[Trustee] Moving plans and packing the space

[Henry Sands]

(This email will also be sent to all members)

Hi Everyone!

Your Hackspace Needs YOU!

It's time to disassemble the Hackspace.

What does this mean?

We have to move out by the 14th March, that doesn't just mean we have to move all the equipment, it also means we have to remove all the walls, power and infrastructure we've installed over the 5 years of being here and return the building to as we found it.

Does this mean the Hackspace is closing down?!

Absolutely not! But we may have to spend a small amount of time without a physical space whilst we try and secure new property, this means everything that we currently have needs to go into storage.

Why have't we got a new property already?

We have tried really hard to find one, but getting a property that is both suitable for us, in a reasonably good location and also in our price range has proven extremely difficult. A number of properties we put a lot of time into ended up going nowhere or getting outbid on, but we have a number of very promising leads and are currently in ongoing conversations with Landlords and Agents around London. Sorting out leases for commercial property is a lengthy ordeal.

What's happening now?

The most pressing job we have currently is to clear out the current space, we have to be out of the building on the 14th March regardless of anything else.

We need all the help we can get, we will be pushing to get the majority of the work done between the 23rd-25th February (Friday-Sunday), any help anyone can offer would be extremely helpful as we'll need as many hands as possible!

Things that need doing during that weekend:-

• Sticking everything not nailed down onto pallets/into boxes

• Disassembling tables and palletising them as well

• Disassembling member storage

• Moving everything that's in the basement upstairs

• Basically packing everything up

• Loading vans\lorries and carting everything off to storage

Things that need doing in the following week:-

• Removing all drywalls

• Removing the servers and racks

• Removing all the self-installed power and distro boards

• Remove all networking

• Repairing any damage

• Replacing the locks on the front/rear door

• Have the Landlord come and inspect the property

• Fix anything the Landlord wants fixing

This is not necessarily a complete list yet, we are still working on a spreadsheet to be published shortly.

Can I still come in and work on my projects after the 23rd Feburary?

The short answer is No, everything (including tools and equipment) will hopefully have been packed up and put in storage by then.

When do you think we will get a new space?

We honestly can't give you a concrete date as of yet as nothing's been finalised, but we'd be extremely surprised if we stay in storage longer than a couple months.

I'm not going to lie, this is going to be a difficult time for the Hackspace as a whole, all I can ask is that you bear with us while we try and find a new home, we are working our hardest to make sure London Hackspace stays as successful as it has been for the past 9 years.

On the upside, the money we save from rent, rates and bills will go a long way to helping fit out whatever space we end up occupying next.

Kind regards,

The London Hackspace Trustees.

[Des Quilty]

Where will the storage be located?

Is Finsbury Park still on the table?

[Des Quilty]

Couple more questions

How long can HS remain in storage before "Day Zero" ?
What would happen on Day Zero when there is no more money to pay for storage?
What lessons have been learned in the search so far which gives confidence that we will successfully find somewhere, when we haven't done so up to now?
I presume at Day Zero there will still be an amount of cash which would have been used to fund the setup of a new space which will then be unused. What will happen to that money?

If the trustees feel that it would be unwise to post answers on a public website I would be happy to receive the answer via email.

[Henry Sands]

>Couple more questions

>How long can HS remain in storage before "Day Zero" ?

Haven't done the sums, but it would easily be a year+ with our current savings and indefinitely if our membership stayed at its current level or there about.

>What would happen on Day Zero when there is no more money to pay for storage?

I'd assume we'd part it out, sell stuff to members and bin/auction the rest, but that would never happen as day zero is extremely unlikely, we'd go for one of the less suitable spaces long before day zero was even on the horizon.

>What lessons have been learned in the search so far which gives confidence that we will successfully find somewhere, when we haven't done so up to now?

Estate agents are slow and require constant chasing, we already have a number of properties on the books that we're actively pursuing, some closer to completion than others. It really is pot luck, you could be in contact with an agent about a property for months, then at the last moment the terms are changed or new clauses added before anythings signed, then everything's back to square one.

>I presume at Day Zero there will still be an amount of cash which would have been used to fund the setup of a new space which will then be   unused. What will happen to that money?

No idea, we'd have to cross that bridge if (big big if) we ever came to it. We haven't put any thought into it as it's such a remote possibility.

>If the trustees feel that it would be unwise to post answers on a public website I would be happy to receive the answer via email.

Kind regards,

Henry.

[Paddy Duncan]

A ballpark figure for day0 would be ~10 years if we lost the entire membership tomorrow.

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[Des Quilty]

Thanks for the replies, if you could cover the first two Qs as well..

Finsbury Park status?/

Where is the storage located that would be great.

Regards

[Henry Sands]

Finsbury park is still in the running and the storage will be located in a secure location that we won't be giving out.

Kind regards,

Henry.

[Martin (Crypt)]

I should be around to help all next weekend, I'll have a car, so can drive stuff around  if we need to.

I can drop by Friday evening for a bit after work, but will be unlikely to get there much before around 7ish, will you still need some help at that time?

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[Simon Hewison]

Worth remembering that there's an optimal order for dismantling any infrastructure stuff.
doorbot and any ACnodes will depend on working networking at the least, and that includes some of the stuff in the server racks (the boole router, ethernet switches, and we'd need at the DSL circuits and DSL modems up and running). We don't want to have to rely on trustees and physical keys until the last days when we're doing physical work to return the property to a condition that the landlord would appreciate it returned.

Without doorbot, people can't easily get into the hackspace to help pack up.
Could also be useful to remind people to be trustworthy people and CCTV is still around to stop petty pilfering of hackspace stuff.

[henry...@ntlworld.com]

That will also need the power to be on to those pieces of equipment.

Stripping out the power and network cables will have to be one of the last things we do, after all the 'heavy' stuff has been moved.

Once all the heavy stuff is gone, why do we need doorbots and CCTV? There will, hopefully, be nothing worth stealing left!!!

Simple Yale rim locks front and back will suffice, as long as there is still a padlock on the back gate and the shutter is down.

That will make everyone come in through the back gate, using the combination padlock, which will restrict entrance to members only.

We can leave the back door on the 'snib' until the last person leaves. 

That will, of course, require a keyholder (trustee?) to open up in the morning. A minor inconvenience for only a short period.

We could also rescind the "No sleeping in the space" rule for the last few days, as a security measure.

[henry...@ntlworld.com]

EDIT...

....and to prevent squatters from taking over the space and 'travellers' setting up camp in the yard.

[Lex Robinson]

On Wed, 21 Feb 2018 at 05:11 henry.best1 via London Hackspace <london-h...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

That will make everyone come in through the back gate, using the combination padlock, which will restrict entrance to members only.

Past experience of the type not to be recounted on a public mailing list has proven this not to be the case.

 

We could also rescind the "No sleeping in the space" rule for the last few days, as a security measure.

 (I'm pretty sure this would still be illegal)

[Henry Sands]

Just a reminder that we need as many hands as possible this coming weekend, the rough plan is:-

Friday 23rd: Pack and pallet as much as possible, storing them on the ground floor

Saturday 24th: Continue packing and start shipping stuff over to the storage site

Sunday 25th: Finish moving things and tidy up

Volunteers will be rewarded with pizza!

[Oliver Passey]

Shall be there as much as possible.

I have a 5 seat car that can be flat packed as well if we need more moving capacity to the storage unit.

[Des Quilty]

Do you need a Van driver on Saturday? I will be there in the afternoon either way...

[Henry Sands]

All signs point to yes

[Des Quilty]

and is there a van allocated to me to drive which will be there or should I hire a zipvan (if they are still available?)

On Friday, February 23, 2018 at 7:34:01 AM UTC, Henry Sands wrote:

All signs point to yes

[Alexander Baxevanis]

Hey guys,

Regarding the darkroom:

• Most of the things that need moving are packed in labelled boxes on the shelves just outside (darkroom "front room")
• The following additional things in the "front room" need to be taken:
• Kaiser enlarger (packed in original cardboard box)
• Darkroom tent (labelled & packed in black bag, HEAVY)
• 2x print driers 
• From the main darkroom:
• Meopta & Durst Enlargers and associated bits. The baseboard for each enlarger can be unscrewed if it helps with transporting
• DeVere enlarger is NOT TO BE PACKED. It's a long-term loan by Emmet Green and he wants it back before the move, he'll come and pick it up this weekend.
• Stuff under the enlarger table is to be moved
• Any chemicals left in the sinks that haven't been collected by members can be packed if they appear to be in bottles suitable for transport, poured out otherwise. 

That should be all! 

I'm out of the country today, but I should be able to come help on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, can sort out all the above if you'd like me to.

Thanks,

Alex

[henry...@ntlworld.com]

I'll be available to drive from 9pm Saturday until about 4am Sunday, if there is a van available for me to drive.

Else I have a car that the back seats fold flat, but there's not much headroom in it. So small loads only.

[Des Quilty]

Good progress yesterday but still plenty to do. If people are coming today, bringing a hammer, some screw drivers and face masks wouldn't be a bad idea if you have them. Adjustable spanners might also be useful.