From Shop to Studio: Power Washing and The Wood Project
The Shop to Studio renovation continues as we start on the wood feature wall, beautiful new front desk and coordinate all of the trades and bits and pieces with the help of friends and family.
The next job was to power wash the little yard space we have out back and remove all the orange paint that has leached off the walls onto the ground, or maybe it's from the vinegar shop I’m not quite sure. My boyfriend Alex showed up with an industrial sized power washer from his workplace that runs on gas attached to a loader, we always end up doing some things the hillbilly way. Fortunately, our proximity to each other has proved really useful, he’s a heavy duty mechanic and has been very useful for borrowing tools and equipment and such. We got to work on power washing (or pressure washing whatever you want to call it) the small area, scrubbing it with concrete cleaner and a brush. I should have taken a before and after picture, but of course I forgot. It was extremely satisfying and a step closer from transforming the yard space to a storage and secret patio area.
My unit doesn’t have any water but luckily the unit beside me does, so we ran off that. That is definitely something to check out when looking at a unit, as not having a water connection wasn’t something I even thought about until I needed it.
Meanwhile, Alex was in charge of ordering the HSS for the cross beams as I wanted to install a pulley system for the rigging in this new studio and we couldn’t go off the trusses as is.
The next thing we made headway on, was sourcing the wood for our front counter and feature wall. After liaising with Quinn and Ty and making sure we were all on the same page we decided to do two to three sizes of cuts and have the desk and wall done in the same material. Quinn and I had already looked at options from Rona and had a rough idea of what we wanted and then Tom Pro came to the rescue with a new plan.
“Not only did I score my significant other who has been nothing but supportive about my endeavours but his entire family who have taken me in as one of their own.”
For context the Pro’s are my boyfriend's family who have lived in Whistler for almost 30 years. Not only did I score my significant other who has been nothing but supportive about my endeavours, but his entire family who have taken me in as one of their own and shown me nothing but love and support. Most of Treeline’s projects are a family affair with team Pro, everyone pitching in in their own way. Lenka, Alex’s sister is a graphic designer and creator of our logo, website and all our branding. Quinn, we already know is hard at work on this project on the carpentry front. Claire wears many hats including book-keeper, costume maker, event coordinator and advice giver on most topics. Tom can be described as the same, Lenka and I nicknamed him chief rigger as he always helps us set up and tear down for events, builds me equipment, welds things, splices rope - you name it, he can do it. I feel very fortunate to have team Pro in my corner.
On this occasion the Pro’s had some friends who were tearing down their house to rebuild and were trying to have things not go into landfill. So we went down to their house with some ladders and crowbars and pried off their siding which we flipped over to reveal some really beautiful red cedar in great condition. Quinn would sand this down and cut it into different sizes which would become our front desk and feature wall. Not only did this save the siding from going to landfill but it got up-cycled and repurposed and saved us a significant amount on materials. Thanks so much to the Milly’s for donating a piece of their home to our studio, we can’t wait to show you it when it's done!
One part of Team Pro, Claire helping with the wood project.
More on the subject of wood, Tom and I also selected a beautiful piece of live edge wood that he had in his personal collection which will complete our front desk. I’m really excited to see this wood project coming together and that it’s resources all have meaning. For the record, Quinn builds really nice furniture if you’re ever in the market for a custom piece.
Our beautiful new wood feature wall.
With the wood project underway it was time to start turning my attention to the long list of other things we need to complete. I’ve been feeling like a project manager with no idea what I’m doing, that in itself is a learning experience. Coordinating all the trades and what needs to be done first and getting the timing right has been me just wading my way through the dark trying to figure it all out. Fortunately, I am surrounded by friends that all have different skills and are interested in side jobs after work which has made it a little easier.
Next, the cross beams will be installed, fortunately they only have to make a short journey from Proteck around the corner where Randy and his guys did a great job of getting everything fabbed up for me. Thanks guys!