Project No. 4

We're three days away from finishing Project No. 3 and this morning, we started on Project No. 4.   It's a guardhouse for our compound which the homeowner's association has been wanting to improve for quite some time.  When the strong rains pour, the guards get soaked since only two pieces of plastic held by masking tape and wood nailed to the wall protect them from the elements.

 It's a rather small guardhouse but it's also a rather small village.  We only have three streets and only two out of them are named: first and second.  The third and unnamed street is like the linking line in the letter H.  So no need for a fancy gate, just the basics.

This is the makeshift mirror which we hope to replace with something safer and less edgy.

This is our proposed extension and additional storage cabinet.  We're also installing fixed glass panels and glass doors.

My Design Mistakes

Big rains came last week and tested our sliding glass window and laminated floors and they bombed!   Water seeped in and the result were unsightly bubbles on the floor.  I should have had Sahara waterproofing mixed with the concrete.  I have to get this problem fixed before the next strong rains come or else put a quick fixer upper "trapal" as shield for the balcony opening. 

Yucky bubbles. Gotta re-order some planks.

 Meanwhile, on the other side of town, progress continues and the walls around the spiral staircase have been put in place.  However, I made a design booboo.

I wanted the smoked glass to be positioned so the light followed you as you went up the spiral but I made the mistake of designing the openings using the old staircase configuration which had six steps more than the current one so you ended up with . . . .  

. . . .the light at your feet instead.

At least the intention worked in the third set of openings but still, I should wait before making a harsh condemnation of the mistake. 

Just last week I was ranting about the client committing a design sin of making the steps higher than what it should be so it becomes uncomfortable for the user.  Now, I don't know which one is worse -- committing your own design error or just accepting somebody else's.  The answer is the mistake at the moment of realization.  The one that currently makes you slap your forehead and go Homer Simpson D'oh!  But after time passes, it fades into the background and it doesn't sting as much as that point of discovery.  

The Other Near the Finish Line

The other project in Quezon City is near the finish line.   Target date of completion is next Sunday. 

The spiral staircase steps were reduced drastically by the client from 17 to 11.  A bit too steep but the good thing is we proceed with the project having gone over the hump.

Tadah! Finally!

Finally!  After seven weeks instead of the orignally targetted five, here are the before and after pictures of the renovation work we've done:

THE OLD LIVING AND DINING AREAS:

THE NEW LIVING & DINING AREAS:

THE OLD KITCHEN:

(I don't know why this is not rotated properly but I rotated it already.)

THE NEW KITCHEN:

THE OLD BEDROOMS:

 (Oooops.  This one too has the same rotation problem.)

THE NEW BEDROOMS:

THE OLD BATHROOMS:

THE NEW BATHROOMS:

THE OLD MAID'S ROOM & TOILET:

THE NEW MAID'S ROOM & TOILET:

We were able to add a sink in the toilet which didn't have before.  Although we didn't change the tiles, we changed all the other fixtures.

THE NEW LAUNDRY AREA:

There was no laundry area in the old unit.  The occupants had to share a common laundry area among three other units in the floor.  We moved the kitchen door entrance so that we can get the light from the balcony into the kitchen which had small windows and we allocated space for the laundry.  The washing machine is optional for the tenant to bring in but there are provisions for it.  

I have a lot of people to thank for making all of these possible:  a hardworking, dedicated team led by my foreman, all workers and laborers, the driver, suppliers, assistant purchaser and of course my husband who put on the hats of laborer, buyer and driver for this project, my mom for all the freebies (again!) and my dad who is super duper ultra supportive and who gave me this wonderful opportunity, freedom and trust to express myself through renovation.  

R.A.N.T. in Disguise

This is the Spanish Pavilion at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai.  It's also one of my favorite pavilions on the site since it celebrates the temporary nature of the structure to the hilt by choosing an unconventional material that doesn't hide the ravages of time.  Out of all the interior exhibits, this was the one I enjoyed the most also.  I love the artistry and creativity of the Spanish people who worked to bring this to reality.

But this is not really what I want to write about today.  I actually wanted to call this article Disgustingly Pukeningly Ugly to express the huge disappointment over how the spiral staircase in my current project turned out.  The client didn't approve that I moved the staircase 30cm to avoid the floor slab and wanted it to be moved back.  He took over managing the installation and ended up removing six steps that made the steps extra higher.  The original height per step was 20 cm and now, it is 33cm.  This new height is okay if the staircase won't be used everyday but this will be used a lot by a number of people hurrying up and down to perform their duties.  Goodbye comfort and ease.  Hello, treacherous flight.  But there is no use arguing with a client because the customer is always right, right?

The computation for the costing of the staircase was based on each step and I put in 17 steps for the safety and convenience of the users.  Now, 6 steps worth of pesos are wasted on an ego trip.  The other effect of moving the spiral staircase is that the entryway moved thus reducing storage space on the other side of the wall and ironically, this project should be all about increasing storage space.  Plus there has to be an ugly first concrete step to replace the first metal step because the new entry meets the metal at an awkward angle.  So the whole thing is 'bleep' 'bleep' 'bleep' ugly but I do have to think of a way to handle the first step so it looks decent at least.  The whole thing violates every aesthetic sensibility and fiber in my body but I have to slap myself in the face and say this is how the real world works.  Wake up!  Designers don't get their way and can't get their way all the time.  And aesthetic sensibility occurs in varying degrees in different persons and may be non-existent in some.  This is a fact of life that should not only be understood but absorbed.

As consolation, I did learn a lot of things.  I now realize what my architect friend termed a "bastard child" a  pure, harsh reality in this field.  When he is disappointed over how the building he designed turned out because his specifications weren't followed to the letter, he calls the house a "bastard child."  (He's the type of person who's married to architecture, you see.)   Secondly, I learned another unbloggable nugget of truth.  Suffice it to say that hearing about other people's problems makes your own problems miniscule in comparison.  Thirdly. . . . . . ad infinitum.

So to add a bit of levity to this heavy rant, I leave you with a picture of my adorable son playing in the Spanish pavilion.  That should lower my blood pressure and calm me down, right?   Blogging about it might help.  It might also get me into more trouble.