I’ve just returned from an amazing week-long installation after several months of planning and building and finishing and can’t get woodworking out of my head. So I decided to check in on the forum. I’ve looked at all of the headings under “Recent Discussions” and realized that there isn’t one for installs.
Over the past 15 years, many of the projects I’ve worked on had to be installed in the end and it’s taken many of those years to learn the intricacies of working away from the shop with limited resources and relying on skill and creativity to finalize a project.
I’m certain there is a wealth of knowledge to be shared on the subject of installation and am wondering if it would be benificial to have a section on installing along side Joinery and Finishing and the rest.
David Danek
Replies
Reply to both of you
I AM impressed! It seems the installation must have been more than half of the quoted price. Pre-fitting all the components in the limited space of a shop, coupled with the probable change in humidity must have made for many sleepless nights and on-site :amendments. Congratulations.
Frosty
humidity
These two bars were built in the high desert of central Oregon and shipped to the coast.... Since the building was not yet climate controlled, we're all crossing our fingers.
That looks like a serious job you worked on. Congratulations.
I like your suggestion but I think that the kind of stuff you are talking about has a relatively small audience here. Most Knotheads don't ever have to wrestle with the logistics of a complex installation. But I do appreciate what goes into it. My workshop is in Israel, and in 2006 we produced all the cabinets and trim for 4000 sq.ft. of offices in downtown Manhattan. Over 2000 separate parts were wrapped and shipped, then I had a 4-man crew in NY for 5 weeks to put it all together. All of this in a building with the most draconian rules and regulations imaginable. If we had gone over the scheduled time I could easily have lost my shirt in expenses. The photo doesn't show even half the parts to be sifted thru...
So even if the audience is limited, I'd appreciate seeing how others cope with the problems of installations. Keep posting.
It's mainly what I do
David,
Nice project! Must be a Country Club somewhere? I would have enjoyed working on that.
It's the sort of thing I do mostly these days, high end cabinet installations. Unfortunately, not as Frosty suggested, Installation usually only is worth a small percentage of the project, Typically 10 - 15%.
Working with all pre-finished materials cab be a challenge. I have become quite good at touching up finishes in the field.
I once did an installation for a hunting lodge built by the local natives in Nicholski Alaska which is on Umnak Island out in the Aleutians. I had to be flown in by small plane from Dutch Harbor to a gravel strip and was limited to what tools I could bring. I had a large shipping container of knock-down cabinets awaiting me upon my arrival. This is worth a post by itself and was quite an adventure. I'll work on it
Bret
Nicholski Alask
Please do render a report. I'd love to hear, and see, the material.
Frosty
Installs
Very impressive work, David.
Looks similar to the bar in the guest house out back at my place. (Yeah, right.) ;-)
My "installs" are less demanding, since they involve the simple logistics of transporting a small object through a conventional doorway and carrying it to the target horizontal surface (floor, shelf, table). For work of the size you dealt with, I suspect the installation planning reached all the way back to the design stage. For example, how to deal with unexpected things like floor irregularities, and such.
A question, though. What's up with all of those angles coming out of Bend, OR? ;-)
Many years ago there was an account in Fine Woodworking, I think, of a piece being too big to go into an elevator. They worked out a way to load it on top of the elevator car and ride with it up the shaft. At some point they lost control fo the elevator and were at the mercy of people in the building going from floor to floor. A lot of fun to read about but not for those on top of the elevator.
Floor irregularities
One end of that large bar is lifted up 3/4" above the floor to level it out. Luckily we started at the other end. : ^ )
Overflow
Just trying to stay afloat- and there's not much water here!
offices in NYC
I had to scratch around a bit, and what I found are photos of the finished spaces, not work in progress. The design was ultra-modern, using oak veneers, solid wenge, lots of stainless steel and smart-glass. We did all the woodwork, including ceilings, paneling, etc, as well as the cabinets clad in stainless. The pictures show only a fraction of the job. All in all, some 60 separate units, but many of them conjoined in complex and non-90° ways. Three months of planning, three months of production, 5 weeks of on-site assembly.
regards,
Installation
Very, VERY nice! Congratulations.
Frosty
All I can say is WOW!
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