Delivered on the Dot

On October 29, 7pm, we delivered the finished space on the dot, exactly 14 days from the starting date.  We started with five workers and the team grew to eleven and went back down to four -- all in the rush so that the owners can move back into their bedroom by October 31.   It was a lesson-filled week for me but now we all can't wait to get back to the beach house in Calatagan -- the fresh air, open sky, infinite sea. . . . plus more than a modicum of design autonomy. 

Rushing to Meet the Deadline

Here are pictures from the renovation site taken in the past three days.  Work is being rushed to meet the October 30 deadline so the owner can move back into their bedroom while fulfilling the Feng Shui requirement to unite the bedroom with the transformed storage space.

The new loft space ceiling may be too low for comfort so the owner wanted to maximize whatever height can be derived.  Feng Shui doesn't allow for sloping ceilings so we straightened it all out and made changes in height in right angles.

Once the gypsum boards are in place, painting can be started so everyone was rushing to finish the ceiling.  However with the additional changes in levels, it wasn't as easy as expected.

Steps are taking shape.  My original suggestion was for a nicely made ladder so it wouldn't be included in the scope of work but it's also good that this got included because it is the safer way to go up the loft.  Plus it's just a little addition to the budget and doesn't affect the timeline.  Chuck that into my basket of lessons.

It took more work, time and money to do but the resulting complex ceiling is better than if we made it a simple two-step affair.  And we can still make the deadline by working this last Sunday and from Monday to this coming Saturday, working till 9pm.  So the moral of the story is as in any service industry "customer knows best."

Additional notes for me:  lessons to always always always remember especially since pricing is my weak point.  Do not forget to add the operational costs which include the inspection transportation cost, debris hauling, cellphone load, food for overtime (ingredients and preparation) and labor cash advance that can't be deducted (most can but there are exceptions).  Factor in the unexpected.  My friend Aouie already told me this, but did I listen?  No, I had to learn the hard way again by expensive experience. But that's all part of the plan, right Agent Oso?

Why Do This?

The new ceiling frame structure has been partially laid out and when the owner saw that there are spaces where an adult cannot walk through, she requested to maximize the ceiling space some more and create more levels to get more usable space.

What was a simple two-step plan to rationalize the ceiling has become a four-step, multi-level ceiling that we'll just see how it turns out.  It goes a little over the original budget but that's not unusual in renovations where costs balloon proportionally to the ideas.

I tell myself, this is not particularly enjoyable when you have to conform to the client's whims and desires and you can't just institute simple, economic solutions as you wish.  But that is part and parcel of work.

People always say they do the job for something else -- for the money, for their children, etc.  However satisfaction over the job itself, sometimes it doesn't come as easily when there are conflicting values.  There's an expensive Jaguar sitting in the garage and there is so much resources spent on beautifying a small part of the house which is completely the owner's prerogative to waste money as they please.  But then the issues that float inside my mind are the workers who live from day to day asking for cash advance so they can reach the job site every morning.  It boggles my mind -- these disparities in society and I guess even if I try to put these questions at the back burner, they come up bubbling like quick sand.  At least this project, someone else's luxury, gives people like Raul and Junie income for their family.  And if I cannot derive satisfaction from the solution of the architectural challenge, I can derive satisfaction from that fact.

Extra Challenge

My architect friend called me up saying there's a renovation up my alley and would I like to meet the client. Excited at the prospect of my first non-family, first real "client," I jumped at the opportunity and went to the site.  It's an attic space that needs to be converted into a loft space that unites with the bedroom due to feng shui reasons.  The ceiling must not have any slopes and ideally, the owner wants to lower the floor to gain more headroom. 

The problem with lowering the floor structure is that it won't fit their time frame and budget.  The owner wants to move back into their bedroom by the end of the month giving the project a breathing space of exactly two weeks.  Plus, realistically speaking, they would have to double or triple their budget if they want to lower the floor or raise the ceiling.  Either way would take more than month.

And it would affect the bedroom below especially the bathroom.

It was a good thing the client was convinced to abandon the idea of lowering the floor or raising the ceiling structure.  We would leave the floor as is and just straighten out the ceiling ensuring that changes in heights will all be at right angles.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Simple is not an option when the client is an interior decorator with very particular tastes.