Our new unit blog - with pictures!
28 April 2007, 09:03 AM
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Our new unit blog - with pictures!
Ok, a lot of you have been asking, and seeing as some local folk have already had the chance to come out and our new unit in the flesh, I thought it might be nice to share with everyone else and write a blog on it. Over the coming weeks what you see below is going to be transformed into Polished Bliss HQ, and a testing few weeks it's set to be, as we have a lot to do and the first cars booked in for mid May!
A few of you might be confused by what you see below; last year, when we first set out to find a new home, we got on board with a local developer, and were set to have a brand new unit built over the winter months ready for a spring entry. Sadly, the developer turned out to be rather slow in his actions, and even to this day, the planning process has not been completed for the original development he proposed. Good job then that Ange got fed up with him months back, and began looking on the open market again, as just a few weeks later this little beauty was advertised. It's less than 5 years old, two thirds of the size of the planned new build, and will cost half the rent/rates of the planned new build - bonus! The previous company who recently left the unit sadly went bust, which serves as a sobering reminder - business is business, and there is no room for major mistakes.
As you can see, it's rather shabby at the moment, as the last company were in manufacturing, and used it as a functional base rather than lavish any TLC on it. So, over the coming weeks it will be thoroughly cleaned, decorated, a new partition wall will go up separating a secure stockroom from a fully kitted out detailing bay, the plumbing and electrics will be upgraded, security will be addressed via the fitting of a high specification alarm system and upgrades to all entry points, and a race deck flooring will be fitted throughout. There is a little work to be done outside too, as we have to capture all of our washing water, so a bund and 3600 water tank are being installed too! As each stage happens I'll take more piccies and post them in this thread.
A few of you might be confused by what you see below; last year, when we first set out to find a new home, we got on board with a local developer, and were set to have a brand new unit built over the winter months ready for a spring entry. Sadly, the developer turned out to be rather slow in his actions, and even to this day, the planning process has not been completed for the original development he proposed. Good job then that Ange got fed up with him months back, and began looking on the open market again, as just a few weeks later this little beauty was advertised. It's less than 5 years old, two thirds of the size of the planned new build, and will cost half the rent/rates of the planned new build - bonus! The previous company who recently left the unit sadly went bust, which serves as a sobering reminder - business is business, and there is no room for major mistakes.
As you can see, it's rather shabby at the moment, as the last company were in manufacturing, and used it as a functional base rather than lavish any TLC on it. So, over the coming weeks it will be thoroughly cleaned, decorated, a new partition wall will go up separating a secure stockroom from a fully kitted out detailing bay, the plumbing and electrics will be upgraded, security will be addressed via the fitting of a high specification alarm system and upgrades to all entry points, and a race deck flooring will be fitted throughout. There is a little work to be done outside too, as we have to capture all of our washing water, so a bund and 3600 water tank are being installed too! As each stage happens I'll take more piccies and post them in this thread.
09 May 2007, 07:55 PM
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Update 09/05/07
Bit of a frustrating week; lots of trips to the unit to meet contracters and obtain quotes, but not a lot of progress, unless you count getting all of the painting completed! It's made a huge difference already, with the level of lighting throughout the unit vastly improved - halogens will only be needed for defect correction in future, not for general lighting!
The tape lines in the above picture shows where a new partition is currently being built; this will seperate the stockroom from the detailing bay, and give extra wall space for nice pictures/banners/etc.
Things are set to move quite quickly now; the racedeck flooring has arrived but won't go down until everything else is done, the security company will be in soon to vastly upgrade both the physical and electronic security on site, the racking has arrived and will be up as soon as the partition wall is finished, and furniture is on order for the office and main detailing area. I've also got a wee bit of plumbing to do over the next couple of days. More updates soon, I have to get a wriggle on as we have a Q7 booked in for Mon/Tue next week and it's coming to the unit as it won't fit in Clark's garage!
The tape lines in the above picture shows where a new partition is currently being built; this will seperate the stockroom from the detailing bay, and give extra wall space for nice pictures/banners/etc.
Things are set to move quite quickly now; the racedeck flooring has arrived but won't go down until everything else is done, the security company will be in soon to vastly upgrade both the physical and electronic security on site, the racking has arrived and will be up as soon as the partition wall is finished, and furniture is on order for the office and main detailing area. I've also got a wee bit of plumbing to do over the next couple of days. More updates soon, I have to get a wriggle on as we have a Q7 booked in for Mon/Tue next week and it's coming to the unit as it won't fit in Clark's garage!
10 May 2007, 02:37 PM
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How's this for a transformation of the space then?!
Unfortunately the weather has turned, and temps plummeted to 5oC up here, so the plaster is going to take a few more days to dry out before we can get painting. After that, we have 4 days of solid detailing to do from Mon-Thu next week, then after that we have a clear run for a few days to get the final messy jobs done and then lay the racedeck. After that, the racking will go up, the stock will be moved and the furniture will be fitted. Then the final touches will be added, the IT systems hooked up and we'll be ready to set to work. It's bloody hard work managing all this and running the store/detailing at this time of year, but things are going well.
Unfortunately the weather has turned, and temps plummeted to 5oC up here, so the plaster is going to take a few more days to dry out before we can get painting. After that, we have 4 days of solid detailing to do from Mon-Thu next week, then after that we have a clear run for a few days to get the final messy jobs done and then lay the racedeck. After that, the racking will go up, the stock will be moved and the furniture will be fitted. Then the final touches will be added, the IT systems hooked up and we'll be ready to set to work. It's bloody hard work managing all this and running the store/detailing at this time of year, but things are going well.
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17 May 2007, 10:48 PM
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More pics in a day or two; painting is now done, big security measures going in tomorrow, alarms next week, racking and flooring next, then final fittings and we're off. A long slog, but we're getting there. 
19 May 2007, 08:16 PM
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To say that the last 10 days or so have been testing is an understatement, and this didn't help...
Coming back from the unit late one evening, and a wee lamb decided to run out in front me from a farm track. Didn't even get chance to hit the brakes, it happened that quick. Managed to limp home, but in addition to the bumper the radiators were damaged too, so cue buggering about with a low loader a few days later to get to the bodyshop. Fortunately they have given me a Clio to run about in, so apart from limited load space, I haven't been too hampered by events. Onto the unit then...
The locksmiths were in Friday, but didn't quite get finished, so I'll save the pics of our magnificant new door until later in the week... once Clark has had chance to polish it with Blackfire Wet Diamond Metal Show Polish! It seems like I've been painting forever now, and I've still got a bit more to do, but overall it's feeling nice and bright now...
...and the stockroom is just starting to be fitted out, with 4 out of 12 racks now up. The detailing rack is also up in another part of the stockroom, kind of necessary already seeing as the first car was done in the unit last week!
More updates soon!
Coming back from the unit late one evening, and a wee lamb decided to run out in front me from a farm track. Didn't even get chance to hit the brakes, it happened that quick. Managed to limp home, but in addition to the bumper the radiators were damaged too, so cue buggering about with a low loader a few days later to get to the bodyshop. Fortunately they have given me a Clio to run about in, so apart from limited load space, I haven't been too hampered by events. Onto the unit then...
The locksmiths were in Friday, but didn't quite get finished, so I'll save the pics of our magnificant new door until later in the week... once Clark has had chance to polish it with Blackfire Wet Diamond Metal Show Polish! It seems like I've been painting forever now, and I've still got a bit more to do, but overall it's feeling nice and bright now...
...and the stockroom is just starting to be fitted out, with 4 out of 12 racks now up. The detailing rack is also up in another part of the stockroom, kind of necessary already seeing as the first car was done in the unit last week!
More updates soon!
19 May 2007, 09:26 PM
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dam mate thats bad luck with the leon looks like it needs a clean i can give you the number of a good car detailer if you need 1 
, looks like the unit is taking shape tho
, looks like the unit is taking shape tho
19 May 2007, 10:47 PM
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29 May 2007, 06:56 AM
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Once again, a lot has happended since the last update just over a week ago, and at last the end is in sight. Overall, it's coming together nicely. The exterior is looking fine, with just an engraved aluminium sign to go up on the door when it's finished being made. The big tank you see is a 2600L jobbie designed to store our waste wash water; because the site isn't served by mains drainage, we have to capture all of our waste wash water rather than let it soak into the septic tank system. This involves using an inflatable wash bund and a pump to collect the water and then transfer it to the tank. The first use of this system will be next week, so pics up when this happens to give a better idea of what I'm on about!
Last Friday was the big floor laying day, and although it was easy enough, it was very tiring! In the end we opted for racedeck style tiles by made by Dynotile, as the proper Race-Deck tiles are much more expensive, and the joins are more visible. Overall, I'm well chuffed with the tiles we bought, and all it took was patience, a measuring tape, a marker pen, a roll of masking tape, and a jigsaw (plus workbench) to cut and lay the lot. In fact, they were so easy to cut I had no problem shaping them perfectly around the sanitory ware in the wash room. Here's the floor going down in stages...
The edge finishing at the roller door was fitted with a line of ramp tiles to give a perfect finish...
... while the door edges were finished with brushed metal joining strips, again to leave a perfect finish and clear room division...
Here's the (almost) finished article - I didn't quite get it all done on Friday (it was 100% finished yesterday), but these shots give you a good idea of the final result...
Onto other tasks then. Chubb have been in to provide our fire extinguishing facilities...
... and the locksmiths and alarm companies have been in to massively beef up the physical security and deterrent systems in operation on the site. Without saying too much, the physical access-ways to the unit have now all been significantly upgraded as you can see below, while the unit is also now remotely monitored 24/7 by the security company and the police using a very nifty intruder detection and signalling system. Essential work, given the cars that will be staying in the unit from time to time.
And finally, we are even moving excess stock to the unit already, in the run up to the big move this coming weekend...
Not long to go now, once again I will not be online much at all this week while we finish things off and move in, but from next week onwards things will be returning to normal.
Last Friday was the big floor laying day, and although it was easy enough, it was very tiring! In the end we opted for racedeck style tiles by made by Dynotile, as the proper Race-Deck tiles are much more expensive, and the joins are more visible. Overall, I'm well chuffed with the tiles we bought, and all it took was patience, a measuring tape, a marker pen, a roll of masking tape, and a jigsaw (plus workbench) to cut and lay the lot. In fact, they were so easy to cut I had no problem shaping them perfectly around the sanitory ware in the wash room. Here's the floor going down in stages...
The edge finishing at the roller door was fitted with a line of ramp tiles to give a perfect finish...
... while the door edges were finished with brushed metal joining strips, again to leave a perfect finish and clear room division...
Here's the (almost) finished article - I didn't quite get it all done on Friday (it was 100% finished yesterday), but these shots give you a good idea of the final result...
Onto other tasks then. Chubb have been in to provide our fire extinguishing facilities...
... and the locksmiths and alarm companies have been in to massively beef up the physical security and deterrent systems in operation on the site. Without saying too much, the physical access-ways to the unit have now all been significantly upgraded as you can see below, while the unit is also now remotely monitored 24/7 by the security company and the police using a very nifty intruder detection and signalling system. Essential work, given the cars that will be staying in the unit from time to time.
And finally, we are even moving excess stock to the unit already, in the run up to the big move this coming weekend...
Not long to go now, once again I will not be online much at all this week while we finish things off and move in, but from next week onwards things will be returning to normal.
12 June 2007, 10:24 AM
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It's finished!
Finished! Well, 99% finished, couple of wee things to sort out during a quiet spell, but for now, we're done, and now working from the new unit full time. It's been a hell of a month, and once again, I apologise for my absence from the forum for such a long time - when there's just three of you running the business and trying to do what we have done, something has to give... and it was forum time, rapid e-mail responses and answering the phone promptly. BUT, from next Monday everything will be back to normal (this week is still going to be a hard slog, Clark's away in Glasgow doing a CSL, and I've got a Bentley for the next two days!). Anyway, enough said, here's the new Polished Bliss HQ in all it's glory...
The address is Unit 7, Craigearn Business Park, Morrison Way, Kintore, AB51 0TH, and we are open Monday to Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm. We also have a new phone number, which will save you lot some pennies when you phone...
0845 4540017
The address is Unit 7, Craigearn Business Park, Morrison Way, Kintore, AB51 0TH, and we are open Monday to Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm. We also have a new phone number, which will save you lot some pennies when you phone...
0845 4540017
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