Hello, all:
A small restaurant chain hired me to build a large (48″x 60″) shadowbox to display a poster depicting the history of the chain. The box is done and they now want it recessed into the wall near the front entrance of one of their stores. The wall is sheathed with old-growth redwood planks, presumably on top of drywall, but won’t be sure until the cutting begins.
I would appreciate any advice from folks with more experience than I about how to go about installing the shadowbox in the wall.
Thanks in advance .
Dennis
Replies
Wow good opportunity! You have some digging to do. Since this is a commercial establishment, you will have to definitely play by the rules i.e. permits if required. Due to the size, are the walls studded with wood or steel? What is the span of the wall? Is it load bearing (probably not, but it matters). How deep is the box and will you have to cut through the studs completely? Any electrical or plumbing in the walls that would impact the job. If you have any of these issues consider subbing out to a carpenter the hole in the wall and just make the box. If you don't have any issues, you could treat it like a installing a window in a house. Frame it out rough, recess the box and finish trim to match the motif of the place i.e. use redwood. Just my two cents worth. Good luck.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Bones: Thanks for your response. One of several challenges is that I don't know what's behind the wall and neither do the building owners. It does not appear to be a load bearing wall. Don't know if the studs are steel or wood. The box body is 4 inches deep and the door, which will be outside the wall, is another 1 1/2 inches. I think the studs will have to be cut all the way through.
As to not knowing whats in the walls, unless the building is extremely old, they should have drawings that has that on it. Most municipalities would require plans for approval prior to build. If its a converted old building to make it a place to eat, all bets are off. I would not go digging though. Go get professional help. Good luck.Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Dennis, the first thing I would do is find out if you need to be a licensed contractor to go digging into the wall. If it were in a friend's house, might not be a big deal, but in a restaurant? I'd want to follow the rules. ;-)
Jamie: I hear you. The restaurant has it's own maintenance/handyman/ construction supe who will be responsible for pulling the appropriate permits.
Dennis
In addition to the advice you've seen form other posters, you should post your question at the Breaktime forum sponsored by Fine Homebuilding. A link should be somewhere on the page you're reading now.
There are some commercial builders that hang out over there that might be able to help.
Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
Hopefully the maintenance guy will be a lot of help to you, our company has several and they are a godsend. YOu should be able to tell him what size hole you need to mount the cabinet in and he should take care of the rest. If you are left more on your own be sure to tie any cut studs to the remaining studs on each side and remember to allow for this extra framing when you cut the hole. I would place stops in the cavity so that when the cabinet is inserted it will only go in so far to leave plenty of clearance on the front for the door to open ect.
Goods poiints. I'm leaning on throwing the ball back in their court and, per your suggestion, give the size of the hole I need and tell them to call me when it's ready for the install. Thanks for your help.
I thank that would be your best bet, having done the drawings on a fair number of those types of places you never can tell what is in the wall until you open it up. And dont trust the drawings to be right either.
Did a food court in a BRAND NEW Airport and was not allowed to look above the ceiling (security they said) so we took the drawings to hart. A little (say 2 foot by 2 foot HVAC Duct) was supposed to be in the ceiling. Turns out it was big enough to walk in (say 4 foot by 6 foot) and we had to redo all the ceiling, the HVAC, the Water, the Gates, you name it.
Well good luck one way or the other.
Doug
Yikes, I hope this job doesn't turn into one of those nightmares. That's why the company's man will be in the trnches with me. Thanks for you input.
If at all possible, I would organize the project so the maintenance people are responsible for framing up the opening you need.
They should be smart enough to know that the framing is easy; the big challenge is what is behind the wall -- i.e. pipes and wires.
A simple job like this could get complicated in a hurry.
At a minimum, if I were doing the job I would cut at least 3-4 inspection holes (1/2" each), one at a time in each stud bay. Take a piece of wire and probe the bay to feel for any obstructions.
This is a perfect job for a video inspection camera, such as:
http://tinyurl.com/2go9n4
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Wow, those cameras are slick, but I think I'll take your advice and have the in-house guy frame the hole. Thanks for your input.
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