Week 23: The building is complete!

Although the work continues apace on the inside, we are so excited to see that the outside of the building is finished! Here are some views of how it looked on a recent bright winter morning.

Week 20: Installing the dust collection ducting and air lines

Thomas has been kept very busy this week installing the duct work for our dust collection system and the air lines (in blue) for our machinery and tooling. Here are some images of the new network of piping.

The large wide pipe is the main line that feeds directly to the dust collector, and the narrower pipes branch off to each individual machine. You will notice our new sander (more on this next week) in the bottom image  with its very elaborate pipe system coming out from the top of the machine.

Week 19: Our NEW dust collector

Although our old, faithful dust collector survived the tornado relatively unscathed, we have decided to invest in a new dust collection system in order to accommodate the larger scale machinery that will be installed in the new workshop.

Here is the sequence of everything coming in on the flat bed truck, and all the parts being hoisted into the air and placed in position by the crane on the new concrete pad on the west side of the building.

Week 18: Moving in begins

With the addition of the man doors on the side of the building and our temporary front door (all lockable and secure) we were able to start moving our machinery and equipment from storage into the new space. You will notice the large moving van parked at the overhead door, which we used to transport everything to the new building.

Here are images of all the bits and pieces of machinery, office files, and inventory as they await placement and installation.

Week 17: Siding gets started

This week saw the siding installation begin. It was a bit of a challenge for the construction crew, seeing as we wanted them to install the corrugations running horizontally on the walls of the building (rather than the standard vertical), but in the end they did a fabulous job.

Week 16: Its all in the details (Part 2)

More snow fell this week, but thankfully work on the inside could continue quite happily, particularly with the delivery of the overhead side door. It is painted in the same “Regent Grey” to match the exterior siding that should be getting installed next week.

We also received delivery of the interior overhead door, which will divide the main workshop from the assembly and finishing areas.

The workers continued with the insulation and the application of the interior metal siding. Here are a few views of the siding as is got applied. It is amazing how much the white colour brightens up the space, even without any lighting installed.

You will also notice how the drywall has been applied to the office walls and the dividing wall between the shop and the office. It is so exciting now that the walls are almost complete as it means that all the major elements of the building will be finished, and we will be able to progress to the small details.

And now we climb up to the office on our new staircase.

Here are images of the office as the drywall is getting installed on the walls and ceiling. You will notice how the pot lights are left dangling until the taping and painting has been completed. It is so nice and bright (and toasty warm!) up here, I cannot wait to move back in!

Week 15: That's a wrap!

Just as predicted, Old Man Winter decided to finally make an appearance and it looks as though he is here to stay. So, it was perfect timing that the workers got the final windows in place and the building wrapped in preparation for the final application of the siding. 

Here are a few images of the process of wrapping. Our building now looks all nice and snug, and with the red taping we can imagine that it is a very large Christmas present just for us!

In two of the photos above, you will see the van from our trusted electrician, Wayne’s Electric. They are taking care of all the lighting and wiring for the building, as well as getting the machinery hooked up and ready to go. This week, Doug installed the main electrical panel in the workshop utility room and a step-down transformer for the machinery.

You can also see the boiler on the wall for the in-floor heating system (the grey box on the right wall). It is amazing to me that such a small unit can heat this whole building. And here is a detail of the various pressure valves that control the 3 heating zones (main workshop, finishing/packing area, office).

Week 14: The interior continues

This week saw more of the interior details get put in place, and a few more additions to the outside too, such as the bollards for the edges of our loading door.

The main transformation this week came from the application of the interior steel on the ceiling. Here you can see the piles of steel and trim pieces for the final finishing.

And here are the workers applying the steel and a view of the completed ceiling.

They were also able to get the insulation into the walls.

This will be a very welcome difference between the new and old workshop, which was a little bit on the chilly side during our long winters.

We also made progress in the office space with the installation of the pot lights. Here you can see them being put into position.

You will also notice that most of our windows have been installed, another important step towards fully closing us in before winter sets in. The weather forecasts say that things are going to start getting more seasonal (read: snow!) next week, so these final additions to the outside have come none to soon.