Long before the Denbies job had come up, I had been called by BA to carry out some work at their social club near Heathrow. I'd presented a few options and hadn't heard anything until half way through work at Denbies. We'd beaten off the competition and had another massive undertaking...
BA wanted outside areas to socialise in, but which would be able to withstand the battering of a wind that raced across 50 acres of sports fields. On first inspection there didn't seem to be anything to install to, so it'd need a strong self-supporting steel frame, bolted to the ground. Not for the feint of heart. We excavated some of the patio slabs and found that they were laid over soil, not really conducive for supporting a 200kg frame work. We made the decision to lay 2'x2' cubic concrete pads under the patio and to replace the patio, to make it as neat as possible.
Three of us worked tirelessly for a week putting in the foundations and on the face of it you'd not know we'd even been there after we'd finished. The next stage was to install the frame, and that was my biggest fear. The frame needed to be level on all sides, but the patio was uneven. I'd surveyed the scene using a laser level but was still nervous. If we hadn't replaced the paving slabs at exactly the same height as before then the legs of the frame would be incorrect and the whole thing could look like a dog's dinner. There was no chance of adjusting it afterwards. Yikes!
Another 2 weeks on site and we'd finished erecting the frames and had the awnings operational. The heaters and lighting bars were installed and it was a relief to have completed the job on time and without too much hassle. One godsend was that we were able to access the flat roof, had we not been able to get up there it would've been infinitely more difficult.
We've worked for BA Clubs since and it's always a pleasure. They've always been most accomodating and hospitable
