I could hardly believe the start of the year. I had an innocuous phone call from someone who wanted to put awnings in a vineyard in Surrey. I had visions of cottage industry and a pretty barn with a trailing vine and it made me feel romantic. What I was to find was far removed from a 'cottage' industry!
I have to confess that I hadn't heard of Denbies and the huge wine estate on the outskirts of Dorking before. I'd seen the building as I'd driven past, it's hard not to, but had presumed it was a private residence. The initial meeting was great, I answered all questions asked of me and you can't do much more than that. Money didn't need to be discussed, they knew exactly what they needed and I knew I would be quoting along with a few others. I can't say what swung the order my way, could've been my willingness to leave colours and charts for their perusal, could've been price (although I know I wasn't the cheapest) and it could've been that we were prepared to be patient. Who knows.
This was to be, and still is, my largest job. Ben and I spent a total of 20 days on site, with my dad coming on 10 occasions too, 30 man days in total. The job went smoothly although slowly. Planning the bracketry was key to success, and carried a huge financial cost to me if incorrect. The awnings were not to be attached to the stunning arched walls but the fascias had guttering all around the perimeter, it needed something special. Luckily we got it right. 50 heavy steel brackets had to be manoeuvred in to place and bolted to the roof rafters. Then the heavy timber cladding had to be bolted on to the brackets, the soffits replaced and then finally we could install the awnings. I've not used this method of installation since, but I have the knowledge now and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.
There were four awning in total, 2 of which were 17m long and the other 2 10m long. We had to try to get them to meet as close as possible in the four corners of an internal courtyard. So much could go wrong! I'm patting myself on the bag furiously here as the job went without a single glitch, except perhaps sore backs shared by Ben and myself. The result was stunning, I'm really proud of my achievement and just wish that I could tempt all potential customers to take a trip down there and see the scale of the work. Go there anyway, the lunches are great and the Surrey Gold is a lovely tipple.
