Wow....
I just updated the status page on our website. I was struck by how damn close we are to finishing up everything that's required of us. We're nearly done!
It's been an unusual time for both Karl and me. Periods of massive stress followed by periods of major relief. Whatta rollercoaster this has been!
Showing posts with label Karl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karl. Show all posts
Friday, June 3, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Babysitting
Yesterday, both Karl and I went babysitting. We spent the entire day at the bar babysitting Demo Guy's apparently mildly inept crew. We were there to make sure the final truss (that should have been installed an entire month ago today) was finally installed correctly and according to the engineered plans.
At first, I was very happy to see Demo Guy on the roof working with his crew to make sure the sign at the front of the bar was re-attached correctly to the roof (like it should have been done a month ago) to help ensure it doesn't fall off the building. (Karl had sort of secured it earlier; they just came back to fix their screw up in how the sign was handled during demolition.) I thought, "Yay! He's actually going to supervise his crew!"
There was a brief disagreement on how the strapping should be done to the final truss. (Demo Guy was still insisting he was doing and had done it correctly; I believe based on a much earlier conversation with the engineer and not at all on what was approved. For some strange reason, Karl and I believe that the installation should be done according to the approved plans I know! CRAZY!) Then Demo Guy said he had to go visit his dad in the hospital and left. I was a bit annoyed at him for leaving but, in the end, I'm glad he did.
His crew, which would have been unsupervised had we not been there, didn't quite know how to do some things and we were there to correct them and answer questions. As best we could, anyway. They didn't speak too much English and we don't speak good enough Spanish. Which is one of the problems I believe Demo Guy has; he can't communicate well enough with his employees to make sure the jobs get done right the first time. And I don't think it helps that these two who came by seem to me to be little more than two stooges with hammers; I just don't think they care all that much.
I also learned why you should both watch and not watch your contractor work. It's much like watching your food being prepared in a restaurant. These guys were using nail guns to nail in the strapping. I believe that the manufacturer of the straps may specifically forbid the use of nail guns for installation but I'm not certain; I do know that I read it somewhere, though. Nail guns can make things go faster but they can also cause problems. Like, perhaps, splitting a vertical truss member in a truss you're trying to install and then having to make a new one to replace the one you broke; it's likely that hand nailing the strapping would not split the two-by-four.
At about 2:30pm yesterday, Demo Guy's crew was done with this job. We think forever. We believe the installation will pass inspection which is scheduled for today and we can finally move on to other things. Like insulation and getting a damn roof on the place.
At first, I was very happy to see Demo Guy on the roof working with his crew to make sure the sign at the front of the bar was re-attached correctly to the roof (like it should have been done a month ago) to help ensure it doesn't fall off the building. (Karl had sort of secured it earlier; they just came back to fix their screw up in how the sign was handled during demolition.) I thought, "Yay! He's actually going to supervise his crew!"
There was a brief disagreement on how the strapping should be done to the final truss. (Demo Guy was still insisting he was doing and had done it correctly; I believe based on a much earlier conversation with the engineer and not at all on what was approved. For some strange reason, Karl and I believe that the installation should be done according to the approved plans I know! CRAZY!) Then Demo Guy said he had to go visit his dad in the hospital and left. I was a bit annoyed at him for leaving but, in the end, I'm glad he did.
His crew, which would have been unsupervised had we not been there, didn't quite know how to do some things and we were there to correct them and answer questions. As best we could, anyway. They didn't speak too much English and we don't speak good enough Spanish. Which is one of the problems I believe Demo Guy has; he can't communicate well enough with his employees to make sure the jobs get done right the first time. And I don't think it helps that these two who came by seem to me to be little more than two stooges with hammers; I just don't think they care all that much.
I also learned why you should both watch and not watch your contractor work. It's much like watching your food being prepared in a restaurant. These guys were using nail guns to nail in the strapping. I believe that the manufacturer of the straps may specifically forbid the use of nail guns for installation but I'm not certain; I do know that I read it somewhere, though. Nail guns can make things go faster but they can also cause problems. Like, perhaps, splitting a vertical truss member in a truss you're trying to install and then having to make a new one to replace the one you broke; it's likely that hand nailing the strapping would not split the two-by-four.
At about 2:30pm yesterday, Demo Guy's crew was done with this job. We think forever. We believe the installation will pass inspection which is scheduled for today and we can finally move on to other things. Like insulation and getting a damn roof on the place.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What's Behind Curtain Number 1?
Turns out, more curtains...
The soda shop style bar stools at the bar are quaint but difficult to work on and are slowly deteriorating. I've called them a "Law Suit Waiting to Happen". (I don't drink that much and even I've had, shall we say, "trouble" with the bar stools.) So, they have to go.
First step: Get rid of them!
Second step is... Uh, I guess there is no second step.
We started getting rid of them on Monday. First, we had to remove the carpet and reveal some of the structure to see what the heck was going on under there. And it turns out it'll be fairly easy to remove. Under the carpet is some delightful vinyl flooring. I'm sure it matched beautifully with the pink and turquoise the building used to be painted.
We have some nice ideas for what to do with the area down there below the bar on the customer side and, for the most part, you'll have to wait to know what that is until later.
From this point in removing the bar stools, we decided it'd be easiest with electricity. There's some wood that'll need to be removed and that'll be easiest with a circular saw. Electricity should be available in about a week. Until then, here are some pictures to entertain yourself with.
The soda shop style bar stools at the bar are quaint but difficult to work on and are slowly deteriorating. I've called them a "Law Suit Waiting to Happen". (I don't drink that much and even I've had, shall we say, "trouble" with the bar stools.) So, they have to go.
First step: Get rid of them!
Second step is... Uh, I guess there is no second step.
We started getting rid of them on Monday. First, we had to remove the carpet and reveal some of the structure to see what the heck was going on under there. And it turns out it'll be fairly easy to remove. Under the carpet is some delightful vinyl flooring. I'm sure it matched beautifully with the pink and turquoise the building used to be painted.
My! What lovely vinyl floor covering!
We have some nice ideas for what to do with the area down there below the bar on the customer side and, for the most part, you'll have to wait to know what that is until later.
From this point in removing the bar stools, we decided it'd be easiest with electricity. There's some wood that'll need to be removed and that'll be easiest with a circular saw. Electricity should be available in about a week. Until then, here are some pictures to entertain yourself with.
Don't touch that! You don't know where it's been!
Bryan getting ripped.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Workin' on the Fence Line
We've begun the final work on putting in the rest of the replacement fence. Last week, we got the materials to complete the fence.
Then, on Monday this week (after our visit to City Hall), we dug the post holes and set the posts.
The pickets will be nailed up soon. The concrete hasn't quite set well enough just yet.
Karl has wood
I should probably help with the concrete rather than just taking pictures...
Here's what it looked like before we started doing anything.
(Someone really oughta paint this place.)
Then, on Monday this week (after our visit to City Hall), we dug the post holes and set the posts.
Dig, Bryan! DIG!!!
What? I'm diggin' here!
Karl beginning the Anvil Chorus.
No, he didn't miss. This was after he hit the metal thing with the other metal thing.
The pickets will be nailed up soon. The concrete hasn't quite set well enough just yet.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Not-So-Lovely Rain and Other Bullstuff
(It's a long one; better strap yourself in.)
As you know, we got our building permit on Monday, March 21. That week, it rained pretty heavily so construction couldn't begin immediately. We had been in contact with the Demo Guy (our demolition and construction contractor; not his real name) and he said he'd be ready to start on March 28.
Well, March 28 rolls around and he's not done with the previous job. He blamed it on the rain the previous week. Seems fairly reasonable. Said he would be able to start on Wednesday and that he wanted to meet with Karl on Tuesday to go over the job one final time before getting crews there.
Also on March 28, the A/C guy was going to come and remove the on-roof A/C unit for cleaning and storage during the demolition. He comes with a crane and removes the unit. And that took pretty much all day so it's probably good that Demo Guy wasn't ready to start on the 28th.
Demo Guy and Karl meet on Tuesday to go over the job and Demo Guy says he'd have his crew start on Thursday. On Wednesday, Karl spent a lot of the day at the bar doing "stuff". Fixing stucco problems, building fences where there weren't fences before and that sort of thing.
Thursday rolls around and Demo Guy still isn't ready to start and he'd start on Friday. We start to see a pattern.
That pattern is reinforced on Friday, April 1, as well. He's still not ready. But he will be most definitely, positively, absolutely be ready and start on Monday, April 4. Careful readers will note that's one week after he first said he'd be able to start.
Early Friday afternoon (April 1) Karl heads from home to the bar to do some work (I forget exactly what). Later that day, the truss company called and told us the trusses would be ready for delivery on Monday, April 4; the same day that Demo Guy was to finally begin work demolishing the roof. That seemed perfect to Karl and me but the Demo Guy wanted us to delay the delivery of the trusses until April 11. This said to both Karl and me that the demolition would take a week. (Considering the work, a week always did seem a little long; Demo Guy originally said the entire job would take two weeks. But I digress.)
Karl spent the weekend in Fresno doing various work on the bar. Monday morning rolls around and Karl heads to the bar in the early morning and meets Demo Guy and his crew. They start removing the roof and its trusses and, after a while, Karl leaves to let them do their work.
Later that day, Karl returns and finds the demolition complete. All of it. Trusses, old metal roof, old shingles, old sheathing all ripped off and put into a dumpster. The process that we thought would take a week took a single day. (A very long day, to be sure, but a day nonetheless.) This was a nice surprise! (But then why did Demo Guy want to wait a week to start putting up the trusses and why did he have us delay the delivery of the trusses a full week?)
The demolition broke a few things in the bar--glass counter top, a mirror, a speaker, drink rail, things like that--but that was nothing compared to the problems that were about to occur.
Since the bar was going to be without a roof for so long (upwards of two weeks) Karl wanted to sit at the bar over night to help prevent any vandalism that might occur if nobody was there to watch the place. So, Karl spends the night on Monday sitting in his car staring at the bar. Fun.
On Tuesday, we ask Demo Guy why he is leaving us without a roof for a week. Turns out Demo Guy was doing two jobs at the same time; ours and someone else's. I'm sure Demo Guy has his reasons for leaving us without a roof for a week but I don't know what they could possibly be. Looks to me that this guy seems to have a scheduling problem. It seems more logical to me to knock out one job before starting another. Is this guy so good that he's in this much demand? (Quite frankly, I doubt it; in my opinion, his attention to detail and concern for his clients seems a bit lacking.)
On Tuesday afternoon, we received the lovely "homo fagét" graffiti. And that was annoying and disturbing. I also see that there's a 30 to 70% chance of rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No roof and rain do not mix. Demo Guy has his guys off on his other job and I have no roof. We get in touch with the truss folks and they can deliver the trusses Wednesday afternoon. Why Wednesday? We want to try to get Demo Guy to start work on Wednesday afternoon in preparation of the 70% chance of rain on Thursday and we figured he'd be concerned about his client's project being damaged by rain. It was too late on Tuesday to get a hold of Demo Guy so we have to wait until morning.
For various reasons, we couldn't get a hold of Demo Guy Wednesday morning to see if he could start that afternoon. When we finally contacted Demo Guy, he said his crew could not work on our roof on Wednesday but would be working on our roof at 7:00am Thursday and, unless there's a downpour, they'd continue working to get us a roof. And, even if there was a downpour, we were assured that the crew would resume work when it cleared up.
Wednesday night, it rains. The bar gets wet. All of the bar gets wet. And Demo Guy didn't even bother to try to protect the interior with tarps or anything and didn't even offer to come help put up any sort of protection. (To be fair, we didn't either but that's not the point. The point is he didn't even seem concerned for anything but the pool table.)
Well, on Thursday Demo Guy's crew shows up at the crack of dawn again and beings working. A couple hours later, there was a 45-minute downpour and the crew left. Since Karl had been spending his nights at the bar keeping tabs on the place, he couldn't stay at the bar during the day; he had to sleep at some time, right? Before the downpour and after Demo Guy's crew had installed one truss, he went and took a nap. Mid afternoon, he gets up and heads to the bar to see what progress had been made after the rain had stopped. There was no crew working. The work had stopped, no progress had been made despite having no rain during the afternoon.
We called Demo Guy and asked him where his crew was. He did not know and could not get a hold of them! That's right, he did *not* know where his crew was and could *not* get a hold of them. To say that we were furious is a gross, massive understatement.
Demo Guy assures us up and down that, despite not knowing where they are, his crew will be there at 7:00am Friday to continue working and that his crew didn't come back on Thursday afternoon because "every time they picked up a saw, they were getting shocked" because the equipment was so saturated. (I thought, "SO IS MY BAR!!") (I don't mean to say that I wish his crew to be placed at risk of electrical shock, mind you.)
We have serious doubts about whether or not Demo Guy can even try to make good on his word about showing up on Friday morning; his track record is not exactly stellar in that regard. But, we can do nothing--literally--but believe him. What else could we do? Hire another contractor to finish the job? The place still had no roof. I'm sure we could have hired another contractor to finish the job but the annoyance of doing that would be unfathomably stressful for both of us.
Friday comes around and Demo Guy's crew shows up. I guess he finally figured out how to get a hold of his employees. Karl goes and lays down for his daily rest. Later that afternoon the crew finishes with the trusses and sheathing. The construction is complete in one day.
Also, ABC 30 comes out and does their piece on the graffiti. The police show up and assure us that they do, in fact, care about the (legally defined) hate crime of the graffiti. Ultimately, Friday ended up being a pretty great day for the bar. We simply love the vaulted ceiling (pictures coming tomorrow of that) and are thrilled to finally be at this point in the process.
In the end, Demo Guy scheduled two weeks for a job that only took two and a half days. Why he couldn't have just had the whole thing done by Wednesday before the rain started is simply beyond my comprehension. EVERYTHING was ready for him and he chose to delay things. He is the one who had us delay delivery of the trusses. He is the one with the apparent scheduling problems that made him unable to start when he first said he could. He is the one who couldn't communicate with his employees at a crucial time.
In all, the bar survived. The rain didn't cause too much obvious damage; there could still be some moisture problems with the drywall in the future but we're taking some proactive steps to help slow--if not prevent--that. It could have been a lot worse if the floor hadn't been concrete. But the problems and delays this guy caused for us are reprehensible and wholly unprofessional.
As you know, we got our building permit on Monday, March 21. That week, it rained pretty heavily so construction couldn't begin immediately. We had been in contact with the Demo Guy (our demolition and construction contractor; not his real name) and he said he'd be ready to start on March 28.
Well, March 28 rolls around and he's not done with the previous job. He blamed it on the rain the previous week. Seems fairly reasonable. Said he would be able to start on Wednesday and that he wanted to meet with Karl on Tuesday to go over the job one final time before getting crews there.
Also on March 28, the A/C guy was going to come and remove the on-roof A/C unit for cleaning and storage during the demolition. He comes with a crane and removes the unit. And that took pretty much all day so it's probably good that Demo Guy wasn't ready to start on the 28th.
Demo Guy and Karl meet on Tuesday to go over the job and Demo Guy says he'd have his crew start on Thursday. On Wednesday, Karl spent a lot of the day at the bar doing "stuff". Fixing stucco problems, building fences where there weren't fences before and that sort of thing.
Thursday rolls around and Demo Guy still isn't ready to start and he'd start on Friday. We start to see a pattern.
That pattern is reinforced on Friday, April 1, as well. He's still not ready. But he will be most definitely, positively, absolutely be ready and start on Monday, April 4. Careful readers will note that's one week after he first said he'd be able to start.
Early Friday afternoon (April 1) Karl heads from home to the bar to do some work (I forget exactly what). Later that day, the truss company called and told us the trusses would be ready for delivery on Monday, April 4; the same day that Demo Guy was to finally begin work demolishing the roof. That seemed perfect to Karl and me but the Demo Guy wanted us to delay the delivery of the trusses until April 11. This said to both Karl and me that the demolition would take a week. (Considering the work, a week always did seem a little long; Demo Guy originally said the entire job would take two weeks. But I digress.)
Karl spent the weekend in Fresno doing various work on the bar. Monday morning rolls around and Karl heads to the bar in the early morning and meets Demo Guy and his crew. They start removing the roof and its trusses and, after a while, Karl leaves to let them do their work.
Later that day, Karl returns and finds the demolition complete. All of it. Trusses, old metal roof, old shingles, old sheathing all ripped off and put into a dumpster. The process that we thought would take a week took a single day. (A very long day, to be sure, but a day nonetheless.) This was a nice surprise! (But then why did Demo Guy want to wait a week to start putting up the trusses and why did he have us delay the delivery of the trusses a full week?)
The demolition broke a few things in the bar--glass counter top, a mirror, a speaker, drink rail, things like that--but that was nothing compared to the problems that were about to occur.
Since the bar was going to be without a roof for so long (upwards of two weeks) Karl wanted to sit at the bar over night to help prevent any vandalism that might occur if nobody was there to watch the place. So, Karl spends the night on Monday sitting in his car staring at the bar. Fun.
On Tuesday, we ask Demo Guy why he is leaving us without a roof for a week. Turns out Demo Guy was doing two jobs at the same time; ours and someone else's. I'm sure Demo Guy has his reasons for leaving us without a roof for a week but I don't know what they could possibly be. Looks to me that this guy seems to have a scheduling problem. It seems more logical to me to knock out one job before starting another. Is this guy so good that he's in this much demand? (Quite frankly, I doubt it; in my opinion, his attention to detail and concern for his clients seems a bit lacking.)
On Tuesday afternoon, we received the lovely "homo fagét" graffiti. And that was annoying and disturbing. I also see that there's a 30 to 70% chance of rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No roof and rain do not mix. Demo Guy has his guys off on his other job and I have no roof. We get in touch with the truss folks and they can deliver the trusses Wednesday afternoon. Why Wednesday? We want to try to get Demo Guy to start work on Wednesday afternoon in preparation of the 70% chance of rain on Thursday and we figured he'd be concerned about his client's project being damaged by rain. It was too late on Tuesday to get a hold of Demo Guy so we have to wait until morning.
For various reasons, we couldn't get a hold of Demo Guy Wednesday morning to see if he could start that afternoon. When we finally contacted Demo Guy, he said his crew could not work on our roof on Wednesday but would be working on our roof at 7:00am Thursday and, unless there's a downpour, they'd continue working to get us a roof. And, even if there was a downpour, we were assured that the crew would resume work when it cleared up.
Wednesday night, it rains. The bar gets wet. All of the bar gets wet. And Demo Guy didn't even bother to try to protect the interior with tarps or anything and didn't even offer to come help put up any sort of protection. (To be fair, we didn't either but that's not the point. The point is he didn't even seem concerned for anything but the pool table.)
Well, on Thursday Demo Guy's crew shows up at the crack of dawn again and beings working. A couple hours later, there was a 45-minute downpour and the crew left. Since Karl had been spending his nights at the bar keeping tabs on the place, he couldn't stay at the bar during the day; he had to sleep at some time, right? Before the downpour and after Demo Guy's crew had installed one truss, he went and took a nap. Mid afternoon, he gets up and heads to the bar to see what progress had been made after the rain had stopped. There was no crew working. The work had stopped, no progress had been made despite having no rain during the afternoon.
We called Demo Guy and asked him where his crew was. He did not know and could not get a hold of them! That's right, he did *not* know where his crew was and could *not* get a hold of them. To say that we were furious is a gross, massive understatement.
Demo Guy assures us up and down that, despite not knowing where they are, his crew will be there at 7:00am Friday to continue working and that his crew didn't come back on Thursday afternoon because "every time they picked up a saw, they were getting shocked" because the equipment was so saturated. (I thought, "SO IS MY BAR!!") (I don't mean to say that I wish his crew to be placed at risk of electrical shock, mind you.)
We have serious doubts about whether or not Demo Guy can even try to make good on his word about showing up on Friday morning; his track record is not exactly stellar in that regard. But, we can do nothing--literally--but believe him. What else could we do? Hire another contractor to finish the job? The place still had no roof. I'm sure we could have hired another contractor to finish the job but the annoyance of doing that would be unfathomably stressful for both of us.
Friday comes around and Demo Guy's crew shows up. I guess he finally figured out how to get a hold of his employees. Karl goes and lays down for his daily rest. Later that afternoon the crew finishes with the trusses and sheathing. The construction is complete in one day.
Also, ABC 30 comes out and does their piece on the graffiti. The police show up and assure us that they do, in fact, care about the (legally defined) hate crime of the graffiti. Ultimately, Friday ended up being a pretty great day for the bar. We simply love the vaulted ceiling (pictures coming tomorrow of that) and are thrilled to finally be at this point in the process.
In the end, Demo Guy scheduled two weeks for a job that only took two and a half days. Why he couldn't have just had the whole thing done by Wednesday before the rain started is simply beyond my comprehension. EVERYTHING was ready for him and he chose to delay things. He is the one who had us delay delivery of the trusses. He is the one with the apparent scheduling problems that made him unable to start when he first said he could. He is the one who couldn't communicate with his employees at a crucial time.
In all, the bar survived. The rain didn't cause too much obvious damage; there could still be some moisture problems with the drywall in the future but we're taking some proactive steps to help slow--if not prevent--that. It could have been a lot worse if the floor hadn't been concrete. But the problems and delays this guy caused for us are reprehensible and wholly unprofessional.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wide Open Space
(Ok, not so wide and open, I guess.)
Got the stuff we don't want in the bar during construction out of the bar. Demolition of the roof can begin whenever they're ready to start. (Whenever that turns out to be....)
Here's a blurry panorama of the bar ready for work. Wave hello to Karl at the window.
Got the stuff we don't want in the bar during construction out of the bar. Demolition of the roof can begin whenever they're ready to start. (Whenever that turns out to be....)
Here's a blurry panorama of the bar ready for work. Wave hello to Karl at the window.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Time to go Shopping!
I'm not as thrilled about this as the exclamation point in the post title might lead you to believe.
The solution to the electrical plans, uh, issue I mentioned yesterday is for Karl and I to go shopping for specific light fixtures that will fit in with the Title 24 requirements. For us, that apparently means we can't have more than 1,115 watts being used for lighting for the entire bar.
Our engineer guy originally specified 35w low voltage halogens for some of the fixtures. But, when he tried to find the fixures online, he, too, found that 35w low voltage halogen light fixtures of that type don't exist. So, we go shopping. Yay.
We have to come up with a lighting plan that will not use more than 1,115 watts for the entire bar. Shouldn't be too dififcult but will probably involve some calculus-type calculations. (Ok, that might be a bit of a stretch but should work out alright.)
In every construction project, there is probably something that should have been done much differently than it was done. (It was that way for us when we got our house; though, I now forget what that was.) The electrical plans and design are probably that aspect for this project. But, no worries. It'll all work out in the end.
The solution to the electrical plans, uh, issue I mentioned yesterday is for Karl and I to go shopping for specific light fixtures that will fit in with the Title 24 requirements. For us, that apparently means we can't have more than 1,115 watts being used for lighting for the entire bar.
Our engineer guy originally specified 35w low voltage halogens for some of the fixtures. But, when he tried to find the fixures online, he, too, found that 35w low voltage halogen light fixtures of that type don't exist. So, we go shopping. Yay.
We have to come up with a lighting plan that will not use more than 1,115 watts for the entire bar. Shouldn't be too dififcult but will probably involve some calculus-type calculations. (Ok, that might be a bit of a stretch but should work out alright.)
In every construction project, there is probably something that should have been done much differently than it was done. (It was that way for us when we got our house; though, I now forget what that was.) The electrical plans and design are probably that aspect for this project. But, no worries. It'll all work out in the end.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Lighting Lacking
Well, here's a great annoyance....
Turns out some of the fixtures our electrical plans called for may not exist. (Or, if they do exist, they're so far out of our budget it's not worth even thinking about them.)
We were originally told to just to to a home improvement store and pick out some fixtures and write down the model numbers and such. When Karl got to the store, he was told by the store's "electrical specialist" (or whatever he was called) that several of the fixtures don't exist.
Karl is meeting (right now) with the guy who drew them to try to figure out what to do about this problem.
Turns out some of the fixtures our electrical plans called for may not exist. (Or, if they do exist, they're so far out of our budget it's not worth even thinking about them.)
We were originally told to just to to a home improvement store and pick out some fixtures and write down the model numbers and such. When Karl got to the store, he was told by the store's "electrical specialist" (or whatever he was called) that several of the fixtures don't exist.
Karl is meeting (right now) with the guy who drew them to try to figure out what to do about this problem.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Yep. Jinxed.
Yep. I jinxed it yesterday.
Plans weren't submitted. There was a bit of a, shall we say, scheduling issue. Karl has left the house and is currently on his way to pick up plans, get confused, get things straighted out, get confuddled, get that straightened out and spend more money.
I'll either post an update later today or over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the liquor license transfer is about to be complete. It should be ours by Tuesday of next week. (Not that it'll do us much good at this point but it's good to have that nearly done.)
Plans weren't submitted. There was a bit of a, shall we say, scheduling issue. Karl has left the house and is currently on his way to pick up plans, get confused, get things straighted out, get confuddled, get that straightened out and spend more money.
I'll either post an update later today or over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the liquor license transfer is about to be complete. It should be ours by Tuesday of next week. (Not that it'll do us much good at this point but it's good to have that nearly done.)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Color Test, Part 2
It seems my hints have been not obvious enough. Maybe a few different shapes would help.
Can you figure out where we took these colors from? And where you may have seen them before?
Can you figure out where we took these colors from? And where you may have seen them before?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Healthy Plans Day
Progress continues. Later today, we're heading to the Health Department to get their stamp of approval on our plans. Shouldn't take too long. I'm hoping to just have them look at them for about five minutes and then go *KA-CHUNK!* with their little stamp. But, they could require to hold them for up to two weeks.
Considering that they only thing they've asked for is either unbreakable bulbs or enclosed fixtures over the bar and semi-gloss paint on the ceiling in the bathrooms I think it'll go fast.
Hopefully, this Magical Hoop™ doesn't move too far from where it is today.
Considering that they only thing they've asked for is either unbreakable bulbs or enclosed fixtures over the bar and semi-gloss paint on the ceiling in the bathrooms I think it'll go fast.
Hopefully, this Magical Hoop™ doesn't move too far from where it is today.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Theme Nights! Get your theme nights!
We're asking for your opinions on theme nights for The Phoenix. Neither Karl nor I are really sure that they're necessary or if they're just a distraction.
We've added a survey to our web site to help make up our minds. Your responses are anonymous and voluntary. The survey is not scientific. (Though, you should know that since we use Google Analytics on our website, we may be able to get your IP address from the survey. I doubt it, though, since I didn't install the tracking code to the survey pages.)
Please, give the survey a once over, give us your opinion on the various themes we have in mind and whether or not you even care. The survey will be up through the end of March. Though, it may get extended.
We've added a survey to our web site to help make up our minds. Your responses are anonymous and voluntary. The survey is not scientific. (Though, you should know that since we use Google Analytics on our website, we may be able to get your IP address from the survey. I doubt it, though, since I didn't install the tracking code to the survey pages.)
Please, give the survey a once over, give us your opinion on the various themes we have in mind and whether or not you even care. The survey will be up through the end of March. Though, it may get extended.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Color Test
Karl thought it would be interesting to see who could come up with the answer to this question.
These are among the chosen colors for The Phoenix. Can you identify what they all have in common?
These are among the chosen colors for The Phoenix. Can you identify what they all have in common?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Karl Dumps on Art
Karl occasionally gets all artsy and stuff. This is a picture he took while I was tearing out part of the old burned out fence.
Ok, in reality, I think this was trying to show the fire damage to the fence and wasn't intended to be art at all. But there it is.
Ok, in reality, I think this was trying to show the fire damage to the fence and wasn't intended to be art at all. But there it is.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Don't Fence Me In
No, actually, go ahead and fence me in.
I mentioned earlier the world's tiniest homeless encampment behind the bar and that we were going to put in a fence to help them move on with their lives. This is what the "fence" looked like before Karl and David started working.
Lovely, ain't it.
And here is after.
Karl loves the fence.
Cheesy pictures aside, the fence has already had the desired effect. The patio has not been touched since the fence went up. In my mind, this was money well spent.
(And don't worry, the fence is not complete. We need to leave the side of the building accessible to the demolition crew for the dumpster. The rest of the fence (down the side of the building) will be constructed after the roof work is complete.)
I mentioned earlier the world's tiniest homeless encampment behind the bar and that we were going to put in a fence to help them move on with their lives. This is what the "fence" looked like before Karl and David started working.
And here is after.
Karl loves the fence.
Cheesy pictures aside, the fence has already had the desired effect. The patio has not been touched since the fence went up. In my mind, this was money well spent.
(And don't worry, the fence is not complete. We need to leave the side of the building accessible to the demolition crew for the dumpster. The rest of the fence (down the side of the building) will be constructed after the roof work is complete.)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Fence Demolition
Happy Valentine's Day!
Sometimes, before you can move on to your new love, you have to break up with the old one. Here are a couple pictures of us breaking up with our old fence--it was too wrinkled and weak to continue in the relationship.
And one final picture that was taken after the fence was completely taken out. (Thanks to David for helping finish the demolition.)
Ah! Whatta lovely picture of our baby! All naked and fence-less! (I hope he gets cuter as he gets older...)
Sometimes, before you can move on to your new love, you have to break up with the old one. Here are a couple pictures of us breaking up with our old fence--it was too wrinkled and weak to continue in the relationship.
And one final picture that was taken after the fence was completely taken out. (Thanks to David for helping finish the demolition.)
Ah! Whatta lovely picture of our baby! All naked and fence-less! (I hope he gets cuter as he gets older...)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Doors Deemed Done
New doors!
Yesterday, David and Karl finished muscle-ing in the doors. We now have two, gleaming white steel doors on the building! Yay! (How long the doors will actually stay gleaming white? Who knows...)
We'll have pictures up later. Just don't laugh too much when you see how badly I stuck on the address numbers on the door. They're temporary anyway.
With as slow as the process is going, I'll take any bit of progress I can get; no matter how small it seems.
Yesterday, David and Karl finished muscle-ing in the doors. We now have two, gleaming white steel doors on the building! Yay! (How long the doors will actually stay gleaming white? Who knows...)
We'll have pictures up later. Just don't laugh too much when you see how badly I stuck on the address numbers on the door. They're temporary anyway.
With as slow as the process is going, I'll take any bit of progress I can get; no matter how small it seems.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"...Who's There?"
One of the absloute delights of owning a building more than 50 years old is some of the adventures that go on when trying to do simple things like, reinstalling a door.
Building sag; they go off square, they go off level, and they go off plumb. It's just charming how those things can screw with something made new that is plumb, level and square. You know, like a brand new, custom-made door.
After hours of pushing and sweating and otherwise shoving the old building in directions it didn't really want to go, Karl and David got one of the two doors installed. And that took all day. But it's in and it's solid and it opens the right direction. All is well in the world. (At least until they go do the other door.)
Building sag; they go off square, they go off level, and they go off plumb. It's just charming how those things can screw with something made new that is plumb, level and square. You know, like a brand new, custom-made door.
After hours of pushing and sweating and otherwise shoving the old building in directions it didn't really want to go, Karl and David got one of the two doors installed. And that took all day. But it's in and it's solid and it opens the right direction. All is well in the world. (At least until they go do the other door.)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"Knock! Knock!"
Early this morning, Karl stole away from the house under cover of fog. He stole away silently--barely disturbing the dogs--and left me to sleep. Perhaps he waved goodbye from the bedroom door as I lay in bed sleeping and dreaming. Perhaps I wax too pedantically poetic.
He had an appointment in Fresno. A vital appointment. An appointment so vital that, without having made it to the appointment, the doors of the bar would never be opened. An appointment made with the promise of forever changing the face of Fresno's gay night life. An appointment that ... Oh, hell....
As I type, Karl and David are at the bar installing our new doors. That is all.
Let's hear it for progress!
He had an appointment in Fresno. A vital appointment. An appointment so vital that, without having made it to the appointment, the doors of the bar would never be opened. An appointment made with the promise of forever changing the face of Fresno's gay night life. An appointment that ... Oh, hell....
As I type, Karl and David are at the bar installing our new doors. That is all.
Let's hear it for progress!
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