Minchin Biv rebuild

Minchin Biv after being rebuilt in 2016

Minchin Biv was one of the first full rebuilds of a S86 biv funded by the Outdoor Recreation Consortium back in February 2016. Built in 1958, Minchin Biv was one of the first bivs built to the new standard S86 design but its sad decline had been noticed over the past 20 years, punctuated by periodical inspections to record its continuing lack of water tightness. In the early days of the Outdoor Recreation Consortium, Roger Woods stepped in with a proposal to rebuild the biv and applied for funding in Round 3.

Rebuilding the new frame

Roger went in with Colin Morris and Liz Weir on the 21st of February 2016 and over three days the team took the biv to pieces and faithfully rebuilt it. The weather forecast meant the time pressure was tight so the first day involved working quite late to strip the biv right back to the frame.

The original cladding was found to be in pretty good condition and most of the internal frame issues were from the cladding joins opening up over time and allowing the moisture to get into the frame. The replacement framing was H3 treated and the building was re-wrapped before refitting the cladding. This took a further days work and on the final day the team got going on the inside. The biv was lined with ply and then new bunks and a small bench was installed. The tie downs were all refitted and checked to finish this superb restoration.

On a later follow up trip Colin and Roger applied another coat of polyurethane to the inside as well as fitting a small venting pipe and a stainless steel splash back. This historic biv looks well set now for another 50 years.

Refitting the original cladding

Front elevation after restoration

Finished interior