Here’s a pretty simple, small repair job we just completed. Someone ran into the local bookstore (intoxicated – walked away uninjured, they tell me). I bid at around 17k, did pretty good on this one.
This is how it looked when I got there – someone had boarded up the broken window.
“…an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable.”
Jim Blodgett
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another view of the board-up
"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
the view from the outside (someone -not me -added a little humor to the board-up).
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
The view inside the column in front.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Here you can see what you're looking at a little better.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Below the window. Gotta love it - building exteriors made out of styrofoam!
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
The 6" baseboard - I knew this would be hard to match, and it was!
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
We had a temporary fence set up on the outside, to keep foot traffic out of the work zone, and for security.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Kinda cool, this pole-whacker they use to set the poles in the ground.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Inside, we moved a section of shelves, and built a temporary wall out of 20 ga. steel studs and 1/2" osb both sides.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Teddy is 67, and Richard (in the painter pants) is 50 and a diabetic. Teddy outworks Richard, and a lot of other people I know! The guy is retired from GM, and hates sitting at home, so he works full time, and does side jobs on weekends!
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Bob, on the right, is a contractor friend of mine, and Robert, on the left, is my foreman - a good, conscientious guy, but with limited construction experience. Also an ex gang-banger who has turned his life around.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
We cut the 20 ga. studs with this old 10" makita with a metal-cutting blade. Not the ideal setup, the blade wanted to wobble a lot, so you had to "kiss" the metal stud with the blade as you started up, so that the blade would stay in one place. But if you tried with the channel facing up, hoo-boy, the blade would blow-up in your face! (don't ask how I know). Anyway, if I do it again maybe I'll spring for a 14" chop-saw thats made for doing this.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Here's our construction zone wall in place - we angled one corner at 45 degrees so that customers would have access to the card rack there - not like anyone said "thanks" for taking the trouble. Only thing the manager ever said was "when can I have my store back - I've got Harry Potter on the way!"
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Edited 7/18/2007 9:05 am by Huck
With the wall up, we took the board-up sheets down.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
looking good I think...
there was so much band width that the system timed out and all I got was red X's...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The roof drain pipe was cracked all the way down into the slab.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Had the glass crew out to remove the rest of the storefront glass in the repair area.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
No more pics?
come on, your last post was at 2:07 AM. It's been 6 hours.
What, you need to sleep or something?
Ah yes, back to work! I left off with the glass guys removing the storefront window. The windows were the biggest overhead expense, by the way, costing over 6k. I chose the contractor because he did the original install, and was familiar with the job. However, he caused some delays, and was not good about communication/returning phone calls, and tried billing the client (he claims by accident!) when he finished.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
demolition!
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
There's a man inside the column, jackhammering to remove the cracked drain pipe.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
This is as far as it went, before I called a halt and decided to take a different approach. This concrete here is the top of the structural footing for the steel post seen in the earlier pics, so I didn't want to go hog-wild with the jackhammering. I ulitimately decided to remove the cracked pipe down to the slab, and then repair the remaining hairline crack in the slab with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, like I used to do on my surfboard ding repairs.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Here you can see my fiberglass repair. You can't see the crack, but if you look at the top edge of the pipe, on the right, you can just see the hairline crack I was concerned about. Tough working in such a confined space!
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
The little guy on the crew gets the small-space jobs! This is Jesse, the plumber on the job.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
This is my "security" system: the temporary wall, then these railings left over from another project just leaned up to look discouraging to kids, then the chain-link fence, which was padlocked every night. In truth, if someone was determined, they could have lifted a ceilng tile and gone over the wall. But the ceiling is at just over 12' high, and the work area is well-lighted all night, and on a very busy street just around the corner from the police station.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Plumbing repairs completed, and the concrete patched.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Framing completed. I can't remember what they're called, but we used a retrofit anchor bolt that installs real easy, just drill the slab, and then use an impact wrench to "screw" the bolt in. Accepted by code here.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Edited 7/18/2007 9:13 am by Huck
The drywall inside the window is just furring, to match the existing condition. The wall on the left has been floated with mud, to cover the wallpaper, and prep it for new wallpaper.
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
We passed framing inspection, and insulation inspection, and then the inspector told me just call when we're finished, for final. Which is good, because he let me skip the drywall nailing/exterior lathing inspections. Here's the column, with the plumbing repairs covered over.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
We borrowed a brake, and bent some sheet metal flashing. Then the stucco guy began with the foam (which serves also as the moisture barrier, apparently - as there was no paper/wrap on the original building).
edited to add: the pipe you see here is an overflow/test for the fire-suppression sprinklers.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Edited 7/18/2007 9:03 am by Huck
The stucco contractor is a busy man! ("yes, Dear, I'll pick up some tp on the way home")
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Hi-tech foam cutting tools! Man, this is a messy job - white foam snow everywhere.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Drywall getting finished inside - the ugly carpet is a remnant from another job, to protect the store's carpet.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Dryvit over foam - 1st coat
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
1st coat completed (I think he called it the "primus" coat).
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
"Stucco" finished, storefront installed (after several scheduling delays by the flakey glass company), and awning fixed and installed. Man, it was a close fit. They measured before we finished the opening, because of a long lead time. So I sweated this one. When it arrived, it was so close, I swear one more coat of paint and it wouldn't have gone in!
The awning was bent and busted at the corners in a few places. The frame is aluminum. We just straightened it out by hand, then screwed metal braces in the broken corners, and pained them black. Very strong. Had a new canvas made and applied over the patched frame, cost $200.
The paint did not match exactly, but thankfully no one called me on it (that would never happen with a residential project! - why I like commercial work when I can get it). Problem is, on that busy street, the existing surface is darkened by automotive soot. Where you notice it most is the bug-out band below the lamp at the corner - below the band is lighter than above the band. You can also notice the area below the window on our repair area compared to the area below the adjacent window.
Next time, I'll buy a quart of black, and mix it on site to match the existing a little better. I saved money by not trying to match the Dryvit exactly, but did the final color match with paint. There were actually three different colors on this part of the building.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
...[Message truncated]
Edited 7/18/2007 3:10 pm by Huck
Edited 7/18/2007 7:09 pm by Huck
And the inside completed. The baseboard did not match exactly, I paid a cabinet shop about $350 to set up a cutter and mill a profile very similar, same height. Corner to corner, no one noticed.
Oh yeah, and I did a dumb thing when they put the storefront glass in. I waited til they finished, then went to cut my trim. Oops, no access to power once the glass was in. The glass guys let me borrow their Yamaha compressor - sweeeet!
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=503&osCsid=a3b122ea369ad7cf863681c2bdaf0313
The wallpaper was an adventure, too. I decided to do it myself, and save. Hah. Spent one day fighting it - trying to put it up in 100 degree weather, before the window was in, with wind gusting and blowing my wallpaper around and drying my glue, as I tried to get it hung. Contrary to what the guy at the paint store told me, I found even with unpasted wallpaper (like this), its best to soak it in water before installing. When I came back with a helper for a second try the next day, it went much smoother.
The wallpaper color did not match exactly (they provided it), but they said its OK, it'll fade to match (again, when would that happen on a residential project?). Once it was completed, you can't even notice. And they got their store back in time for Dirty Harry (Potter).
I was glad I got the wallpaper up before the glass went it - that way they went over the wallpaper when they caulked in the frame, and it looks real clean and professional.
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"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
Edited 7/18/2007 3:24 pm by Huck
So that's it. Job completed in about 4 weeks, and the check's in the mail (soon, I hope. 45 day billing cycle with these guys)
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View Image"...an open mind is a powerful thing. The ability to listen to others is invaluable."
Jim Blodgett
thanks , Huck.... nice story... good pics... good editing
good job !Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I'm amazed that you could do that job for only $17,000. It would also be nice to know more about how to repair stuccoflex or drivit or whatever you call it. We have lots of here around town, but all the contractors that have installed it are out of business. Tooooo many lawsuits about leaking and rotting. Our insurance specifically excludes us from installing it. And if we've ever touched it in the past, I'm not sure if we could get insurance.
Thanks for posting the thread. I'll be watching as this comes together.
How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to Dayton? [Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey]