Shop Transformation Part 5

This week has been a really busy week commencing November 5th 2012 for my builder.
They have:

• finished all the cladding,
• clad one of the doors (the other one will be done next monday)
• installed all the insulation and drywall in the roof.
• installed all the T8 lighting
• installed all the power outlets
• installed all the circuit breakers

We had the big switch on Thursday and when initially powered up the tubes were pink in the centre and the gas was flickering inside the tube. After 30 minutes they were all a consistent white colour and the gas flicker had gone. After an hour it was really bright.
It seems that there appeared to be a burning in period before full brightness was achieved.

For anybody who hasn't used high frequency battens with T8 fluorescent tubes then you are in for a surprise. They switch on immediately with no flickering and they are at about 85% full brightness. Then after 5 minutes they are at 100% brightness. I was very impressed and I think after taking advice from the WoodTalkOnLine community about how many lamps I should install in my space I think I have got it right.

The brackets for the gutters finally arrived from the manufacturer on Thursday night. They had made them incorrectly and we had to wait over a week before we got replacements. It was their error rolling them to an incorrect radius.

The ones with the larger radius
are the correct ones

This view shows the gutter with its bracket
secured with 3 bolts

Jon the builder had fun fitting them as they needed sealant applying between all the joints. The problem was he had put the gutters up and it started to rain. Where they were jointed together the seals hadn't quite set and there was a huge leak of water. He went home that night feeling dejected. However the next day he came back armed with a gas gun and some tar backed mastic and plugged the leak from the inside. Now there is a slight trickle and we think that a little sealant applied around the outside of the seam will seal that.
These gutters are intended for factory buildings and I think slight leaks from 50 feet in the air are probably tolerated. However we have come to the conclusion that although the roofing system is brilliant the integral gutters are not so good. The manufacturer may need to go back to the drawing board.

Now we just await the concrete being poured into the inspection pit to cap it off. There is a little more minor work to be done next week and I should then get the keys of the shop officially handed to me.