What Happens Next

Stand-Up Guy

This is the guy who always stood up straight and proud for the class photo.

Middle row, big smile, no horsing around. You remember him.

Actually, his name is Luis, and I just couldn't get a candid shot from him. After asking if I could take his photo while he was working (big mistake), he proceeded to stop working and pose every time the camera came up. Can't you just see the big smile under the mask? It's there...you know it is.

I just love watching these guys walking around on their stilts. They are using them to put up the sheetrock, and all that it entails, without having to use ladders. Genius. I'm thinking of getting a pair so that I can reach the very top shelf in my closet.

So I tried sneaking up behind him in another room. But he was ready for me. Always with the pose, this one. Only this time I don't see the smile...

Meanwhile, his friend in red can't get away fast enough.

One last try, and this time they are both getting away. I might be imagining this, but I swear Luis is pausing with his right foot and glancing back for one final shot.

I think he's glad that I left him alone to work, but I wonder if he would like a copy of the first photo for his mom?

Seeing The Light

There is something so praise-worthy about a day when the electrician shows up!

These beautiful carriage lights have been patiently waiting in their boxes for about eight months now. Have I ever told you about the construction version of the law of diminishing returns? No? Well, it goes a little something like this...

The longer a job goes on (and on) (and on) is directly proportionate to the diminishing number of times that a tradesman will return when they say they will. Which of course doesn't help with the whole "trying-desperately-to-get-finished" thing. But what can you do...apparently it's the law. And when your project has gone on for more than a year and a half, well let's just say that you spend a lot of time rounding up the troops.

But yesterday the prodigal electrician returned, and the lovely fixtures came out of their boxes and went to live in the sanctuary. First one side...

And then the other. Ten beautiful lights in all, dropping down about twenty feet from the ceiling. What a difference they make! And they really look like they have always been there, don't you think?

Wouldn't you know that the morning after Bossy and the Dallas-area bloggers hung out in the building, the very next morning, the restored stained glass windows began to get put back in place! Sorry girls, I wish we hadn't had to climb into the attic to see them on Monday night!

And no, not all of the windows are finished. Not even close, if I'm being honest. I  also seem to be a perpetrator victim of that pesky law of diminishing returns. Sigh.

Next we will have to address the three chandeliers that were added to the building in the 1960s by the ladies auxiliary, as part of a very ambitious fundraising effort. These fixtures have quite a bit of damage to their amber glass panels, which will be replaced with mica, cut to fit from huge sheets. That should be quite the project, alright, and to tell you the truth... I'm afraid.

Meanwhile, doesn't the ceiling look pretty?

Breaking Glass

So how does a person keep busy, when their stained glass studio space has been taken over by another project?? And what in the world was I supposed to do with the enormous amounts of scrap glass being generated when I was working??

Behold the perfect storm. Daughter was working her designer magic for a friend who has also moved to the Dallas area recently. The friend had bought a house in need of a dramatic makeover, and my girl is just the one for the job. We are talking Major Renovation here. Taken-down-to-the-studs-and-completely-reconfiguring-the-floorplan renovation. She was juggling this project along with the church for months, and when it came time to choose material for the backsplash, budget had become a major issue. Um, doesn't it always become a major issue??

I heard many conversations between Daughter and her friend concerning the backsplash. They both had their hearts set on glass mosaic, but every source was quoting between $200 and $300 a square foot for what they had in mind!! Even the designer prices were between $150-$180. Ack!

So I'm thinking,"Hellooo... I'm up to my proverbial eyeballs in glass here!" (Apparently, I will NEVER learn my lesson!) But I have grown up with a serious aversion to throwing things away, things that could be useful in some other way. It's the creative side of me, thinking that everything can have a new life with some ingenuity. So I had been dutifully stashing the sizeable "scraps" from the stained glass windows. Most of it was original glass; 90 year old pieces that were broken and had to be replaced. Heaven knows I have piles of that! And some of it was new, bought to cut replacement pieces for more than one hundred windows. The windows I am working on are fairly large, the individual pieces are fairly large, and that always creates an abundance of "scrap". And the real bit of kismet here is that all of the glass colors they were looking for were ones that I had.

This situation was a win-win. Since all we needed were tiny glass "tiles" that measured 3/4" x 4", the scrap would yield tons of that.

The total backsplash area in this kitchen is approximately 25 square feet, and required 1,200 pieces of glass. It took me about 20 hours to cut it all, and boy was my back killing me when I finished! Talk about your repetitive motion...wow.

And I must give a shout-out to our tile guy, Javier, and his helper. They installed these pieces of glass one by one, creating the pattern as they went, with nary a complaint. My experience with tile setters is that they usually complain bitterly about mosaic installation, even though it usually comes pre-set on mesh in 12" x 12" squares. And you can see they did a great job.

Speaking of recycling, the homeowner here is definitely of an opposite mind than me on this subject. In a fit of "cleaning up" the jobsite here one day, she threw all of the drawers in the dumpster. What the?? If memory serves, a couple of ceiling fans met the same fate. And an ice machine. Sigh. I console myself with the fact that surely one of the workers fished all of it out and took it home. Needless to say, her husband was not happy when he had to replace everything!

The new drawers have arrived, but the finisher has not been back to stain the fronts yet. Pretty, no?

And the scraps from this project? Yeah, I saved them. I have a major mosaic project planned...that might be my next endeavor won't happen anytime soon...

Kitchen Redux

Progress! A sneak peek at what is coming forth from the "woodshop". This cabinet will live on the right side of the kitchen, on a short wall next to the pantry door, and it stands a statuesque 10 1/2 feet tall!. Not all of the shelves are in, and of course it will ultimately have doors, but we are celebrating this stage nonetheless!

The salvaged wood leaning along the wall on the left are pieces that were removed from the back wall of the altar during the demo phase of construction. They will later be reused to trim the front of the curved counter that will separate the kitchen from the living area.

Here is testimony to the painstaking nature of Kevin's work. Remarkable skill and attention to detail, don't you think? There are six separate moldings that make up each row of this crown treatment. He had to hand cut and fit each piece...I can't even imagine figuring out the geometry necessary to construct this...and please note the teeny, tiny "return" pieces! Wowza...

A closer look, because it bears repeating that this is truly amazing work. Notice how the dentil molding is all perfectly aligned as it turns the corners. Like it was all "thought out" or something.

And this is before any wood spackle was used to fill the cracks.
What cracks?
Exactly.

Here's a look at the underside. Because the kitchen has no ceiling to speak of...the arch goes up 35 feet...we had to create places to put lighting. The overhang on the cabinetry will house recessed fixturing, solving the problem for the perimeter, at least. What to do in the center, you ask?

Stay tuned. That's part of what happens next...

Someone's In The Kitchen

When last we visited the kitchen, somewhere around here, it was a very lonely place. Pigeons and the occasional tumbleweed flew through, on their way to more pressing matters. Everyone had somewhere else to be, something else to do.

Ha. Not any more.

Something's definitely afoot here. The wheels (or table saws) of progress are absolutely turning.

There's even sheetrock on the walls!! But that is a different story for a different day.

A closer look, perhaps?

There was a plan. The plan was, we shipped this beautiful cabinetry from California to Texas to use as a majority of the kitchen. Yay! These cabinets, which were fixtures from the gift store that Daughter and I had for many years, were going to go to Dallas and begin their exciting new life as a kitchen. Proving once and for all that the five years they spent in storage was money well spent, after all. Pure genius! Yay for us!

Well, this is the only section that fits the footprint of the space, as it turns out. The beautiful plaster archway that frames the area just wreaked havoc on our best laid plans. We tried and tried to redesign to accomodate other pieces, but they are all just too wide to fit correctly. All but this one. And it's my favorite, anyway. Even if it had to be taken apart and stretched and retrofit and bears only a passing resemblance to it's original self. Even if.

So the other sections of cabinetry are all busy finding homes in various bedrooms and miscellaneous places. There will also be a happy ending for them, for sure.

So, voila. Here comes Kevin to the rescue, and boy is he working fast! He's a blur!! Now, granted, it helps if Daughter is closely supervising the plan, and it definitely helps if your supervisor, the brave Thomas, can fill in as a babysitter as needed.

But what helps the absolute most is that Kevin is father to the Daughter, so of course grandfather to The Boy. Wow, there is ALOT of nepotism talent on this jobsite! The man is a genius at his trade. There is no one else I would ever have build something for me if I could possibly help it. He is painfully slow (sorry, Kevin) but his work is nothing short of spectacular. You'll see.

And The Boy calls him Baja. Or Baha. I'm not really sure how he'll spell that. But since he's learning Spanish, probably the former.

So now we have a full-fledged woodshop in the sanctuary. Gone are the wide open spaces. Man, is there alot of sawing going on down there! And a couple of dumpsters full of sawdust as well. And alot of discussions, and plans, and revised plans.

And that arch laying on it's side? That's the framing for the top of the island. 8' x 13', including the step-down on the back side. I'm thinking it really COULD qualify as an island!

See, the guy that was standing behind them finally got tired and left, and they're still planning and plotting. They must be hatching something big. Oh no, this could take a really, really long time!!

And don't be misled by these other guys in the photo. I'm not even sure who they are, honestly. Subcontractors of something. Anyway, Kevin works alone. He will cut every board, glue every joint, nail every piece of molding himself. As is always the case with the handwork that others do, I am amazed by that. I am always amazed by that. To witness this stack of lumber, or raw material of whatever type, transformed by a pair of human hands into something of singular beauty is just a privilege and a thrill every time.

And since he lets The Boy hang out in the cabinets when he visits the jobsite, of course he is a rock star to him. So I think I will let him take the last picture.

"Say cheese, Baja!"

The View From Here

Chilly days have arrived here in north Texas. And along for the ride came an equally gorgeous sunset. This is the view I am privileged to enjoy from the third floor of the church, where I have set up my glass "shop" for the duration of this project.

Unfortunately, the sheetrock crew and the painters have been camped on the third floor for over three weeks now. Nice for getting a break from working, bad for progress... So I have enjoyed a week-long trip back home to California with Daughter and The Boy. Ahh, those beautiful Southern California winter days! Lucky for us, we left just before the rain hit there.

So back to work, right? Wrong. Still not finished up there. To the credit of the sheetrock crew, they found areas that needed further refining after the paint primer was on, so it's pretty hard to argue with that. As a result, my worktables are still covered with tarps and pushed to the side while the sanding goes on...and on. Sigh.

For the meantime, I will console myself with the view. It's enough.

Stairway To Heaven

I am constantly amazed at how often my breath is taken away on this project. There seems to be no end to the lengths (and heights) these guys will go to get the job done. And in this case, the job entails stripping and staining all of the wood ceiling beams, window casings and stair railings in the sanctuary area of the church. I use the term "guys" because that is the only gender we have on this crew. The only females involved are yours truly and the Daughter. And since she is the designer on this project, she is involved pretty much full-time with buying stuff and pointing at mistakes. That's right, I said pointing AT. And trust me when I tell you that there is alot of pointing going on right about now. Just sayin.

So as the whole ladder thing goes, this isn't TOO bad. They are barely reaching two stories high, the angle of the ladders is pretty good, and there is that whole brick wall providing a sense of stability. Not sayin I like it, but okay. It's not like it's the roof, after all. I'm calm.

And this is even better. He's only on a seven footer...what could be the problem here? Well, on closer inspection, one might notice that the slightest false move, or even an innocent sneeze, and he could go right over the edge of that balcony! Kind of makes me feel guilty that he gets nervous having his picture taken. (Too bad he already saw me.)

BUT THIS!! People, this is just not right. This is the kind of thing that puts ME right over the edge, even though I'm standing smack on the ground. These ladders are reaching 35 feet in the air, almost straight up, and barely leaning against a beam. Nope. No sir. Please. Stop. Doing. This.

Even though no one is on these ladders at the moment, trust me when I tell you that they do work up there. Even though I have repeatedly asked them not to. So now, whevener they see me coming, they scurry down at breakneck speed and pretend to be doing something else. See the heat gun hanging from the ladder on the left? It's still swinging. And when they go up and down, the sway on those ladders is truly disturbing. If this whole construction thing doesn't work out for them, they could probably have a bright future in the circus.

Remember when I told you about the lovely shade of baby blue everything was painted? The lighting in these two photos is really showcasing that heavenly hue.

Ahh, a close-up. Looks like someone built himself a cute little platform to stand on. Sorry. Still a no.

Look, I'm not entirely ladder-phobic. In the younger days, when I was spunkier and more agile, I was the one working at the Laura Ashely store who would stand on the very top of the ladder and change the bulbs in the recessed lights. Yeah, the SIX FOOT ladder. The civilized ladder. I don't think I even realized that ladders could stretch out to such dizzying heights unless they were attached to a fire truck. And then they came with firefighters, and so of course courage was a given. And besides, they work with nets, right??

If we could please turn our attention to the other side of the room, you can see that we do in fact have scaffolding on site. Brand new, heavy duty scaffolding capable of reaching the very top of the ceiling. Much, much better. Although, I'm still not sure that I could be happy working up there. Of course, that would be if I could even GET up there. Sigh.

One thing that can never seem to make it anywhere is Felix's shirt. No matter the weather, homeboy will end up at his workstation naked from the waist up. Seriously, what is up with that??

Here he seems to be demonstrating his superior range-of-motion while "sin la camisa".

Either that, or he is accusing Riccardo of tossing his shirt off the edge of the platform again. See it hanging there? Guys, please try to come to a peaceful resolution. NO MORE DRAMA!

Up On The Roof

Sometimes you just have to take a moment to assess your situation and formulate a mental game plan.

This is Thomas, our construction supervisor, and he seems deep in assessment, don't you think?

Of course, when you find yourself over 50 feet in the air, balanced on the tip of a very steep angle, it's always a good idea to go slow and focus.

And always have a buddy with you.

Or two buddies...even better.

Our first go-round with roofers on this project wasn't a happy one. They were clearly unprepared for the challenge that this building presented, and let's just say that their skills were found to be sorely lacking. There was a contractor in place for that phase also, and wow, can I just say that he was the poster boy for everything that is wrong in the remodeling industry. Dude, please find another line of work.

Here's a good look at one of the challenges. My, my, that is certainly a long way down!

But not to fear, Thomas and his crew corrected everything that was an issue, and we officially have a completely new roof. It helps that he was a full-time roofer for several years before he joined our team.

Might as well test the new power washer while we're up here...

And, because the roof is now perfect and leak-free, there are no worries!!

I think Thomas just enjoys the peace and quiet of the roof, and is obviously using it here as an "al fresco" office. Is this why I often have trouble finding him when the weather is pleasant?? Yeah, a good old fashioned cold snap should take care of that!

And exactly how did I get these pictures, anyway??
Hmm, I'll get back to you on that...

Major Pane

Isn't this pretty? Serene and dramatic. Too bad there is another row of windows that you can't see below these. Hmmm. And more on the sides. And there are two more walls just like this one.

Then there are various rooms with these lovely duos. What could be the problem here?

Well, did I mention that there are over one hundred separate stained glass windows in this building?? Was I even paying attention at all when this fact was determined, or was I busying myself with dreams of where to put the art studio I had planned for myself?

How about here?

Okay, yikes. Someone kind of missed the boat on the old color-matching on these two. Close enough in a pinch, I guess. Or not. But in all fairness, these windows are 90 years old, and alot of damage has had to be reckoned with during that time.

Here's the thing. Once, in a former life, I had a small stained glass studio in Dallas. There was a partner in the beginning years, and we taught classes and sold supplies. It was a fantastic and fulfilling business.

When my daughter was born, I moved to a small college town, (also in Texas), and struck out on my own. I still taught and sold supplies, but more and more I did custom work for restaurants and churches, as well as private homes. In all, almost twelve years passed and I enjoyed every moment.

And then, one day it was just time to move back to California...to my roots, to my family. I sold the business and literally never looked back. Of all of the creative endeavors that I pursued from that time forward, none of them involved glass.

And now we fast forward 22 years. Ack! How is that even possible?

When my daughter and SIL bought this church, it was a bittersweet feeling of coming home to a place that is both familiar and beloved. Dallas is very dear to me. I spent my 20's here and my amazing daughter was born here. So the chance to spend part of my time back in north Texas was intriguing.

So now we get to the part about these windows. In the fall of 2006, I had only seen a few, grainy pictures of the outside of the church. These first pictures were taken with a cellphone, and certainly were not taken for the purposes of assessing damage to the windows. These, of course, are not those pictures.

Here is the information I should have had. The info that I really needed. This picture tells a more complete story. Click on the photo above so that you too can see the true state of affairs here. But don't even say I didn't warn you.

I was totally looking the other way, and trying to be very inconspicuous, as my SIL called several studios in the Dallas area. He was asking them to go by the property, and based solely on an outside examination, give him a bid to "fix" these windows. Of course, the bids ran the full spectrum, from trying to glue as much as possible with the windows in place, all the way to a complete removal and restoration. Two problems here. First, glue. Hello? And second, while removal and restoration is clearly the only viable option, the bid for this was close to $300,000.00. Nope, not a typo. I feel it necessary to mention here that the purchase price on this property was extremely, um, reasonable. I mean, really, what is the market for a huge-ish gothic church that is zoned residential and tightly controlled by the historic preservation committee? Anybody? Right. So, the buyer pool is very shallow, and here we come, living our lives in California and thinking "Sure, let's take this on. It'll be a challenge. It'll be fantastic!"

Look at these guys, trying to lay down all low-pro, like I won't notice them there.

Back to my story. After the absolute shell shock of the estimates, and during a November 2006 first visit to the building that was so cold I'm sure my head was half frozen, I finally asked the question that would change the very fabric of my life for who-knows-how-long. I asked, voice creaking from the cold and the fear, "Would you like me to restore these windows for you?" I had absolutely no idea at that moment just how scared I should in fact be, but it was slowly beginning to dawn on me, even as I said it. And of course the reply was "Wow, do you think you could? Really?". And me, not being quick enough on my feet to take this obvious way out, said "Yeah. I mean, they're just windows, and the design is really not that complex. It's just the sheer number that is challenging". Uh, okay. So of course, at this point there was no turning back. I'm sure I was expertly maneuvered waltzed into that moment, but did I mention how cold it was?? I would have probably said anything to get back in the car and back to the hotel.

So in April of 2007, I began. It took that long to do all of the demo on the building and get to the point that we could have a small amount of electricity. Not to mention the time it took to find glass that matches closely to the original. Luckily, the manufacturing of glass hasn't really changed in this past century, and most of the same colors are still available if you search around enough.

Those early days were spent huddled over worktables in the basement, trying to stay in the lighted area. And if you have never worked on a construction site, let me tell you what a challenge it is to hunt down your lights (not to mention tools) every morning, because another tradesman has decided that he needs it (or them), and you aren't there anyway, so what's the big deal?

Pretty. Not too complex. Only takes about a day, day-and-a-half to assemble one of these puppies. That's if everything goes well. Of course, that doesn't include soldering, puttying, attaching the bracing bars, and final cleaning. That's about another day, day-and-a-half.

Problem here is, when this one is finished, there are fourteen more exactly like it left to do. Sigh.

Here is a different design. There are twenty-two of this exact same window. It's about 64" x 27". I finished thirteen of them before I felt the need for a change of pace. Rats, I'm going to have to go back to this one at some point.

This is the back, or actually the side that will face the interior of the building, with the bracing bars attached. Those suckers take forever to solder on. Whew. And yes, these are the original bars. Yea for recycling, and yea for the construction guy who has been helping me power sand off the accumulated 90 years of oxidation and paint so I could reuse them. I'm sorry I yelled at you for losing my pliers.

Here's a sweet little detail. Makes the piece look like a clover shape from a distance. Don't even ask how fun it is to solder on all these tiny triangles to each piece. Two pieces per window. On both sides. On about sixty-something windows. Good times.

And now it's time to get back to it.
Be sure to visit me again to find out "what happens next..."

Be It Ever So Humble...

In the spirit of full disclosure, this being a new year and all, I feel compelled to give you a peek at where we stand with our little, AHEM... project.

Okay, so far so good, right? Right? Just your average 90 year old gothic cathedral being converted into a residence. A mere 16,000 square feet of rustic charm. For those of you not involved in the real estate business, rustic charm roughly translates into "hold onto your wallets, folks. This is going to be a slippery slope." Just so we're clear.

But hey, my daughter and I are designers, SIL is a real estate lender/developer, and we all have a weak spot for old buildings in need of a makeover. So one fateful day in mid 2006, when said SIL glanced up from his computer and casually asked "Hey, there's an old church in Dallas for sale. We could remodel it into a part-time home. What do you guys think?", well, heck, I was a goner for sure. He was in the process of opening up a Dallas office for his mortgage business, and would be needing a place to spend several months a year. I was smitten from the very first. (I have recently come to the full realization that my "old church as home" fantasy is an extremely rare affliction. More than a year of that puzzled look that greets me when I try to explain to someone about the project I'm involved in pretty much tipped me off to that fact. Buy hey, I'm quick like that.)

So let's move inside, shall we?

Ah, the great room. Ha.

This was the main santuary of the church. It measures 47' x 48', and the ceiling is 35' at the very peak. The loft will be converted to a home theater, and underneath is the framing for two bedrooms suites.

Every speck of woodwork, walls and trim in the entire church had been spray painted a lovely and cherubic shade of powder blue. Every.Thing. In order to bring this building back to it's former glory, it really became necessary to strip it all off and restain the wood. Painstaking. Tedious. Interminable. Expensive.

Oh, and those boxes? Yeah, they're all sinks and toilets. Don't ask. We'll get to all of it, I promise.

This is the same room, looking at it from the other side. You can see where the altar was. That is where the kitchen is going.

Here's another view of the loft, using a zoom lens. This photo just seems peaceful to me. Hazy and calm. I'm pretty sure that's because everyone is at lunch.

You might have noticed that most of the stained glass windows are missing. That's actually where I fit into this story. It's a long story. It started out innocently enough, as most things do, and then it took on a life of it's own. If you're feeling up to it, we can take the rest of this journey together. I can use all the support I can get. Seriously.

Stay tuned. And thanks for checking in on me.

Amen.