new ceiling in the Blue Bar with lovely spotlights; all it would have needed was a lick of paint and it would have been ready for use.

Unfortunately a visit from my mother convinced us all that the newly finished ceiling was too low (as we’d boxed in some ugly pipes – see picture on left). Anyone above 6 foot would hit their head on much of the repaired ceiling. We’d also planned to put in a second set of commercial kitchens in the neighbouring cellars, to provide catering for the Blue Bar and longer term, the Conservatory. But our architects pointed out the ceilings were too low for a commercial kitchen – you have to allow at least four feet above the cooker hobs to enable venting of any un-burnt gasses. The only option was to dig down the floor by three feet.

The question was – how far could we dig without undermining the foundations? Several test holes were dug and duly inspected by a structural engineer. A fair amount of digging was completed and then we all got involved in the Aviary restoration and spa. Meanwhile we’ve continued puzzling over how to plan for the new kitchens as the physical space is quite limiting. The idea was to position the cellar kitchens between the new Blue Bar restaurant and the main Conservatory. The new kitchens would then service both the Cellar Restaurant and the restored Conservatory. Now we are considering an alternative which is to make the cellars into a food preparation and storage area, with large walk-in chillers to store food prepared in the main kitchens above. This will remove the need for two sets of kitchens but needs a lot more thought. Also, of course, it needs planning permission. So realistically, this project is now on hold for at least a year and instead we are moving ahead with the restoration of the Conservatory. Just as the Cellar Restaurant and Kitchens has proved a far more involved project than we realised, in contrast the restoration of the main Conservatory has prove a much easier project than we had anticipated. The Conservatory will double up as a breakfast area, function room and restaurant / tea rooms, pending completion of the Blue Bar.

In the meantime we may decide to bring the Blue Bar back into service as it was originally – a small private bar with its exceedingly low ceiling. Reinstating the bar and redecorating it is not too big an operation. Lowering the floor and expanding into the wine cellars as originally envisaged may have to wait a year or two. More thought is needed on how the cellars will evolve.


(7) SUMMARY OF WORKS INTENDED TO BE COMPLETED BY END MARCH 2007 .

Our main season runs from April to end October. The winter is reserved for our major indoor works so as to minimise disruption to guests. The works on the ground floor of the Atrium will be major but as we have lower occupancy in the winter, we can move guests away from areas where building work is being done. Barring any unforeseen complications, by end March 2007 we intend to have 32 en-suites.

There will be 10 basic standard en-suites in the Nurses Block, 6 extra, luxury en-suites on the Atrium Block Ground Floor, and 2 further shower-only en-suites (with shared toilet) behind the theatre. Added to the 16 existing en-suites on the first floor of the Atrium, this brings us to 32 full en-suites - not counting the 2 Theatre rooms sharing a toilet.

We may get a 7th extra en-suite completed on the Ground Floor of the Atrium. The 8th en-suite / duplex on the Atrium ground / first & second floor is unlikely to be commenced until the summer as it involves a new-build extension; this external work is best done in the summer months. In the summer the Atrium yard roof will be removed and replaced with covered Victorian walkways giving access to all the ground floor en-suites.

The main Conservatory will be restored by end March, but with limited catering facilities, and using the Nicolini Bar and the Breakfast room. The Breakfast room has some peeling wall paper which needs replacing. Now that the roof leaks from the Conservatory are fixed, once the wall has dried out we can re-paper the walls in the Breakfast room. And of course, we SHOULD have the spa and sauna, Jacuzzi and sports room finished by end March!

And having put all this into a newsletter, we now need to press ahead and get the work done by our deadline of end March 2007.