I got (cling! cling!) fsssss steam heat

Steve my architect texted me to call him today.
He was onsite going over the job with my contractor, Guillermo.
He had a question about the radiators. He wanted to see them in person once they were exposed because he had a notion that we might be able to salvage them and therefore save some money. (Gee, there's an idea I wasn't used to hearing on this job). Of course, I was all for it. And my hope that this would help to offset the electrical overage that happened last week.
The good news?
Both Steve and I really liked the look of the radiators. I had never seen this type before. All my past apartments featured that classic radiator look, like this:

Classic radiator style

Here's the one in my apartment (forgive the crappy photo):

My radiator

As you can see, it's short and squat, kinda cute actually. Here's a closeup:

Steve's idea is to remove the radiator, clean it up, and have it powder coated in paint, probably in white. Then there would be a small niche built around the radiator, squared off so that the radiator would sit flush inside it. Here's the elevation for that. 

I think it's going to look sharp...and if it saves me some cash to boot? HALLELOO.

Crossed wires

I got an email last week from my contractor saying there was a new problem.

He tells me that the existing electrical meter is not large enough, it's currently 110 Volts and needs to be 220 Volts to be sufficient for everything in the apartment, i.e. a washer and dryer, etc.

He said we also need to run a new riser wire (whatever that means) to the apartment thru the main hallway which is the only possible route. So, of course, this is all going to be an overage. But in speaking to Steve my architect, this was all discussed beforehand and this rewiring was accounted for in the estimate. So somebody is wrong. They're going to speak and iron it out. I hope. I was so wanting to avoid the slow trickle of overages, Death by a Thousand Cuts. Fingers crossed it's just a mix-up.

A furniture plan

Steve is already thinking about how the furniture will lay out in the main room.
He sent me two thought-starter plans.
It's a good sized room but it's not tremendous, I'll have to do some editing of my furniture from my last apartment (it was a two bedroom/two bath, so everything is NOT going to fit).
Here he's indicated the Chesterfield sofa, my Eames chair and ottoman, my parson's table desk, the bed, a coffee table, and a side table...that's it, that's about all that will fit. I keep asking him if more things can be squeezed in and the answer is an emphatic "NO". Oh well, that's life in a Manhattan studio.
I'm leaning toward the first of the two ideas, i like the sofa facing the mantel/TV...but the second idea could work as well...ultimately, we won't know for sure 'til we actually get all the stuff in the space, and that's a LONG way off!

Sofa centered on mantel/TV

Sofa facing entranceway into room

Framing the walls

With the demolition done, they are starting prep work on plastering the walls. The other major advancement that happened this week is that all the new walls have been framed out,. In these pictures you can see the metal braces that will be the support and guides for the sheetrock and insulation. Next week's stage is to begin all the electrical re-wiring and plumbing lines.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

There's been a lot of progress on the project at the house, the one where I'm turning an upstairs bedroom into a home office. I'm adding floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and cabinets on the far wall that surrounds a side window. Here are some pictures of how it's looking, the wide shot is kinda dark, the cabinet doors have not been attached, they're leaning inside.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and cabinets

Right side

Left side

The window is going to be replaced by a new '6 over 1' paned one, to match all the rest of the windows in the house. This window and the corresponding one in the other upstairs bedroom will be the last of the house's windows to be replaced. I've been wanting to do this for YEARS, it's finally happening.
There will also be some more low storage shelves under the roofline and dormer window on another wall of the room.

Low shelves with beadboard at back

I really like the use of beadboard for the back of these shelves. This mimics some shelves I have in the hallway leading upstairs. I find it a very cottage-y look. The cabinet doors will also have a beadboard frontispiece with black wrought iron hardware. Once all this millwork is done the entire room gets painted. I can't wait to get my work desk and daybed in there, it'll be a great place to do projects, arts and crafts, and writing.

Gloria in the rubble

There's a famous photograph from Life magazine of the old silent screen star Gloria Swanson standing amid the rubble of the once grand Roxy Theatre as it is being demolished.

I thought of that photo when I  went to see the progress of the apartment today.
I had only seen photos (the ones I posted this week), and I couldn't hold myself back, I just had to see it in person.
There I was standing in the rubble of what was once a nasty wreck of an apartment, but instead of it all coming down, it was a place at the beginning of its rebirth.
Let's not kid ourselves though, it has a LONG way to go. It's till looks like an archeological excavation site, dirt, dust, rocks, mortar, plaster, are everywhere.
The encouraging thing is that you can tell it's going to be so much brighter and lighter now that it's being opened up. Lighter paint on the walls will help too.
Here are some more pics of my own to add to last week's...

View into bath and kitchen

View into the gallery space

The entryway

Kitchen and bathroom demolished

Area between kitchen & bath

Bathroom floor

What used to be the floor of the shower stall

Progress

I got some pictures from my contractor after the completion of the demolition last week.
I'm extremely happy with the way it's looking.
You can totally see how the whole space has been opened up, how much more light there is overall.
And the good news continues: Steve the architect thought that there would have to be a load bearing column in the middle of the archway that leads into the main room. WRONG! Happily, it's going to be a nice wide opening stepping down into that space. The first piece of good news in a long time after I've had so many setbacks.
Obviously, so much work to do...but things are off to a great start :)

Looking into the main room: no support column!

View into the gallery

The kitchen

The bathroom

The living room mantel wall

Bathroom

Lest you forget

A couple of weeks ago, Steve the architect went back to the apartment to take some more 'before' shots for his files. He used a flash so his pictures are somewhat better than the ones I posted a few months ago. I wanted to post a few to show just how horrible the place looked and how bad the state a disrepair truly was.
Now that the demolition is over, the renovation proper has started this week. I'll be posting new pics along the way to show the progress. It's all uphill from here, it can't get much worse than these, right?

DISASTER!

AWFUL!

HORRID!

SLUM!

NASTY!

YUCK!

A watched pot never boils

So I put the renovation out of my mind, I 'zenned out', because fuming and fretting over things not moving forward was gonna eat me up.
And guess what happened?

Everything moved forward with light speed!
All the approvals and paperwork were accepted.
The contractor started the job...and the demolition phase is already finished!
It just goes to show that when you let things go they'll come back to you in spades.
This will be my teachable moment for the rest of this odyssey: stop watching that pot, everything will  boil in due time.

Steve, my architect, has promised me photos of the job site, I'll be posting them soon...or I just may go there next week and take some myself.
I want to see that progress :)