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Building Codes

Posted on July 15, 2018Leave a comment

Things have been slow the last couple of weeks. We’ve been waiting on Oncor Electric to move the power pole on the West side of the building. Once they are complete installing a new pole (around 10’ south of the original pole) we can move forward and knock out the doors and windows on the West side of the building.

The hole for the new power pole is covered with a pallet:)

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While we wait for Once to finish, we are still restoring the banisters, getting the lighting fixtures ready, and coordinating for the installation of the fire suppression system that we have to install.

Lately people have been asking us why the City is requiring the fire suppression system. Well, it is required by the International Building Code (IBC).

The upstairs is designated Residential Group R, while the downstairs is still zoned for retail. According to the IBC, anything designated as Group R has to have a sprinkler system. Here is a link to the location in the IBC, and a screen shot of the location.

https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/IFC2018/CHAPTER-9-FIRE-PROTECTION-AND-LIFE-SAFETY-SYSTEMS

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Banister Renovation

Posted on July 1, 2018Leave a comment

Nothing really new to report. We are still restoring the original banisters to reuse on the stairs to the 2nd floor loft area. The past couple of weeks have been working with the bank and contractors to work out the final details on the remaining items. This week is a Holiday week so we do not expect much progress other than coordination.I’m hoping to gather some good video footage over the July 4th Holiday and will post them as I take them.

Until then, enjoy the beautiful warm weather here in Cleburne Texas!!!!!

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Courthouse Pictures

Posted on June 17, 2018Leave a comment

This week there was not too much to document. They are still finishing up the electrical and working out the details for the finish out. Soon everyone should be seeing progress from the outside. Up until this point everything has been inside and not visible to the outside.

One thing is we did have a request to post any pictures we have of the downtown area. Below are a few. In the next couple of weeks I’ll build a consolidated video of everything we have collected.

Cloudy Looking SW Day far away Day Long View Day Looking SW Day Looking West SunSet Evening 2

Framing Continued

Posted on June 10, 2018Leave a comment

We have the start of walls upstairs. They have started framing out the bathroom, 1/2 bath, mechanical room, and the closet worthy of a queen:)

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This is the closet area. When it’s done, it will be 16 x 17 and have a round couch in the middle with a large chandelier above it.

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The shower area and Master Bath area. The shower will be all glass with the brick wall on one side.

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The picture below shows the overall size of everything. These are going to be the only walls.Everything else will be wide open. The windows on the right side will be opened to bring in a lot of more natural lighting. If you look closely you can see the plumbing on the right where our kitchen island will be.

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And finally looking forward.Things are coming along! This shows the 1/2 bath and mechanical room entrance.

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Reclamation & Revival

Posted on June 3, 2018Leave a comment

This week we focused on reclaiming some original parts of the building and some architectual salvage we found here and there. Our contractor continues to plumb the upstairs and they began the electrical work.

Upstairs plumbing rough-in courtesy of Mr. Bill’s Plumbing (Thanks Robert!).

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The electricians are starting to bring in supplies.

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Look, new electric boxes!

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To comply with fire codes we had to reverse the direction of the interior stairs. We asked the builder to keep the banisters. Our plan is to strip them and refinish them so they can be reused. The one shown below is one solid piece of wood that is 18’ (feet, yes feet) long.

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Ok, I may have over estimated my abilities, HGTV makes it look so easy! The banisters had been stained, then painted beige, blue, and finally green. Have i mentioned how much i like Ready Strip. It’s the only way I could do this. It’s a little ‘gooey’ but it works. Like we said, the plan is to stain them and reinstall them on the new interior staircase. And look at the results, the banisters haven’t even been sanded or refinished in this picture and they are incredibly beautiful.

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Finally, we wanted to share some Architectural Salvage we have found to add to the decor.

This is going to be our master bathroom vanity (salvaged and repurposed) with our vessel sinks and the new faucets (Amazon) that just arrived.

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And a set of accordion doors we have modified to be used upstairs on the Material Lift. They still need to be stripped and repainted.

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Framing

Posted on May 27, 2018Leave a comment

Our contractor has started the framing downstairs and the plumbing rough in upstairs.

Downstairs we will have two ADA bathrooms, a mechanical room, and a small janitor’s closet.

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To comply with the fire codes, we had to rearrange the stairs. Now they are brand new, safe, and they look amazing.

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Upstairs they have reinforced the joists and are starting to install the subfloor. In addition, they are roughing in the plumbing.

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And we have been collecting our faucets, sinks, and lights. For our Master Bath we found this ‘vanity’ at Consignment Heaven in Dallas. It is really a side board/buffet for a formal dining room. Now it will have a new life as our vanity. The sink vessels on top came from Wayfair.com and we just ordered the faucets from Amazon. It should be spectacular once it’s all installed!!!!

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Most of the power in the building has been disconnected. We decided we needed more light to work on all of our small DIY projects, and it finally dawned on us that if we cleaned the row of windows at the top of the storefront, we would have a lot more natural light.

So, we hauled out the ladders and scrapers, and went to work. Unfortunately, one of the previous owners decided to paint all of the windows with primer. Note to self: Primer does NOT come off glass easily. If you ever have a project where you need to strip paint, I really recommend a product called Ready Strip. It works, you don’t have to wear gloves, and it doesn’t smell bad. We slapped some of that stuff on the windows, and somehow we managed to clean the paint off the top windows on one side (pic below). We are going to hold off removing the remaining paint until everything is complete and we are ready to show the building to the general public.

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Lastly, Happy Memorial Day from Cleburne TX!!!!

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2nd Floor Subfloor

Posted on May 20, 2018Leave a comment

This week they started installing the sub-floor and preparing to frame out the walls.

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We also started to gather the plumbing fixtures.

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Upstairs will have our Master Bath with a half bath for guests. Downstairs will consist of 2 ADA Compliant bathrooms in the retail area. We are converting an Antique Vanity with 2 vessel sinks for the Master Bath and then the rest will be simple pedestal sinks.

The next couple of weeks will consist of framing out the walls for the bathrooms and closets, plumbing, and the start of the electrical.

Continue to keep an eye out for weekly updates.

2nd Floor Joist Leveling

Posted on May 13, 2018Leave a comment

This past week they started the leveling of the upstairs floor joists. Below are some photos and a video of how they are doing it. Basically they placed a laser at each end and are sistering the existing joists with new wood making everything level.

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2nd Floor Demo

Posted on May 6, 2018Leave a comment

They started this past week removing the original floor boards upstairs. The original boards were too damaged and it was not economical to save them. They are going to brace the existing floor joists and then install a new sub-floor making everything level before install new Engineered Hardware Flooring.

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There was a lot of dirt and trash under the floor and above the 1st floor ceiling. They had to shovel and vacuum everything up so it’s all clean before starting new.

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Finally there are a lot of holes that will need to be patched above and below.

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Renovation Update

Posted on April 29, 2018Leave a comment

We are getting close. All of the plans are at the City and we should be receiving final permits and approvals real soon. Until then, we are cleaning and prepping as much as we can prior to the contractor starting interior work.

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