Thursday 12/5
A day at home with Luke...but while at home, I was able to work with Fran (our graphic designer) on some finishing touches to the brewstore. We mentioned it about a week ago, but we'll be launching an online store for a variety of things like shirts, growlers, soft opening tickets, etc as our crowd-fund campaign didn't materialize. This allows everyone an opportunity to help us out by buying a shirt, a membership, or whatever. Every dime we make will be put right back into the renovation, trying to get the doors open as soon as we can.
Wednesday 12/4
A long day at the building...we ended up sanding the last opening, wood puttying the holes, re-sanding, and then finally priming. That gives us all 5 openings, ready to paint and build. We also built out the bases of the remaining 3 openings, prepping for the full rebuild. We found that water somehow made it to the roof without rain in over a week (?), so we pumped that off as well.
Tuesday 12/3
We finished scrapping paint off of the opening framework before sanding and patching. It sounds easy, but each opening has about 8 layers of paint and each board is fluted, making for a tough process.
The tuck-pointers finished tuck-pointing the back areas that won't be ripped out for the addition. Perfect timing before this big winter storm...
We also are trying to finalize some renovation insurance which has been a real pain.
Thursday 11/28 - Monday 12/2
Every day (including Thanksgiving), we spent more time at the building scrapping paint, sanding, grinding, and priming the front framework and columns. We are officially sick of removing paint from fluted columns and frames.
We ended up ripping out the front door (far left in the front) to prep that particular area for the rebuild. That door will never be back.
Wednesday 11/27
The weather took a turn for the worse, getting as low as 20 degrees...making a perfect day to head up to the city to meet with our architects to discuss the path forward. Spent the rest of the day working on the website store, catching up on emails, and meeting with potential investors.
Tuesday 11/26
Spent the first half of the day at the building scrapping more paint from the framework. The second half of the day was spent meeting with insurance agents about the construction insurance and our future policies regarding worker's comp, liquor liability, etc.
Wednesday 11/20 - Monday 11/25
The same old thing...prepping the building front for paint, rebuilding, and glass. Each part of the framework and columns is coated with about 8 layers of super thick paint. We've tried every possible method of removal and have found what works best for us. On the columns, we have used grinders with stainless steel wire brushes. It is a slow process but one that works. Thank you to Nathan Reese for the idea and the wire brushes.
The framework is made of 1880's true 2"x6" oak and has fluting throughout. Instead of ripping this out and replacing it (in significantly less time), we have decided to remove the paint and keep the existing fluted frames. Like everything else we're doing, we're keeping/using everything that's usable within the building. Considering the frames are wood, the grinding wasn't so much a good idea...so we tried using chemical strippers to no avail. We tried sanding with extremely course paper with no luck. We finally tried using heat guns with metal paint removers, which worked well...though slow. So as we move forward using heat guns, the wooden frames are beginning to appear under the layers of paint. We realize as we work, that this process will likely take well over a week...a week we hadn't planned on.
