Spring 2024
Front of Clare House getting some attention.
Some major disruption going on here. Rooms 12 & 13 having a facelift.
Spring 2021
Another lock down so we decided to paint the front of the hotel. Hired a cherry picker and set to work.
Spring 2020
Its January 6th and its all happening.
Kitchen emptied to make way for the builder.
Old Garland making its way to the front door and the back of an innocuous white van, perhaps not the fitting end for such a legend.
Electrician installs new cable for 3 Phase electric to run the Rational, induction hob/oven and grill.
Stainless steel cladding is off, tiles and plaster removed to expose I beam.
I beam lifted and repostioned, ceiling comes down, not as as consequence of I beam moving I hasten to add!
Insulation between joists and fire proof plaster board goes up, skimmed & painted.
Monday 26th Jan, extraction unit and s/s cladding arrives and is installed, canopy is huge!
Heavy equipment arrives on Jan 27th, shelves going up plastic wrapping coming off.
Kitchen emptied to make way for the builder.
Old Garland making its way to the front door and the back of an innocuous white van, perhaps not the fitting end for such a legend.
Electrician installs new cable for 3 Phase electric to run the Rational, induction hob/oven and grill.
Stainless steel cladding is off, tiles and plaster removed to expose I beam.
I beam lifted and repostioned, ceiling comes down, not as as consequence of I beam moving I hasten to add!
Insulation between joists and fire proof plaster board goes up, skimmed & painted.
Monday 26th Jan, extraction unit and s/s cladding arrives and is installed, canopy is huge!
Heavy equipment arrives on Jan 27th, shelves going up plastic wrapping coming off.
Winter 2018/19
Started in earnest just before Christmas.
- Stripped Room 11
- Stripped Room 18
- New Year, Jan 2nd, Wall falls down in the car park.
- Electrician does his first fix in both bedrooms.
- Mark decorating Room 4's bathroom. Good job its a quality sink!
- The boys are here to re build the wall car park wall, looks awfuly familiar to last years images.
- Room 4 bathroom nearly there. Just new flooring, heated towel rail and a wipe down to finish.
- The Great Wall of Grange is up!
Winter 2017/18
Jobs for the boys!
- Re-decorate Room 8, top to bottom.
- New bathroom for Room 18.
- Re-decorate Room 10
- Enlarge the car park, marked bays, new lighting, new walls, a bit of plantation fencing and a back breaking amount of fresh gravel. That should shift the Christmas turkey.
Winter 2016/17
Re-decorating the Gold Lounge, upgrading bathrooms, extending kitchen garden, new coffee machine.
- We have taken the kitchen apart and cleaned everything but the kitchen sink, which we leave to last. The lounges, dining rooms & hall have been spring-cleaned and Christmas has been and gone.
- In January we made marmalade, and started upon a rather momentous event in the history of Clare House a revamp of the ‘Gold Lounge’. The ‘Gold Lounge’ acquired its name in the early 70‘s, when the then new gold carpet was laid and the walls papered. Would you believe it’s the same paper and carpet! In mothers eyes it was ‘untouchable’, “I like it” her words. Well after 45yrs its reached the top of the ‘to do’ list! Fear not, we have left the paper where it is, and panelled over it! A time capsule for future generations. The tiled 50’s fire surround has come out, to be replaced by a wooden surround. New carpet, curtains & furniture complete the job. I wonder if it will last another 40yrs?
- The good work started on our small kitchen garden continues with a little expansion towards the railway line.
- New loo’s and semi counter top sinks in the new wing bathrooms, a lick of paint where needed.
- And a new coffee machine that makes latte, capuccino, espresso, mocha and a whole lot more.
Gold Lounge taking shape. Carpet up, revealing original lino around the edges of the room. Aart & Japp having early lunch.
Winter 2015/16
Re-decorating the hall, making over rooms 1 & 6; & building new balconies.
Work started in earnest on Jan 4th, Andrew making marmalade and Mark emptying the hall and landing in preparation for some serious meddling. We lifted the dark green carpet and exposed the tile floor in the hall, applied some panelling to the second floor stairs and landing, papered and painted throughout, and finished it off with a striped stair carpet. We built new balconies making them larger and finishing off with glass balustrading with privacy glass inbetween each room.