Where we’re at… The Build
It’s always exciting starting a demo and kicking off construction on a project. Anticipation builds throughout the design process, and it always feels like a relief to see progress starting on the work. Definitely not the most glamorous phase for many but this is the stuff we live for! A time to start new and see a space cleared. Since we were storing a lot of stuff in our basement we spent a solid week going through it and giving it away or throwing away what we didn’t need. It wasn’t a small job as a collection of garbage had been collected. We actually had to call a dumpster over from one of our job site to physically get everything loaded out or else our local garbage men would be collecting basement trash for a good couple months. The space was finally a blank slate and now we have started the building phase!
The first thing we did was start framing out some of the new walls. The existing walls in the basement are nothing special, just your traditional stone foundation. We were too excited to see the space start taking shape. We have the new wall that will hide the gas meters, water main, and sewer already framed! We also furred out the longest wall in the space. The columns where the arches will go are really helping us finally visualize the space.
Originally we were going to leave our pipes exposed where the plumbing from upstairs is coiled into the basement ceiling. Given we are going to apply a tin ceiling to the basement space, unfortunately we need these pipes cleared now. We are going to pause for a bit on the framing to move these lines so that they are out of the way. Once we get moved we can continue framing, ideally we get to this by the weekend.
Full Speed Ahead
We feel like we made a lot of progress in the first week of construction, but we have so much work to do that we are planning on getting even more done in the next week. We are planning on completing the plumbing and electrical work, sanding down the concrete floors, and finishing the framing all by early next week.
In the meantime, so much amazing stuff is arriving! We are excited to see the 4 vintage doors onsite that we’ll be installing in the space. We received a phone call yesterday that the tin ceiling palette from American Tin Ceiling will be delivered today, and we have a stack of drywall ready to go up! The millwork has already started to be built offsite by our local woodworker (and friend!) The Build with Ethan! This is so exciting because it can be installed quickly once it’s delivered. Now, we just need to land on the perfect color! Any ideas!? We’re still thinking about something in the green family…
We’re also so excited to be working with ebay on furnishing our speakeasy space! We must finalize the furniture and decoration items that will help officially give the feel of a 1920’s NYC speakeasy so we must place our order this week! There’s no room for procrastination on our end anymore!
Make sure and check out what the other 19 featured designers are up to with their spaces. They are keeping us motivated each and every day throughout this challenge!
If you’re wanting to take a look back to see how we got here, check out our past ORC posts
