Thursday, January 22, 2009

Almost finished my storefront!


So there were some delays. I started ripping out my glass and the entire frame around my storefront the week after Christmas. I took a week of vacation to get everything done, and made great headway, until it started raining, and the new glass order was delayed. I was going to try putting my original glass back in place for the big panes, but after breaking one while taking it out (it was under so much pressure in the torqued frame it cracked after I released the first clip) and then trying to cut down the sheets to fit my newly-square and plumb openings without success, I bit the bullet and ordered all new tempered. The pictures are in no particular order, but right here is a night shot after the glass is completely installed, including my lovely new transom windows. To see what it looked like when I started, scroll down a few posts. (And to put this in perspective, the store is 50 feet across, and the top of the transom windows are about 12 ft up.)

Though I still have some painting to do, this essentially took a week and a half of full time work, and less than 2k, including all new glass. Though I've had set backs on my second story window installations, this certainly came in on budget and in time.

I'm still working on my arch. Notice the lovely brick arches that used to float across the front? When the previous owners installed the concrete ripple board over where my transom windows are, they took hammers to those arches so the concrete boards would lie flat against the building. I've build my form along the bottom edge, and will build out a 1.5 " relief that follows the arch profile all the way across. The it will all be painted burgundy.
The inside is much lighter now, and if you recall from earlier views from the inside, the large concrete display ceilings that were sagging and cutting off the light are no more.
From some time in the process.
Me and my baby in her new backpack carrier. She loves it, and will ride there happily for hours as I work or run errands in town.
It's very well designed, all the weight on my hips like a climbing pack.
And our house two blocks up the street. Wiring is done today, roof only waits on the ridge caps, and we're preparing to put the new siding on. Then it's insulation/sheetrock/kitchen/bathroom/paint/trim/floors. Getting there.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Really looking great, Kagan! As one who has seen this from the beginning of your work, I can really appreciate what you have done---

M.I.L.