Framing: 3rd Floor Loft has begun

Framing is underway on all floors. Here is a view from the second floor rear, looking toward the front.

The large opening is the span width for

1. 1) my open loft which will be from approximately the metal "bridge" you see across the middle over to the right wall and
2. 2) stairs from this floor up to the 3rd. These will be on the left hand side (as you are viewing here).

1. More photos of this to come. Here I'm standing on a ladder 16' up from the ground floor. I feel fortunate to have snapped this photo successfully......
   

Eno Festival Weekend

Is it graffiti when you write "Hi Mom" on the sidewalk in chalk?

The weekend weather was perfect for the Eno Festival. 4 stages with bands playing rock, country, blues, and bluegrass. There were dozens of artist displaying their wares: pottery, painting, photography, metal sculptures and the like.



Kim and I rode bicycles up to the Eno, which made even the journey fun. Only 2 sketchy points in the trip; one crossing Duke Street and the other Roxboro Road. I've written to organizers asking them to consider posting their suggested bike route next year.

Kim is standing in front of a bike some person fashioned into a camel.


Here's the real reason for the Eno Festival. Entrance fees go to preserving and purchasing land in the Eno River basin. Here is a man-made dam with tree trunks used to climb and dive from.

Great fun.

New Term: LVL - Laminated Veneer Lumber

Last week the LVL's went into the first floor ceiling/second floor flooring.

LVL's are 6" thick products of laminated wood that spans the entire width of the building. They are heavy, approximately 400 lbs each, and are bolted to the walls on either side.

These new framing items will provide 1) support to existing framing and 2) material to support new structural material. In this photo, these 2 LVL's (light colored wood) will frame out the opening of the elevator shaft on the right hand side.

It was interesting watching how they were put in place. Metal forms were bolted to them while on the ground. Then, from above, they were hoisted up using eye bolts by a winch that was on the second floor with the wire material going through holes drilled in the floor. Because they expand the entire width, there was little clearance side-to-side. So, these were hoisted level otherwise they would wedge between the walls.

Similar framing material will be used on each of the next 2 floors.

An opening where there was none before

The sidewall was opened today, with views down Main Street and onto the "court yard" next to the building. Beautiful! The opening is 9' tall and 4' wide.

This opening makes the space MUCH more appealing to potential tenants. Plus, light access from another direction makes the space look larger.

This photo shows the unfinished opening. On the left of the photo is the storefront framing for the door entrance off Main Street.


Here's a pre-restoration view from the exterior. The shrub on the left is the same as seen from the interior photo above.

Um, your backend is open

Compare this photo to the one I wrote about during "Easement" last July. The original openings are being punched back out and will be filled with new windows and doors.

On the far left, will be the door to my upstairs unit. The existing door in the middle will be moved over about 8" to align with the window opening that you see here above it. The opening on the right, where there are workers, will be a window into the downstairs space.

Amazingly, the brick openings (my walls) are 16" thick. Buildings are built like this today. The exterior facade might be brick, but the interior would be wood, steel or cinder block. 16" of solid brick just look weird. However, I think it will make the window sills and door openings look VERY cool.

All good surprises.

A View from Bull McCabe's

Nothing much to write except this is a view of my building from my local pub, Bull McCabe's. Click the photo to enlarge it and scroll to the bottom. There you'll see the top of my building behind & beside the green and white street sign.

Now, scroll back up and look at the sky. All this madness and concern are lost when we have days like this in Durham.

Let There Be Light......There was Light

My new favorite day was today........

Demolition officially happened about a year ago. But, back then we didn't remove the stairs from the first floor because, well, there'd have been no way to get up to the second floor. Two major events happened today:

1. The stairs were removed and
2. Windows that had been bricked up were reopened

So there's a temporary problem created now. You can't get to the upper floors unless you use a REALLY TALL ladder (there's 16' between floors so the ladder needs to be at least 20'; and even then I wouldn't want to climb it). This problem will be remedied when the new stairs are framed in.

The stairs were removed to make room for the brick masons. In the picture you can see them working, repairing the brick in the openings they created. It's amazing how much light gets in. And it's amazing looking at the wide open spaces. And the hyrogliphics/sayings that were written on the walls in places just now being seen again......some of that isn't printable on my family blog.

Oh, click on the photo to enlarge it and then look at the ceiling joists near the back of the building. Notice how many of them have been cut away over the years? That's not supposed to have been done. Floor/Ceiling joists should span the entire structure to support weight and prevent sagging. Wonder even more how there wasn't a major disaster in the building???!!!

Much progress today. It is my new favorite day.