Simple but tough challenge

Sometimes the simplest things are the toughest to design. At the Fox and Hounds Pub we have been asked to design and build the bathroom stalls. The client wanted them to be built of heavy steel and also sport a rust patina. It's my kind of project. But as I got into it I quickly found t tool=k a lot more thought and work than I imagined. Some imaginative bits were easy to incorporate. The function was most important however. Privacy conceprns limited many of my ideas. Safety too meant that anything creative had to be smooth and super durable. For some reason a few folks like to be hard on bathroom fixtures. 

In the end, after much thought, research and various design experiments I settled for simple and heavy duty in the latch and handle department. A heavy duty eye hook provided the handle and pivot point for the latch. It is rated for better than 5000 lbs so it should be plenty sturdy. Everything is welded and welded good so no one will be undoing anything in this bathroom. The steel is heavy and reinforced in every way imaginable. Time will tell if I made it strong enough to hold up for as long as I think it will.

The latch is 1/2" thick steel with a 5/8" thick bolt to hold it on. Then I welded the nut to the front side of the door to make sure no one twisted this thing apart. The handle on the latch is a solid steel ball bearing welded securely to the lever. The hinges are rated for a 2000 lb door and come complete with grease fittings for long life. They too are welded onto the door and frame. 

Almost Monday

Mondays are often a day where I spend time organizing and sorting things out for the week ahead. There are emails that piled up over the weekend to answer. Materials need ordering and decisions need to be made that will determine what happens the rest of the week. Today was actually Tuesday - but with the holiday yesterday today may as well have been Monday.

Once I arrived onsite after a little time in my office I climbed up the ladder to finish off the beam over the entry. Next will come the rest of the concrete sculpting to create the posts, and fun brickwork. It is going to look pretty cool! It is now time to design up the sign that will hang front and center.

In between a little sculpting, the afternoon was spent with the contractor and owners in a series of meetings through the project. It is time for a whole new series of decisions that will determine where everything will go. This includes the many pieces of eye candy and signs that will grace the walls and set the mood.

Things are coming together so quickly. There is no time to even blink!

-gampa dan

From dream to reality!

With some of our larger projects that go on for months progress sometimes seem slow to outsiders. The reality is quite different. I and my crew are working on many areas at once. Making room for other trades means we switch jobs regularly, jumping from project to project - a little here - a little there, then back again for more progress. But things are happening and the project is coming together. We are concentrating on the outside entry these last few days days and making good progress. Inside, the carpenters are busy putting up all the wood trim before we begin final paint. Many other details are constanty being sorted out throughout the project and necessary steps taken to put things into motion.

The building has been transformed to look so much like the concept drawings done weeks ago. Only in three dimensions it is pure magic!

Often theme work stops instantly outside of the public areas. We are striving to do better on this project by continuing the theme to all sight lines possible. This is the view into the food preparation area and the kitchen.

In the dining room we are down to final paint. It is coming together at last.

This is what we do on a daily basis and I never get tired of coming to work each day. We get to dream up marvelous ideas and then create what we have dreamed. It is much more fun than working!

-dan