Pretty much every week in MoregeousLand brings something I haven’t done before, it’s one of the best things about my job and why I never get bored doing it! Down at the Baths, which our new social enterprise took over running in June, the reception area was becoming a major source of irritation for new manager Dennis and his team. How the council staff coped before is anyone’s guess, with only the area on the right to talk through and everyone else in the queue shouting through a solid pane of glass. Virtually impossible on a busy night, especially with Zumba on and Jo’s salsa beat drowning out enquiries!
One option was to remove the large pane on the above left altogether, but this would leave the poor staff exposed to wintery blasts through the front doors and also issues with accessibility and vulnerability.
A new pane with a horizontal slit approx 100mm high and 1000mm wide was mooted but cutting such a large section out of the glass pane left it with no structural integrity and likely to break in two during manufacture or installation. Hmmmmmm, thinking-cap instead of swim-cap time……
What else could we do in a fabulous swimming baths but add some bubbles to proceedings?!
Positioned at different heights, the largest bubbles allow cards and money to be passed through and the smaller ones look cool but also allow taller gymmers and swimmers to talk without bending. Perfect! My glass manufacturer gave it the go ahead and soon the large, 6mm thick, toughened piece was sitting in Studio 2 waiting for me & the ever patient Mr M to install it. Which we just did today 🙂
Removing the old pane was fairly easy once the wooden edging strips were removed and the glass adhesive teased away. We chiselled away at the timber base to create a lower frame, annoying reception who were busy signing up new members with constant hammering and banging for a couple of hours – sorry Ruth!
Everyone mucked in and three lines of glass adhesive, some panel pins later and a bit of polish later, we are now bubbles a go-go. If you’re wondering whether it’s possible to have several funky holes cut into a pane of glass, wonder no longer and design away, it’s totally possible and we love ours!
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